NSW farmers back Murray report

Farmers in NSW have backed a report calling for a halt to all non-strategic water buybacks in the Murray-Darling Basin.

They support the federal parliamentary inquiry's 21 recommendations, and say all of them must be considered as part of a revised plan for the waterway.

"It's essential the Murray-Darling Basin Authority carefully review the recommendations before releasing the draft plan," said Charles Armstrong, president of the NSW Farmers' Association.

The bipartisan blueprint, released on Thursday, has recommended a new National Water Fund and the suspension of "non-strategic" water buybacks.

It also called for a new commonwealth environmental water holder and better monitoring of flows.

"We support the recommendation to put a stop to all non-strategic water purchases in the basin, and only buy water in cases where the impact on communities is minimal," Mr Armstrong said.

He also applauded the committee for adopting a proposal to establish an agency to deliver water savings through infrastructure investments.

"It's also encouraging to see our concerns about mining and coal seam gas extraction have been recognised," he said.

"We are strongly in favour of a process that would prevent mining approvals that impact on water resources in the basin until their potential impacts can be understood."

When the Murray-Darling Basin Authority released its guide to a draft plan last year, irrigators burned copies of it in the streets of basin towns and accused the government of threatening their communities.