Recommendations
Recommendation 1
2.15 The
committee recommends that the signatories to the National Water Initiative
(NWI) adopt a better risk assignment framework within the NWI implementation
plans and speed up the establishment of a publicly-accessible nationally
compatible register of water entitlements.
Recommendation 2
2.29 The
committee recommends the adoption of standardised terminology and a simplified,
nationally consistent approach to water property entitlements.
Recommendation 3
2.60 The
committee recommends that the National Water Commission assume responsibility
for making all the data currently available about water nationally accessible
through integrated databases linked to its website.
Recommendation 4
2.61 The
committee recommends that the National Water Commission develop a
communications programme aimed at facilitating access to new research and new
sources of online information about water resources and adapting to climate
change for specific rural and regional client groups.
Recommendation 5
3.26 The
committee recommends that all state jurisdictions in the Murray- Darling Basin
undertake a review of the current water allocations with a view to reducing
diversion from the river.
Recommendation 6
3.44 The
committee recommends that state governments take whatever steps necessary to
ensure the removal of privately-built levees and interceptor banks from the
flood plains to allow environmental water to flow to the wetlands for which it
is intended.
Recommendation 7
3.72 The
Committee recommends that all state and territory jurisdictions review the
levels of water diversion from the flood plains and only grant licences to
extract overland water after an independent scientific review of current levels
of extraction has been completed.
Recommendation 8
3.78 The
committee recommends that the Australian government consider putting in place
incentives and initiatives to encourage growers and irrigators to move into
alternate crops that allow for a substantial amount of water to be returned to
the rivers and flood plains of the Murray-Darling
Basin.
Recommendation 9
3.85 The
committee recommends that all state and territory government signatories to the
Murray-Darling Basin Agreement undertake a review of groundwater allocations
in the basin with a view to bringing back allocations to a sustainable level.
Recommendation 10
3.91 The
committee recommends that Commonwealth, State and Territory governments should
identify and protect all high conservation value aquatic ecosystems by 2010.
Recommendation 11
3.92 The
committee recommends that water plans be developed in line with the National
Water Initiative to prevent the over-allocation of water in rivers that are in
a natural or largely natural condition.
Recommendation 12
3.98 The
committee recommends that an audit of the freshwater resources and of the land
available for agriculture in Northern Australia be carried out as part of the Northern
Australia Irrigation Futures project.
Recommendation 13
3.99 The
committee recommends the creation of a federal Ministry for the Future that
would bring together the areas of climate change and water resources.
Recommendation 14
4.12 The
committee recommends that, at its next meeting, COAG come to an agreement about
data sharing and the development of protocols relating to climate forecasting,
water measurement and water extraction information, and the need to support and
resource the development of more accurate monitoring and forecasting systems
such as WRON, POAMA and ACCESS.
Recommendation 15
4.17 The
committee recommends that the government allocate to the CSIRO's Water
Resources Observation Network (WRON) project an additional $10 million over
three years from the National Climate Change Adaptation Programme.
Recommendation 16
4.48 The
committee recommends that the federal government should commit to the
construction of one or more advanced water recycling plants to produce water
for a range of both potable and non-potable uses in order to raise public
awareness about the safety of recycled water.
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