Access to water is a national problem. The sustainable management of Australia's scarce water resources is one of our nation's most significant challenges. To provide greater leadership I have decided to establish an Australian Government Office of Water Resources in my department.
The Australian Government Office of Water Resources will provide and coordinate policy advice across Commonwealth agencies. It will be headed by Dr James Horne and will report to myself and my Parliamentary Secretary, the Hon Malcolm Turnbull MP.
It is vital to maintain a sense of urgency about water reform. There is a lack of innovative thinking about Australia's large-scale water challenges and how they might be addressed. There is a danger that bureaucratic demarcations within governments and across jurisdictions and slow action might hinder the reform process.
Significant progress has been made in relation to water. The Australian Government has established the $2 billion Australian Government Water Fund to deliver practical water projects to improve water efficiency and environmental outcomes. It is fully committed to the implementation of the COAG National Water Initiative and the Murray-Darling Basin Intergovernmental Agreement including the Living Murray initiative and has taken the lead in helping restore the Murray-Darling river system to better health, including an additional $500 million cash injection.
The Australian Government Office of Water Resources will oversee the implementation of these important initiatives. It will receive additional resources to provide proactive and energetic leadership. It will have the expertise to press forward with the development of water trading and sustainable allocation of water entitlements, as well as to evaluate proposals for major transformative water infrastructure proposals, including storage, distribution and recycling.
The Australian Government Office of Water Resources will complement the activities of the National Water Commission which was established to facilitate implementation of the National Water Initiative.
Recruitment for the new staff for the Office will begin immediately. We will seek water policy experts who are passionate about achieving improvements in water management in Australia. We want creative, highly motivated individuals who have practical experience in developing and implementing water policy from either the public or private sectors.