Sinclair 2016). Although progress was made throughout the 1990s, prolonged
drought conditions throughout the 2000s further threatened the water reform efforts.
Consequently, the then Australian Prime Minister John Howard put water on the
national agenda for the 2004 Federal election and subsequently signed the 2004
National Water Initiative (NWI) (Australian Government 2017). The NWI consolidated the early 1990s’ reforms and extended the ‘cap-and-trade’ market-based
systems; removed barriers to trade; facilitated efficient water use; and amended
previous water accounting frameworks. Under the NWI, State and Federal Governments committed to increasing the efficiency of Australia’s water resources through
(among other things) the preparation of comprehensive water management plans
(discussed further in Sect. 2.2.1). In response to ongoing drought conditions, the
Federal Government eventually took a more active role in the management of water
resources in the Murray-Darling Basin when the then Prime Minister John Howard
introduced the National Plan for Water Security in 2007, followed by the Water Act
2007 (Cth) and the Basin Plan 2012 (Cth) (Parliament of Australia 2018b). This
active role of the Federal Government was only possible through the Federal
Government’s use of its ‘external affairs’ powers under section 51 of the
Australian Constitution. Sections 3.1 and 4 provide a detailed overview and analysis
of the recent Federal water reform process and the interaction between the Federal
Government’s water reform process and the water-energy-food nexus.
7.4.1 State Water Regulation: QLD and NSW
Based on the Intergovernmental Agreement on a National Water Initiative (COAG
2004), the State Governments developed state-based water management regulation
and planning instruments. In NSW, the key legislative instrument for the management of water resources is the Water Management Act 2000 (NSW) (WMA). The Act
provides the statutory framework for managing water resources in NSW and is built
on the principles that sustainable and integrated management of the State’s water
resources should be for the benefit of both present and future generations (NSW
Department of Industry 2018b). The WMA also recognised the need to provide water
to the environment (as a legitimate water user) and establish a more secure access to
water for existing water rights/entitlement holders (NSW Department of Industry
2018b). The main regulatory tool to manage water resources in NSW is Water
Sharing Plans (WSPs) (NSW Department of Industry 2018c). Since the commencement of the WMA, over 80 WSPs have been progressively developed, covering
NSW. WSPs set out the rules for sharing water between ‘consumptive’ water users
and ‘the environment’ as well as establish water access provisions for different types
of water licence holders (e.g. domestic supply, stock watering, industry, town water
supply, the environment) (NSW Department of Industry 2018c). Enshrined within
these WSP provisions is a clear hierarchy for how water resources are allocated in
NSW. Firstly, the State Government is required to meet the needs of the environment
and humans before any water is allocated to industrial or agricultural users for the
92
S. Schulte et al.
drought conditions throughout the 2000s further threatened the water reform efforts.
Consequently, the then Australian Prime Minister John Howard put water on the
national agenda for the 2004 Federal election and subsequently signed the 2004
National Water Initiative (NWI) (Australian Government 2017). The NWI consolidated the early 1990s’ reforms and extended the ‘cap-and-trade’ market-based
systems; removed barriers to trade; facilitated efficient water use; and amended
previous water accounting frameworks. Under the NWI, State and Federal Governments committed to increasing the efficiency of Australia’s water resources through
(among other things) the preparation of comprehensive water management plans
(discussed further in Sect. 2.2.1). In response to ongoing drought conditions, the
Federal Government eventually took a more active role in the management of water
resources in the Murray-Darling Basin when the then Prime Minister John Howard
introduced the National Plan for Water Security in 2007, followed by the Water Act
2007 (Cth) and the Basin Plan 2012 (Cth) (Parliament of Australia 2018b). This
active role of the Federal Government was only possible through the Federal
Government’s use of its ‘external affairs’ powers under section 51 of the
Australian Constitution. Sections 3.1 and 4 provide a detailed overview and analysis
of the recent Federal water reform process and the interaction between the Federal
Government’s water reform process and the water-energy-food nexus.
7.4.1 State Water Regulation: QLD and NSW
Based on the Intergovernmental Agreement on a National Water Initiative (COAG
2004), the State Governments developed state-based water management regulation
and planning instruments. In NSW, the key legislative instrument for the management of water resources is the Water Management Act 2000 (NSW) (WMA). The Act
provides the statutory framework for managing water resources in NSW and is built
on the principles that sustainable and integrated management of the State’s water
resources should be for the benefit of both present and future generations (NSW
Department of Industry 2018b). The WMA also recognised the need to provide water
to the environment (as a legitimate water user) and establish a more secure access to
water for existing water rights/entitlement holders (NSW Department of Industry
2018b). The main regulatory tool to manage water resources in NSW is Water
Sharing Plans (WSPs) (NSW Department of Industry 2018c). Since the commencement of the WMA, over 80 WSPs have been progressively developed, covering
NSW. WSPs set out the rules for sharing water between ‘consumptive’ water users
and ‘the environment’ as well as establish water access provisions for different types
of water licence holders (e.g. domestic supply, stock watering, industry, town water
supply, the environment) (NSW Department of Industry 2018c). Enshrined within
these WSP provisions is a clear hierarchy for how water resources are allocated in
NSW. Firstly, the State Government is required to meet the needs of the environment
and humans before any water is allocated to industrial or agricultural users for the
92
S. Schulte et al.