Tanya Plibersek on water in Australia

Inside Water had the opportunity to receive insights from the Federal Minister for the Environment and Water, Tanya Plibersek. Below, she outlines her vision for the water industry in Australia.

For such a crucial part of life, water policy in Australia had long been an afterthought for many governments.

When I became Water Minister in early June 2022, the Basin Plan was on life support.

Full implementation was a pipedream. The first briefing from departmental officials on water matters chronicled the lack of progress.

Many of the state water infrastructure projects – important for reducing the amount of water we would need to recover through water efficiency projects or buybacks – hadn’t started, had stalled, or were progressing too slowly. Some were just fantasies.

Only two gigalitres of the 450 gigalitre target for additional environmental water had been banked.

What struck me was that the previous federal government had largely vacated the national stage on water policy.

The last national meeting on water was in 2013, the Murray-Darling Basin Plan was veering off track, and water infrastructure funding was dominated by hugely expensive and difficult to deliver mega-projects.

The Albanese Labor Government has brought national leadership back to water management.

To manage our water resources properly, we need to look at the whole of the environment, community, economy – and how these pieces all fit together.

It’s why we’re renewing the 20-year-old National Water Initiative.

Faced with a changing climate and increasing demands, a nationally consistent and holistic water policy is more important than ever.

Our third consultation round on a new National Water Agreement highlighted this.

It is long overdue for governments, at all levels, to raise the bar.

And for us all to better integrate Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples’ interests and influence in water management.

The Albanese Government is working with state and territory governments to have a new agreement in place as soon as possible.

Taking action now is critical to securing our water resources for the future.

That’s why we expanded the National Water Grid Fund criteria – so Commonwealth funding could be used directly to provide safe, reliable drinking water to people across remote and regional Australia.

For example, pipes are now being laid to secure water supplies for the 3,000 residents of Mount Morgan in Queensland, who had to endure 2.5 years of water carting.

Alarmingly, over 25,000 people in remote Australia don’t have access to water that meets basic health guidelines.

Over 600,000 don’t have water that meets recognised aesthetic standards.

Forty per cent of all locations where water quality records exceeded health guidelines were remote Indigenous communities.

The National Water Grid Fund provides $150 million for new and upgraded infrastructure in First Nations communities.

We are proud to be investing in more than 20 First Nations water infrastructure projects across five states and territories and more than 85 communities. Construction has started on many of these projects.

The National Water Grid Fund overall is being used to support about $3 billion of investment towards over 260 water infrastructure or science projects.

This includes innovative water recycling projects in places like Western Port and the Western Irrigation Network in Victoria, Bunbury in Western Australia and Bicheno in Tasmania.

And science projects exploring themes such as managed aquifer recharge, emerging desalination applications and options for remote community water supplies.

At the heart of our water system is the Murray-Darling Basin.

Since coming to government, our priority has been to deliver the Murray-Darling Basin Plan in full after a decade of Coalition neglect.

Healthy rivers mean healthy communities.

We’re making sure the Basin can support future generations of sustainable communities − to support our economy through the production of food and fibre, and to support our iconic native fauna and flora.

Last December, we passed the Water Amendment (Restoring Our Rivers) Act 2023.

At its core, it’s a law that extends timeframes to fully implement the Murray–Darling Basin Plan.

It provides more options for water recovery and provides more money to support communities and deliver projects that improve water efficiency. It increases accountability and transparency about who is really doing what – including in our $30 billion water market.

We have committed more than $100 million to four water efficiency projects and over $700 million for projects that keep water in productive use while still achieving environmental outcomes.

And we have opened water purchase programs so that irrigators have the option to sell their water licences to the government to improve the health of the river system.

The law also enshrines a central role for First Nations communities in water management.

In June this year, we launched a world-leading water ownership program for First Nations Peoples in the Murray-Darling Basin as a first step to address decades of dispossession.

Under the Aboriginal Water Entitlements Program, the government has made $100 million available to buy water in the Basin, with First Nations representatives to determine how that money is spent.

The purchase phase is underway, with an interim Aboriginal directorate and advisory group in place to manage the water purchases until an enduring water holding arrangement is developed.

Australians can’t afford to take safe, reliable water supplies for granted.

It is too precious to ignore and too finite to waste.

Our Government is determined to play its part by acting to address our shared water challenges of today and into the future.