An unfortunate attitude of mind is emerging in Australia in which citizens feel that they " own " any source of water supplying their area. This is not new on the world scene and in fact there have been many wars in other countries over water.
It has recently manifested itself in northern New South Wales and southern Queensland. A proposal to pipe water from northern NSW rivers to Queensland towns over the border has been vigorously opposed by the NSW government.
Within NSW there is an ongoing argument over Sydney being supplied by water from the Shoalhaven river. The NSW government contends that such water is only drawn when the river is in flood, but residents of Nowra and surrounding districts know that the state government's first priority is Sydney - and water will be taken whenever necessary - despite solemn promises - whenever the Sydney supply drops to danger levels.
This same " ownership " attitude is the prime cause of a proposal by the Federal government to take control of the Murray/Darling basin facing resistance from some states. Those same states agree that the outflow for town water and irrigation exceeds inflow and that allocations need review and rationing - but when push comes to shove they wrap themselves in state rights and resist any attempt to impose a management plan that may disadvantage some of their citizens for the common good.
Global warming and our rising population ensure that water will be a scarce commodity in the near future and regulations will be needed to allocate a fair share to all. This may not sit well with many people, but allocation of water by way of a national frame work is the only way to ensure that every Australian gets his or her fair share !
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