The Australian Government today announced amendments to financial regulations to allow for the common sense treatment of the trade of water rights, commonly traded on Australian water markets, so they are able to be regulated in the same manner as agricultural commodities. Parliamentary Secretary for the Environment Senator Simon Birmingham said the amendments to regulations…
DetailsThe Australian Government has announced $10 million for research funding to support improved environmental water use in the Murray-Darling Basin. “This collaborative research project will be coordinated regionally by the Wodonga and Mildura based Murray-Darling Freshwater Research Centre’s, which will be undertaken with other research organisations and government agencies working in the Basin,” Parliamentary Secretary…
DetailsThe Australian Government has signed an agreement with the Australian Capital Territory that will see up to $85 million of Australian Government funds available to help clean up Canberra’s lakes and waterways. Parliamentary Secretary for the Environment, Senator Simon Birmingham, and ACT Minister for the Environment and Sustainable Development, Simon Corbell, announced the completion of…
DetailsThe Australian Government has completed an agreement which brings all jurisdictions together to implement the historic Murray-Darling Basin Plan for water reform. The Premiers of NSW and Queensland have this week signed the Intergovernmental Agreement (IGA) on Implementing Water Reform in the Murray-Darling Basin and an amended National Partnership Agreement (NPA). A commitment to cap…
DetailsOn World Wetlands Day today we celebrate Australia’s significant contribution to the global wetland conservation movement. This year marks the 40th anniversary of Cobourg Peninsula in the Northern Territory, being listed as the world’s first Wetland of International Importance under the Ramsar Convention. Through a number of governments there has been bipartisan recognition that our…
DetailsThe first ever trading of Commonwealth water holdings signals a new era of water management that can deliver better benefits to both the environment and the economy, Parliamentary Secretary for the Environment Simon Birmingham said today. “The Commonwealth Environmental Water Holder (CEWH) will today release the Water Trading Framework and announce the first sale of…
DetailsThe Australian Government will inject $11 million into Queensland’s Murray-Darling Basin communities to improve the efficiency of irrigation in the catchment. Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for the Environment Senator Simon Birmingham and Queensland Minister for Natural Resources and Mines Andrew Cripps said the funding would provide much needed upgrades to the resources and agriculture…
DetailsThe Government is delighted to announce that the Australian Government has appointed Ms Sally Barnes as Director of National Parks. Ms Barnes brings with her nearly 20 years experience in the environment field. She is currently the Chief Executive of the NSW Office of Environment and Heritage with responsibilities for national parks and reserves, including…
DetailsOne of Australia’s largest environmental works projects is demonstrating how infrastructure can be used to achieve environmental outcomes in the Murray–Darling Basin. The $32 million package of works at Hattah Lakes, in north-west Victoria, was officially opened today by Senator the Hon Simon Birmingham, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for the Environment, and Victorian Minister…
DetailsThe Commonwealth Government has signed an agreement with Victoria which will see $103 million of federal funding made available for irrigation infrastructure upgrades in the Sunraysia region. Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for the Environment Senator Simon Birmingham and Victorian Minister for Water Peter Walsh signed the funding agreement in Mildura today. “I am pleased…
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