Over the past 60 years governments have proposed the development of agriculture in Australia's north. One of the prime examples of this is found in the Ord region, in the east Kimberley region of Western Australia and Northern Territory. Ord River flows have been regulated since two large dams were built in 1963 and 1972 to provide water for irrigation, hydro-electric power and other commercial needs. There are plans for substantial expansion of the Ord River Irrigation Scheme (ORIS) Ord River with a new water allocation plan (WAP) being finalised at the end of 2013. This paper discusses the new Ord (WAP) using an integrated water management approach. It finds that water planning would be assisted with more transparent risk assessment, social input and economic evaluation, and that negotiating the multiple perspectives of stakeholders would need to consider the benefits that people obtain from ecosystems and placing an economic value on this natural capital. These lessons are applicable to the proposals to develop other water resources in the North.