Encouraging Private Sector Investment In Sustainable Water Resource Management

Article by Alan Rosengarten and Jo Draper

Australia has experienced some of its driest weather conditions for more than 100 years. As water storage levels continue to fall, public and government attention has started to focus on how best to manage our growing demand for water and the deteriorating quality of our rivers and ground water. Increasingly, Australian governments are recognising the harmful environmental effects of some of our past water and agricultural policies and are seeking to adopt strategies that will promote the efficient and ecologically sustainable management of Australia's water resources.

A report published in 2000—Repairing the country: A national scenario for strategic investment—estimated that the cost of rectifying the damage caused by our management of Australia's natural resources will be around $65 billion over the next 10 years (including around $28 billion of private sector investment). This level of investment is well beyond that currently allocated