The current overarching policy for water management in Victoria is the Government White Paper ‘Securing Our Water Future Together’. Released in June 2004 this policy outlines 110 initiatives for water conservation and is aimed at every sector of the community. It examines household use, industrial and agricultural use, recreation and tourism, environmental impacts, pricing, population increases and climate change to ensure there is plenty of water to sustain growth over the next 50 years. The initiatives aim to:
Repair rivers and groundwater systems.
Price water to encourage people to use it more wisely.
Permanently save water in our towns and cities.
Secure water for farms through pioneering water allocation and trading systems.
National Water Policy
While responsibility for the provision of water services is the responsibility of State and Territory Governments, the Commonwealth Government plays an increasing role in water management through the development of the National Competition Policy (NCP).
The National Water Commission (NWC) plays a key role in helping to drive national water reform. The NWC is responsible for managing the implementation of the National Water Initiative (NWI) and implementing two programmes of the Australian Government Water Fund.
The National Competition Policy of the Council of Australian Governments (CoAG) and the NWI are the two Commonwealth Government policies affecting the water industry at a national level. The Murray-Darling Basin Ministerial Council also plays a role on the national level through providing the policy and direction needed to implement the Murray-Darling Basin Initiative.
