CURRENT ISSUES IN AUSTRALIAN WATER LAW: FEDERAL CONTROL versus STATES' RIGHTS - POWER STRUGGLES IN THE PURSUIT OF NATIONAL WATER SECURITY

摘要

Australia's water resources are insecure. A century of over-use and unfettered consumption, a population that has increased from 7 million in 1945 to 22 million in 2007, and a 10-year drought heralded as 'the most severe since records began', have jeopardised the availability of water resources in Australia. Conflicting demands on Australia's depleting water stocks by agricultural and industrial users, environmental flows, drinking water supplies and sanitation, together with increased pollution and threats to water quality from these and other sources leading to increased salinity and nutrient levels have resulted in legislation designed to conserve and create an equitable distribution of what remains.