Rachel Siewert (WA, Australian Greens) Share this | Hansard source

by leave—I move Greens amendments (16) and (17) on sheet 5361:

(16)  Heading to Part 5, page 120 (line 3), at the end of the heading, add “and Register”.

(17)  Page 121 (after line 30), after clause 103, insert:

103A  Progressively established Basin Water Register

        (1)    The Authority may establish a guaranteed Water Rights Register in a manner that is consistent with the Basin Plan.

        (2)    The Authority may establish a process enabling the voluntary transfer of registrable water rights issued by States to the Register established under subsection (1).

Items (16) and (17) relate to the establishment of a basin water registry. Again, this was put forward during the committee process. I did articulate the reasons for that in my speech on the second reading in that it was recommended that it was a good way to ensure good water management. Mike Young, as I think most people will know, is a very strong advocate for good water management in the basin. He made some pretty compelling arguments for such a register. He said:

What I am envisaging is that there will be a step on from where we are now, and I hope there is. There must be for the sake of Australia. To me that means that we need to have an authority that is enabled to grow, expand and be proactive. That is why I suggest they should be responsible for pursuing the objects of the act and, in stepping forward, starting to build really good entitlement registers that are much more secure and that give everybody confidence, progressively working through the many issues.

We believe that a register will, in fact, build the basis of a much more secure and robust water market. I think people will be aware that Mike Young has been advocating something of this nature for some time. We think it is an eminently sensible idea and that is why we are moving these amendments to put in place such a basin water register.