Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
Getting the mix of policy instruments - regulation, planning and markets - right will
also depend on adaptive institutions for managing water - both in the public and private
sector. Following good governance principles such as institutional separation between
regulatory and policy making roles will make a contribution to this adaptability. So will a
higher level of institutional accountability and transparency. In practice this means
arrangements where institutions are regularly required to answer questions such as: how
is water being used; are infrastructure investments cost effective; is water provided for the
environment achieving the outcomes set out in water plans, how much is water
management costing, and who is paying; and are monopoly water service providers
operating efficiently?
This is the dynamic which water reform creates. Of course, governments will need to
continue to make careful judgements in order to optimise the mix of markets, regulation
and planning for water management. And this will be necessary also in order to
creatively address the tensions which lie at the heart of water resource management in
Australia.
Reference
Peterson, D., Dwyer, G., Appels, D. and Fry, J., 2004, Modelling Water Trade in the
Southern Murray-Darling Basin, Productivity Commission staff working paper,
Melbourne.
Search WWH ::




Custom Search