How to have your say during community consultation
As part of the development process for the water reforms being introduced, the NSW Government released consultation papers for community input in three key areas including Better management of environmental water.
In March and April 2018, we held 20 consultation events in regional areas and received over 250 submissions.
We asked for feedback on improving water meter coverage and standards, increasing transparency in water regulation and management, and better managing environmental water PDF, 227.66 KB. We also sought feedback on implementing the floodplain harvesting policy.
Some of the key messages we heard during the consultation included support for:
- metering licensed water take
- NRAR and increased penalties for non-compliance
- protection of water for the environment, especially in the Northern Basin
- a comprehensive public register that holds water data in one place
- ongoing consultation on possible changes that may impact water users.
A summary of the feedback from these consultations was published in the ‘What we heard PDF, 116.47 KB’ report. This feedback helped shape the June 2018 amendments to the Water Management Act 2000.
The community will have more opportunities to comment and provide input into the proposed water reforms in 2019.