❓ The question asks about the specific amount allocated in the 2004-05 budget for environmental flows, while the answer avoids providing a concrete figure, instead focusing on the ongoing nature of the work and the potential negative impacts of the National Water Initiative on water pricing.
AnsweredQoN 430Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
As a supplementary question, given that other States have attracted commonwealth money to put towards environmental flows, how much money has been allocated in the 2004-05 budget for this measure? Dr J.M. EDWARDS
AnswerView source ↗
There is a lot of money in our budget for environmental flows. Work goes on the entire time. Indeed, one complaint that I receive is that people cannot take enough water because we are keeping too much aside for environmental water flows. Paragraph 67 of the draft National Water Initiative, which has been circulated - it has been made public - relates to cost recovery for planning and management. It states that the States and Territories agree to bring into effect consistent approaches to pricing and attributing costs of water planning and management by 2006. There is a fundamental lesson to be learnt here. If we agree with all the other States of Australia, guess what will happen? The bar will not be lowered. I cannot see water prices going down in the Australian Capital Territory, New South Wales or Victoria. If we had signed up to this initiative, we would have signed up to a new charge that is unacceptable to us in the way that has been put forward.
Dr J.M. EDWARDS replied: There is a lot of money in our budget for environmental flows. Work goes on the entire time. Indeed, one complaint that I receive is that people cannot take enough water because we are keeping too much aside for environmental water flows. Paragraph 67 of the draft National Water Initiative, which has been circulated - it has been made public - relates to cost recovery for planning and management. It states that the States and Territories agree to bring into effect consistent approaches to pricing and attributing costs of water planning and management by 2006. There is a fundamental lesson to be learnt here. If we agree with all the other States of Australia, guess what will happen? The bar will not be lowered. I cannot see water prices going down in the Australian Capital Territory, New South Wales or Victoria. If we had signed up to this initiative, we would have signed up to a new charge that is unacceptable to us in the way that has been put forward.
There is a lot of money in our budget for environmental flows. Work goes on the entire time. Indeed, one complaint that I receive is that people cannot take enough water because we are keeping too much aside for environmental water flows. Paragraph 67 of the draft National Water Initiative, which has been circulated - it has been made public - relates to cost recovery for planning and management. It states that the States and Territories agree to bring into effect consistent approaches to pricing and attributing costs of water planning and management by 2006. There is a fundamental lesson to be learnt here. If we agree with all the other States of Australia, guess what will happen? The bar will not be lowered. I cannot see water prices going down in the Australian Capital Territory, New South Wales or Victoria. If we had signed up to this initiative, we would have signed up to a new charge that is unacceptable to us in the way that has been put forward.
Dr J.M. EDWARDS replied: There is a lot of money in our budget for environmental flows. Work goes on the entire time. Indeed, one complaint that I receive is that people cannot take enough water because we are keeping too much aside for environmental water flows. Paragraph 67 of the draft National Water Initiative, which has been circulated - it has been made public - relates to cost recovery for planning and management. It states that the States and Territories agree to bring into effect consistent approaches to pricing and attributing costs of water planning and management by 2006. There is a fundamental lesson to be learnt here. If we agree with all the other States of Australia, guess what will happen? The bar will not be lowered. I cannot see water prices going down in the Australian Capital Territory, New South Wales or Victoria. If we had signed up to this initiative, we would have signed up to a new charge that is unacceptable to us in the way that has been put forward.
There is a lot of money in our budget for environmental flows. Work goes on the entire time. Indeed, one complaint that I receive is that people cannot take enough water because we are keeping too much aside for environmental water flows. Paragraph 67 of the draft National Water Initiative, which has been circulated - it has been made public - relates to cost recovery for planning and management. It states that the States and Territories agree to bring into effect consistent approaches to pricing and attributing costs of water planning and management by 2006. There is a fundamental lesson to be learnt here. If we agree with all the other States of Australia, guess what will happen? The bar will not be lowered. I cannot see water prices going down in the Australian Capital Territory, New South Wales or Victoria. If we had signed up to this initiative, we would have signed up to a new charge that is unacceptable to us in the way that has been put forward.
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