Prime Minister Julia Gillard has said that the new plan to save the River Murray will benefit all Australians through measures to improve water management.

She said that the government's plan to return 3200 gigalitres a year to the river system is in the interest to the whole country and will not just benefit South Australia. She said that the plan will not only ensure fair sharing of water but will also adopt smart management measures.

While speaking at the South Australian Labor Party state convention in Adelaide she said that the new plan will make sure that the Murray-Darling Basin remains the food bowl of Australia. "We can deliver new infrastructure for the future of regional communities and we can secure the food and fibre industries which will be vital to our prosperity," she said.

She urged politicians in the country to avoid playing political games and help pass the legislation in the parliament. Ms Gillard visited the lakes of SA on Friday and pledged to return an extra 450GL of water a year to the river system besides 2750GL already proposed by the Murray-Darling Basin Authority.

Federal government will fund measures to improve water efficiency upstream and also remove roadblocks to high water flows.