A response to the National Water initiative from Nepabunna, Yarilena, Scotdesco and Davenport Aboriginal settlements

A response to the National Water initiative from Nepabunna, Yarilena, Scotdesco and Davenport Aboriginal settlements Report

DKCRC Research Report

• Author(s): Pearce, M, Willis, E, McCarthy, C, Ryan, F, Wadham, B
• Published: 2008
• Publisher: Desert Knowledge CRC
• Volume: 36

Link to resource Report broken link

Abstract: 1. The focus of this study was: to conduct an economic appraisal of the water costs to householders to identify appropriate strategies aimed at reducing water costs to householders while simultaneously promoting water conservation, greater water use efficiency, and the sustainability of water resources to engage the community in discussions around the levels of water service delivery that they would be willing to pay for. 2. The study was motivated by the National Water Initiative (NWI) directive which requires more efficient use of water with consideration of the economic and environmental sustainability of water supplies. The NWI stipulates consumption based pricing and a to move to ‘full cost recovery for all rural surface and groundwater based systems’, while recognising that, ‘some small community services will never be economically viable but need to be maintained to meet social and public health obligations’. 3. While the NWI recognises that some settlements will never be economically viable, nonetheless it states that in such cases states agree to achieve ‘lower bound pricing’ in line with commitments to the National Competition Policy (NCP). 4. The NWI directive to move to ‘full cost recovery for all rural surface and groundwater based systems’ is motivated by the crisis in water availability in Australia and the realisation of the need to develop and extend existing water conservation and sustainability measures. 5. This project sought to provide a response from four Aboriginal settlements to the NWI directives to move to full cost recovery and to enhance conservation and sustainability measures. The impact on Aboriginal settlements of a move to user pays was examined through analysing the cost of living of in all four settlements with the aim of ascertaining capacity to pay for water or for water efficient infrastructure. 6. Considerable research has already been conducted in Australia that demonstrates that low socio-economic families are increasingly experiencing utility stress. Utility stress is defined as pressure on householders who experience difficulty paying their water, gas, electricity or telephone accounts in any one year.

• Urls: http://www.nintione.com.au/resource/DKCRC-Report-36_National-Water-Initiative-Response.pdf, https://web.archive.org/web/20180327042751/http://www.desertknowledgecrc.com.au/resource/DKCRC-Report-36_National-Water-Initiative-Response.pdf
• Publisher Location: Alice Springs
• Keywords: sustainability