This inquiry focused on the role of the Commonwealth Environmental Water Holder (CEWH), including how environmental water is being used, the outcomes achieved and options for improving community engagement.

The main threats to food and water security in South-East Asia in the short- to medium-term, are demographic stresses, labour-force availability, crop and labour productivity and natural disasters. In the long-term, climate change threatens to exacerbate these issues and create a number of new problems.

This report recommends that the Australian government support the recommendation of the Productivity Commission to separate the Murray Darling Basin Authority into two entities: the Murray-Darling Basin Corporation, and the Basin Plan Regulator, with the regulator established as a new statutory independent authority.

This policy brief draws upon the expertise of RMIT’s Water: Effective Technologies and Tools (WETT) Research Centre to inform policy makers and the wider community on critical challenges in planning for Victoria’s future water use.

This report continues to build a picture of looming potential costs as the government seeks to ensure safe drinking water, and better environmental performance of the country’s wastewater infrastructure.