Caretaker period
As of the 19 July 2010 the Australian Government has assumed a caretaker role, with an election to be held on 21 August 2010. Information on the Commission website will be published in accordance with the Guidance on Caretaker Conventions circulated by the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet.
2010 Peter Cullen Eureka Prize
The National Water Commission today congratulated the winners of the Peter Cullen Eureka Prize for Water Research and Innovation on their outstanding contribution to water science.
CEO and Chair of the Commission, Ken Matthews, said 'Associate Professor Leslie and Visiting Professor Sutton and their Reverse Osmosis Subsurface Drip Irrigation System offers the prospect of a lifeline for Australia's irrigation farmers and their crops.
The National Water Commission sponsors this award in honour of Professor Peter Cullen's legacy as one of the National Water Commission's founding Commissioners.
Photo: Greg Leslie and Bruce Sutton, courtesy of Australian Museum Eureka Prizes and 247 Studios.
Surface and/or groundwater interception activities
The National Water Commission has released Australia's first ever nation-wide baseline assessment of water interception activities, calling for all Australian governments to take action on this critical issue. The Surface and/or groundwater interception activities: initial estimates report shows that the total volume of water unaccounted for as a result of land use activities outside our current water entitlement regimes and planning frameworks equates to almost one quarter of all the entitled water on issue in Australia.
The Commission has also released an updated Position Statement on interception.
Media release, report and position statement
Impacts of water trading in the southern Murray-Darling Basin
National Water Commissioner, Mr Laurie Arthur, has released the Commission's report on the Impacts of water trading in the southern Murray-Darling Basin, saying that it demonstrates that water trading is providing significant economic, social and environmental benefits across the southern Basin.
The report, released at the Australian Irrigation Conference in Sydney, presents a comprehensive assessment of the impacts of water trading from 1998-99 to 2008-09.
Media release and report
Executive summary and snapshot (57KB)