Productivity Commission says new Australian water deal must recognise climate change

Federal and state governments are being urged to respond to the effects of the climate crisis and to Indigenous rights to water

States and the federal government should forge a new compact on water policy that explicitly recognises climate change, and which sets triggers" for rapid policy responses, the Productivity Commission has said.

Releasing its draft report on national water reform, the commission has called for a substantial overhaul of the 17-year-old National Water Initiative, a bedrock document that commits the states and federal government to working together on water policy as well as outlining a work program for the future.