Steve Georganas (Hindmarsh, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

Following the National Water Initiative in 2004, has the National Water Commission set up the required national register of water licences throughout the Murray-Darling Basin to identify all licence holders and to give the public easy and accessible information on who these holders of licences are? Can the volume of water that any one entity owns—be it a person, a business or a local, state or even federal government—be identified by name of person, business or government throughout the basin? If not, will the National Plan for Water Security and the $700 million that is being allocated to the Murray-Darling Basin Commission for in part water trading purposes ensure that such information is readily available in the short term—by July 2008, for example? Is the minister aware of any media reports throughout the country lately of companies with no interests in agriculture buying up licences in a big way? What concerns would you have if that is correct?

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