Climate Resilience and Water Security Position Statement
NIC Policy Positions are agreed with Members and prepared in conjunction with our Guiding Policy Principles.
Australia’s unique climate and highly variable water availability requires a uniquely Australian approach to water security that cannot be solved by water policy alone. Policy cannot remove variability; it provides stable, robust and transparent rules to give confidence in how variable water availability and risk will be managed.
Water security for agriculture is critical in any climate. It is fundamental to national and international food security, regional and national economies, and must be protected and valued tomaintain these relationships.
Climate uncertainty is a collective challenge requiring Governments, communities, industry, water users, and the environment to all to share the risk, and cooperatively better plan and prepare for everyone to achieve more from less.
Farmers are leaders in adapting to climate variability to remain sustainable and globally competitive, but options are not infinite. Future resilience depends on optimising all tools, continued investment in water‑use efficiency, research and development, and climate smart, fit‑for‑purpose infrastructure (on farm and shared infrastructure).
Modern, fit for purpose water infrastructure is essential to capture, store, and use water efficiently and will be a critical climate adaption and mitigation tool needed to maintain water security for all.
Australia’s established contemporary water management framework is designed to consider climate risk and variability through:
- a. Entitlement categories that represent a share of the resource and use risk-based allocation systems that reflect prevailing water availability and prioritise critical needs such as town water supplies and environmental flows for our river systems.
- b. Water markets enabling water users to manage risk, optimise water use, and respond flexibly to changing conditions.
Proposed environmental outcomes and any future solutions must recognise water property rights and the existing water management frameworks and be informed by plausible risk.
More information is needed on plausible climate risk scenarios, their likelihood, and how they would translate through existing water management settings and may affect water availability, reliability and environmental outcomes at local, catchment and Basin scales. to ae not infinite. Future resilience depends on optmising all tools,