House of Representatives Committees

| House of Representatives Standing Committee on Regional Australia

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Of drought and flooding rains : Inquiry into the impact of the Guide to the Murray-Darling Basin Plan

May 2011

View the report as a single document - (PDF 2.9MB)

View the report as separate downloadable parts:

Preliminary pages	(PDF 143KB)

Chapter 1 Introduction	(PDF 84KB)
Release of the Guide Conduct of the inquiry Structure of the report What this report does not do What this report does

Chapter 2 The Murray-Darling Basin	(PDF 310KB)
Community and economic profile Economic contribution of Basin agriculture Employment in the Basin Governance of Basin water resources History of reform in the Basin Water Act 2007 Reform fatigue in the community The need for continued water reform Governance reform Basin sustainability Community sustainability

Chapter 3 The Guide	(PDF 225KB)
What is the Guide? Impact of the Guide Reduction in confidence and increased investor uncertainty Employment projections Existing pressures on farming communities and the drought A decade of drought A sense of powerlessness Interdependence of communities Use of science and data Treatment of urban water Consideration of climate change Review mechanisms Setting sustainable diversion limits for groundwater Reputation of the Murray-Darling Basin Authority

Chapter 4 Engagement with the community	(PDF 188KB)
Socio-economic studies Aboriginal involvement Recognition of cultural values Appropriate engagement State and territory responsibilities Providing certainty A Basin community plan Other issues for consideration

Chapter 5 Water purchase and infrastructure investment	(PDF 330KB)
Water for the Future Sustainable Rural Water Use and Infrastructure Program ‘Restoring the balance’ Improving the buyback The ‘Swiss cheese’ effect Making the buyback program more strategic Using the water allocations market for the environment Purchasing allocation water when needed Selling surplus environmental water Counter-cyclical trade Options contracts Improving government investment Better flexibility in investment Investing in environmental works and measures Monitoring, compliance and enforcement Addressing taxation issues Investing in research and development Committee comment

Chapter 6 Delivering the Basin Plan	(PDF 178KB)
Alignment of timeframes for implementation Intergovernmental collaboration Environmental water planning Commonwealth Environmental Water Holder Accountability and transparency of the Commonwealth Environmental Water Holder Capability of the Commonwealth Environmental Water Holder Improving the accountability of water reform

Chapter 7 Bringing it all together	(PDF 173KB)
A focus on the community Institutional reform Roles and relationships of each agency National Water Fund Manager National Water Commission Commonwealth Environmental Water Holder Commonwealth Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities What happens next

Appendix A – List of submissions	(PDF 62KB)

Appendix B – List of exhibits	(PDF 77KB)

Appendix C – List of witnesses, hearings and inspections	(PDF 104KB)

Appendix D – Extract from the Water Act 2007	(PDF 53KB)

Appendix E – Water saving proposals	(PDF 53KB)

Appendix F – Interim findings	(PDF 675KB)

Appendix G – Governance model	(PDF 143KB)