Water Resources Minister David Littleproud stood on the banks of the Murray River in Wodonga on Friday to announce the money would be spent on satellite and remote river sensing, including live-streamed cameras, in the northern part of the basin.

He said this would give southern irrigators confidence about who was using the water and when.

"This is about ensuring those that are entitled to irrigation licences and water flows get them, those that aren't are taken out of the system. No one should fear compliance," he said.

"Those that do the wrong thing will swing, there should be no two guessing about that.

"We will make sure there is integrity and those that do the wrong thing will have to pay the price."

The $26 million was allocated in the 2019-20 budget and signed off before the federal election was called, meaning the money is already secured.

Mr Littleproud said 12 per cent of high flow water licences in the southern basin are owned by investors who do not own land - an issue he wanted looked at by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission.

"Do they have the good conscious of the community at heart? What are they using that water for and how are they using it?" he said.

"Has there been an imbalance that's been put in it because those that have a bigger cheque book have come in and influenced the market in a way that isn't fair?

"I'm not casting any assertions, what I'm asking the ACCC as the independent umpire to do is to come in and make sure the marketplace is fit for the future, that it supports these regional communities."

The investigation is expected to take about six months.

"A royal commission into the Murray Darling Basin Plan is not necessary. The reality is that it's only required if there is significant evidence of wrongdoing," Mr Littleproud said.

"I've acted as quickly as I can, with a responsible measure that will have currency.

"You don't just rush in and announce something that won't work because then you'll have a worse result."

Farrer MP Sussan Ley and Indi candidates Mark Byatt and Steve Martin were at the announcement, after the MDBP was a big topic at Thursday night's VFF election forum.

"To stop the plan would be fraught with danger at this time," Mr Byatt told the Wangaratta crowd.

"We saw some unintended consequences when trying to balance farm irrigation and environment, and that's unfortunate."

Mr Martin also admitted there was a loss of confidence in the plan because different people playing by different rules.

"There are certainly some specific things that I think we need to look at very closely to get this confidence back into the plan," he said.

Independent Indi candidate Helen Haines said she wanted to see issues of water buybacks and thefts tackled by establishing a federal integrity commission.

"Many Australians have lost complete trust in the governance," she said.

"The decoupling of the ability to purchase water from landholders is one that many farmers have spoken to me about and have real concerns about."

Asked on Friday if the Coalition could win back the support of angry Border irrigators with the MDBP announcements, Mr Littleproud warned that independents would not be the one making the decisions.

"You might get a warm and fuzzy feeling for the first five minutes voting for an independent or a small party, but effectively all you get is a professional complaints test that sit outside the room," he said.

"I'm going to look them in the eye and tell (irrigators) the truth, not just something they want to hear."

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