Recommendations

Recommendation 1 (paragraph 2.7)

A cap for water extractions in the Queensland part of the Murray-Darling Basin should be decided by the beginning of 2005.

Recommendation 2 (paragraph 3.36)

COAG should negotiate an ongoing shared program for funding the reforms in the Intergovernmental Agreement on a National Water Initiative.

Recommendation 3 (paragraph 4.29)

COAG should develop a policy on rules to control the water market to prevent profiteering or speculation by non-users, including foreign interests, to the detriment of water users or the environment.

Recommendation 4 (paragraph 4.36)

COAG should commit to a jointly funded program of structural adjustment assistance to communities whose economies are contracting because of water trading, and agree to provide adequate financial support for projects to promote environmental recovery in degraded areas.

Recommendation 5 (paragraph 5.16)

Water management authorities should take steps to properly assess in all catchments the amount of water necessary to maintain environmental health and the amount available for trade.

Recommendation 6 (paragraph 5.52)

Water management authorities should give priority to establishing the systems necessary to account for the total water balance of catchments to allow better management of water-intercepting activities.

Recommendation 7 (paragraph 5.55)

Relevant Commonwealth funded research programs should give priority to researching the total water balance of catchments to allow better management of water-intercepting activities, with particular reference to the effects of large scale plantation forestry on runoff.

Recommendation 8 (paragraph 5.82)

The Commonwealth should, as a matter of urgency, address the impact of Commonwealth-licensed oil drilling on the Latrobe aquifer and propose solutions which respect the rights of groundwater users.