Submission to the Water Act 2007 review

The Murray-Darling Basin remains a vital source of Australian water, fuelling commerce, industry and society. But water quality and quantity remain crucial for our prosperity across the nation, not just around the Basin. All sources of Australian water need to be covered by a plan for water security, whether they are urban, regional, rural or remote. This plan would ideally be monitored and managed by an independent National Water Commission, similar to the one dissolved in 2015. A Commission can provide cross-jurisdictional authority and coordination for water reform and help manage the long-term sustainability of Australian water supplies.

There also remains a significant gap in access to high-quality water and sanitation in regional, rural and remote communities. As outlined in ATSE’s Closing the water gap – Water, sanitation and hygiene for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Communities explainer, some communities are experiencing persistent issues with water contamination from mining and agricultural operations, with contamination levels exceeding the Australian Drinking Water Guidelines. These issues disproportionately affect Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and are often masked by inadequate data collection, monitoring and access to water quality data.