The paradox of national water savings: A critique of “Water for the Future”

Abstract

The Commonwealth's assumption of greater control over water policy has been justified on the grounds that a 'national approach' to the problems in the Murray-Darling Basin is required to resolve the ills of the Basin. This paper investigates the validity of this contention in the context of the Federal government's 'Water for the Future' manifesto. The paper argues that the current naive understanding of 'water use efficiency' concepts is likely to stymie any purported basin-wide gains from a 'national approach' to water policy.