The National Water Initiative is Australia's blueprint for national water reform.
The objective is to achieve a nationally compatible market that optimises economic, social and environmental outcomes.
This includes regulatory and planning based systems for managing surface and groundwater resources for rural and urban use.
The Intergovernmental Agreement on a National Water Initiative includes objectives, outcomes and agreed actions to be undertaken by governments across eight inter-related elements of water management including:
- water markets and trading
- water access entitlements and planning framework
- best practice water pricing
- integrated management of water for environmental and other public benefit outcomes
- water resource accounting
- urban water reform
- community partnerships and adjustment
- knowledge and capacity building.
Many of the concepts and components of water reform align with the requirements of the National Water Initiative.
The National Water Initiative builds on the previous Council of Australian Governments' framework for water reform, and the corresponding agenda that began in 1994.
By supporting the National Water Initiative through water reform, Western Australia is placed in a stronger position to gain national funding to support water projects, and can benefit from national recognition of the state's water issues.