Balancing Consumptive and Environmental Water Use –An Australian Perspective - Water and Agriculture: Sustainability, Markets and Policies - page 178

National Water Initiative
Ratified in 2004 at the peak Australian intergovernmental forum, the Council of
Australian Governments (COAG), the National Water Initiative provides a framework for
the continued improvement of the productivity and efficiency of Australian water use
while maintaining healthy river and groundwater systems. It establishes the timelines,
actions and monitoring programmes to implement major water reforms in Australia over
the next 10 years, and builds on the previous water reform framework agreed by COAG
in 1994.
As an intergovernmental agreement between the Australian and most state and
territory governments, its signatories have a shared responsibility for its implementation.
Many of the reforms create direct environmental benefits. For example, the governments
have agreed to identify and protect surface and groundwater systems for their important
conservation values and restore over-allocated river and groundwater systems to
sustainable usage levels. Importantly, water allocated to meet agreed environmental and
other public benefit outcomes will be given statutory recognition, enabling these
allocations at least the same degree of security as water allocated to consumers.
Several commonwealth or state ministerial councils contribute to the implementation
of the National Water Initiative, including the Natural Resource Management Ministerial
Council, the Environment Protection and Heritage Council and the Murray-Darling Basin
Ministerial Council. The use of ministerial councils provides an efficient tool to ensure
reforms are delivered across relevant government agencies and departments, across
different levels of government and helps ensure that the responsibility for implementation
is shared.
National water reform within the National Water Initiative is driven and monitored by
the National Water Commission, an Australian Government statutory body.
The Australian Water Fund
Administered by the National Water Commission, the Australian Water Fund
represents a major investment by the Australian Government in water infrastructure,
improved knowledge and water management, and better practices in the stewardship of
Australia's scarce water resources. Investment under the Australian Water Fund will be
made on the basis that it is consistent with, and helps to achieve, the objectives, outcomes
and actions of the National Water Initiative. The Fund is made up of three programmes.
The Water Smart Australia programme, with its objective of accelerating the
development and uptake water-smart technologies and practices, is particularly relevant
to increasing the efficiency of consumptive uses.
National Action Plan for Salinity and Water Quality
The AUD 1.4 billion National Action Plan for Salinity and Water Quality (the
National Action Plan) represents a co-operative approach between the Australian, state
and territory governments to address salinity and water quality issues. The funding, which
commenced in 2001, is provided over 7 years to support the actions of communities and
land managers in priority regions across Australia to implement the primary goals of the
National Action Plan - managing salinity and improving water quality. This is achieved
through comprehensive natural resource management plans and investment strategies.