“I’m very cognisant of that, and we get the same allocations as irrigators so we’ve got to manage our smaller amounts of water just as sensibly as they do.

“We’ve just got to keep making sure that we’re communicating and engaging with people and continuing to try to work through any issues that emerge.”

Southern Riverina Irrigators this week said the government did not fully grasp the plight of rural communities.

“The food bowl of Australia is going to be decimated if we continue along the current path,” Southern Riverina Irrigators chairman Graeme Pyle said.

Mr Papps, who was responsible for managing environmental water to “protect and restore” the Murray-Darling Basin environment, said successes showed the flows were a benefit.

“We get the same allocation as them (irrigators) so I’m in the same boat as them,” Mr Papps said.

“But I think when it comes to talking about environmental water we’ve actually got to show them the outcomes … in the Goulburn we’ve had terrific fish breeding, endangered species, golden perch all as a result off environmental water.”