As Drought Worsens, Abbott Gov Plans To Eliminate National Water Commission - Budget Savings!
The Abbott government has been accused of "complacency gone mad" over plans to abolish the National Water Commission amid the threat of El Nino-like drought conditions and unresolved issues between the states. The Senate is expected to vote next week on the abolition of the independent commission, set up by the Howard government in 2004 to advise state and federal governments on national water issues.
South Australia's Liberal Senator Simon Birmingham said the purpose of the commission had been fulfilled and its roles would be taken over the Productivity Commission, saving the budget $20.9 million over four years. Much of the savings will be absorbed by an aid agency to help other nations improve their water management. "Nowadays it's nothing more than a government-funded commentary organisation," Senator Birmingham told Fairfax Media. The Productivity Commission will provide "more robust, more independent, more fearless criticism than the NWC has shown the likelihood to do to date".
But critics of the abolition plan point to submissions to a Senate inquiry that were overwhelming in support of retaining the AWC. "It's complacency gone mad," said Adam Lovell, executive director of the Water Services Association of Australia, which supports the commission. "We'll have no focus at a national level on water."
Stuart Khan, an Associate Professor at the School of Civil Environmental Engineering at the University of NSW, said the government had "severely stripped" funding from the commission, undermining its role. "Simon Birmingham's assertion that 'the purpose of the NWC has been fulfilled' is akin to saying 'water management in Australia is fixed and there's nothing more to do'," Dr Khan said. "This is a patently ridiculous assertion ... and the looming east coast drought will make that clear for all."
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http://www.smh.com.au/environment/abbott-government-plans-to-scrap-the-national-water-
commission-as-drought-looms-20141126-11u0cy.html