Environmental Defenders Office (EDO) welcomes the opportunity to comment on the Joint Select Committee on Northern Australia’s Inquiry into Energy, Food, and Water Security.

We recognise energy, food and water security are inherently linked issues and support an inquiry that is examining the impact of these issues collectively in Northern Australia. However, as a specialist environmental community legal centre, we have focused our submission on our area of expertise relevant to the inquiry – water security.

Securing water for current and future generations and uses is an issue front and centre in Australia, due to our dry environment and history of drought. In a changing climate, we are faced with how to manage current and future threats to the security of our precious water resources; threats that are further exacerbated in Northern Australia due to climatic extremes.

Water is protected and managed at a State / Territory and Commonwealth level resulting in a fragmented regulatory framework that lacks robust protections for communities and the environment while prioritising industry.’

The current Federal Government-led negotiation of a modernised National Water Agreement, presents an opportunity to address the inconsistent management of water resources across North Australia through the development of an enforceable agreement, and jurisdiction-wide implementation through mandatory monitoring and compliance.