Whenever a lawyer tells me there is a problem I know they are looking at some slippery money making scam.
Labour in Victoria wasted billions of dollars including for a massive de-sal plant which is going to keep costing us massive amounts of money.
I think the point that escapes everybody is there is plenty of water just in the wrong place some of the time.
Invariably people treat it badly and under value of it. Australia should use its water but be warned all the scientists will say research, they will take no responsibility but keep repeating research, research! They mean money of course.
Leave this problem to the adults Kellie and stick to what you know.

Whether we accept anthropogenic global warming or not, this a problem that the world will have to face. Wars have been fought for land and for oil - in the future they will be fought for control of water.
I do not know what is the most effective way of stopping conflict: the UN is a good talking shop but actions tend to follow words by a decade or two.
The USA has no standing in this discussion considering the way it so overallocated water from the Colorado River that Mexico gets almost none of the flow.
Ignore the patronising last sentence by JBowyer, Kellie. This is an article worthy of a long, considered discussion.

We have built desalination plants in the south of the country whilst billions of gallons of fresh water flows into the sea from our northern rivers.

Pipelines anyone?

Kellie; I think you're being unnecessarily pessimistic.

In the news recently (in the last week on OLO) was a new dutch process that allows salt (almost any) water to be reclaimed as 97% fresh water; and very affordably!

And we here are uniquely placed to turn a negative into a positive, by turning most of the Murray/Darling into a huge algae farm; and just for 1-2% of the water of traditional irrigation.

And to prosper that region as never before! And what better purpose could anyone find for the remaining save the Murray fund. One of the things we grow better than almost anyone else is ALGAE!

I mean we import around 91% of our current oil supplies at 21 billions or thereabouts every year; and if we but did algae farming on a large enough scale, could reroute that money through the Murray/Darling instead!

And there the usual flow on factors could make it do as 140 billions worth of annual economic work before it exhausted!

Algae absorb 2.5 times their own bodyweight in Co2; and under optimized conditions double that bodyweight and absorption/oil production capacity every 24 hrs!

Name just one other oil rich crop that does that; and on that amount of water, most of which is just borrowed and then returned to the environment, cleaned of problematic nutrients.

Some algae are up to 60% oil!

And a couple of types currently being trialed, produce naturally occurring virtually ready to use as is, diesel or jet fuel! And child's play to extract!

If you drive a petrol or diesel powered vehicle; you're driving on algae, given that is and remains the source of most oil deposits around the world!

Weep no more Kellie, better to just stay properly informed!
Rhrosty.

Is Mise; >pipelines anyone?<

Well it's essentially a good idea, if we had several spare trillions to pay for them?

Perhaps we could ask the Chinese for the money?

Why they might even supply the "steel pipes" and build them for us, using our fire sale iron ore; then rent them back for 10-15 billion per? And thinkable, given the current crop of Pollies!?

Alternatively we could adapt your idea and take some water where it rains/falls in metres, and then using just gravity, inject it into any convenient aquifer, (the great artesian basin perhaps) that would transport it southward?

And lets not forget the 50% approx, of north <> south aquifers, that were once too salty to use for any purpose?

But nonetheless, could be so used now as relatively cheaply connected bridges that transport water, North <> South, East <> West?

And only doable due to the recent advances in desalinating water for a fraction of what it once cost; and at 97 recovery rates as fresh water; thanks to the innovative Dutch!

Which also opens up most of our western coastline to formerly impossible development!

Imagine a climate where the sun shines almost all the year round/hardly ever rains, and yet there's enough water for everyone to waste a little, including in decorative fountains/long showers or some such?
And where properly treated effluent could make the desert bloom!

I mean, some of the water that flows down the Murray (waters our riverland crops) may pass through several sets of kidneys before it reaches the sea!
Rhrosty.

Does anyone else think a population of 7,000,000,000 people (and growing) could be as much the problem as climate change?

Perhaps climate change is Mother Nature's way of starting to re-take control of the spread of humans around the globe. Its about time someone starts doing something.