Water was on the agenda when Australia's new Minister for Environment and Water Tanya Plibersek visited Dubbo today.

"I'm in Dubbo today to meet with the Alliance of Western Councils and stakeholders including traditional owners, councils, irrigators and environmental groups. We all rely on a healthy river system," she said.

Minister Plibersek's visit to Dubbo included a water round table with the Alliance of Western Councils and a meeting with other key stakeholders to "better understand" issues around the Murray-Darling Basin and to work with communities to manage the water needed for a sustainable future.

"While some of the issues are different in the north - the challenge is the same - managing the Basin sustainably across its million square kilometres," she said.

"I want to hear all the different perspectives - environmental, cultural, economic and social. I want to work cooperatively and collaboratively on the complex and important issues facing us as stewards of the Murray-Darling Basin."

While there's much talk about flooding at the moment, today's meetings were focused on the issue of droughts - like the one which hung over Dubbo for 3 years until 2020 - and how the government and other stakeholders can work together to drought-proof the region for the future.

"We need to be thinking ahead about how we cope with that next time, and talking to people, you know, in towns like Dubbo about their experiences and what we've got to learn from them is a really important part of planning for the future," she said.

While in Dubbo, Minister Plibersek met with indigenous representatives and traditional custodians to better understand how their cultural practices can be included in the government's management of the basin. She said she had concerns $40 million set aside for cultural water had not been spent.

"Linda Burney, my colleague, who's the Minister for Aboriginal Australians, and I will be working really closely to make sure that that works," she said.

The visit came as the government reaffirmed the $15 million investment to the Wilcannia Weir project committed under the last federal government. The $30 million project is a joint venture with the NSW Government.

"This project is extremely important for the Wilcannia community and surrounding region. It will be a place for the local community to swim, fish and gather, just as it has always been and continues to be for the First Nations people of the Wilcannia region," said Ms Plibersek.

The new weir will be built five kilometres downstream from the old weir, built in 1942, which the government says is "no longer fit for its purpose of supplying the town with reliable water".

The weir will include gates and a fishway to support downstream flows and enable native fish to travel up and down the river.