Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
What the government intended
It is generally agreed that water resource allocations are to be managed within
sustainable limits of the natural resource.
The Council of Australian Governments 6 (COAG), an organisation of federal, state
and local governments, agreed to act on this in 1994. This led to a 'cap' 7 on Murray-
Darling diversions, provision of water for the environment, and a separation of water
from land right. It was the first official national step in creating water markets.
Ten years later, at the June 2004 COAG meeting, the council reaffirmed its support
for the development of sustainable water policies. An Intergovernmental Agreement on a
National Water Initiative was completed and extended that affirmation.
The intent of the agreement is to create water policies that enhance and protect social
outcomes as well as economic and environmental ones. The preamble of this agreement
states:
Water may be viewed as part of Australia's natural capital, serving a number of
important productive, environmental and social objectives … . Likewise,
governments have a responsibility to ensure that water is allocated and used to
achieve socially and economically beneficial outcomes in a manner that is
environmentally sustainable.
The agreement also intends for policy-makers to take the impact on society as a
whole into consideration when designing water policies. Further into the agreement,
there is a requirement for policy-makers to:
“[settle] the trade-offs between competing outcomes for water systems
[involving] judgements informed by best available science, socio-
economic analysis and community input…” (para. 36); and
“[assess] the socio-economic costs and benefits of the most prospective
options, including on downstream users, and the implications for wider
natural resource management outcomes.” (para. 79).
The signatories to the agreement intend for policy-makers to create a water
management system that protects social capital as well as environmental and economic
capital during a period of reform and adjustment. Furthermore, the Australian
Government has set up a National Water Commission to measure the social as well as the
economic and environmental impacts of these policies. That Commission is required to
“review the NWI comprehensively, including assessing… the impact of the
implementation of the NWI on regional, rural and urban communities.” (Sect. 7:2:i)
6.
For further details on COAG, visit www.coag.gov.au.
7.
For further details on the Murray Darling Basin Commission and the 'cap', visit
www.mdbc.gov.au.
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