Malcolm Turnbull (Wentworth, Liberal Party, Minister for the Environment and Water Resources) Share this | Hansard source

In terms of the time frame with the register, the honourable member mentioned July next year. That would be a worthy goal, but again this is a collaborative effort with the states. We are yet to reach a finalised agreement with the states, particularly Victoria, so I hesitate to put a precise time frame on that, but you can understand that we are committed to doing this as quickly as possible.

In terms of large retailers, I have not heard those reports myself. Under the National Water Initiative, the right to water is separated from land—although there remain some statutory restrictions in Victoria in that regard but not in the other states—but it is open for a non-landowner to buy water. There has not been a lot of evidence that I have seen to suggest this is happening on a large scale or in any significant way. Owning water—because of its nature, its bulk, its unpredictable reliability—without a connection or a direct involvement with agriculture poses very considerable risks unless of course you have another use for it like in industry or an urban water utility like SA Water, which plainly has another use for it. To buy water in a purely speculative sense is possible but, given the unpredictability of water availability, it is a very high-risk exercise.

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