Strategic advice

ATSE welcomes the Australian Government’s commitment to renew the 2004 National Water Initiative with a National Water Agreement (NWA) to modernise Australia’s water management framework.

ATSE welcomes a consultation on a future National Water Agreement. We support the inclusion of themes for water quality, climate change and population growth, transparency in decision-making, and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander engagement.

ATSE supports the Interim Report’s renewal of the commitment to the National Water Reform, building on the foundations to ensure Australia’s water resources’ security amidst climate change and population growth. 

ATSE has urged a suite of actions and investments to protect the future of the Murray-Darling Basin in the face of climate change, which is threatening the river’s health and sustainability.

The National Water Initiative is an important opportunity for ensuring sustainable management of Australia’s water resources.

ATSE welcomes the interim report’s focus on undertaking water buybacks, taking climate change into account, coordinating across the various authorities, and consolidating community engagement.

The impacts of climate change are not evenly distributed. Among geographical, socioeconomic and developmental inequalities, intergenerational inequity is one of the most significant.

The reforms resulting from the 2022 Independent Review of Australian Carbon Credit Units (ACCUs) are a welcome opportunity to reset a flawed system that has been compromised by questionable carbon abatement and claims of greenwashing.

Emerging data collection technologies can help manage water challenges in real time and mitigate the worst effects of drought, flood, and shifting water patterns.