National Water Initiative–The Economics of Water Management in Australia–An Overview - Water and Agriculture: Sustainability, Markets and Policies - page 6

The overall objective of the NWI (paragraph 23, NWI) is to achieve a nationally
compatible market, regulatory and planning based system of managing surface and
groundwater resources for rural and urban use that optimises economic, social and
environmental outcomes. At the highest level, implementation of the NWI will achieve:
clear and nationally-compatible characteristics for secure water access entitlements ;
transparent, statutory-based water planning;
statutory provision for environmental and other public benefit outcomes , and improved
environmental management practices;
complete the return of all currently over-allocated or over-used systems to
environmentally-sustainable levels of extraction ;
progressive removal of barriers to trade in water and meeting other requirements to
facilitate the broadening and deepening of the water market, with an open trading
market to be in place;
clarity around the assignment of risk arising from future changes in the availability of
water for the consumptive pool;
water accounting which is able to meet the information needs of different water systems
in respect to planning, monitoring, trading, environmental management and on-farm
management;
policy settings which facilitate water use efficiency and innovation in urban and rural
areas;
addressing future adjustment issues that may impact on water users and communities;
and
recognition of the connectivity between surface and groundwater resources and
connected systems managed as a single resource.
Just under half of the NWI's 70 or so actions involve national actions or other action
by governments working together. This reflects not just the emphasis in the Agreement
on greater national compatibility in the way Australia measures, plans for, prices, and
trades water. It also represents a greater level of co-operation between governments to
achieve this end.
The need for national outcomes and greater partnership to achieve the outcomes is
further illustrated by the establishment of the National Water Commission, and by the
Australian Government's investment through the $2 billion ($U 1.48 billion) over six
years Australian Government Water Fund (Figure 1).
The National Water Commission is established under Australian Government
legislation (the National Water Commission Act 2004 ). It is an independent statutory
authority reporting to the Prime Minister and, on some water reform matters, through the
Prime Minister to the COAG.