This inquiry was self-referred on 17 February 2025.
Inquiry into the impacts of the Water Amendment (Restoring Our Rivers) Act 2023 on NSW regional communities
a) the social, economic and environmental impact of repealing limits to the cap on Commonwealth water purchases
b) the risks to the effective implementation of the Federal Water Amendment (Restoring Our Rivers) Act 2023 including unlicensed take of water and options to address these risks such as rules for floodplain harvesting
c) the impact of Planned Environmental Water rules on the reliability of water allocations in NSW and the Commonwealth's environmental water holdings
d) the impact of rules-based changes on the reliability of water allocations in NSW, including their impact on different water license categories
e) the effectiveness and impacts of past water reforms, including community-based water reduction adjustment programs such as the Strengthening Basin Communities program and Murray-Darling Basin Economic Development Program
f) options to improve future community-based reduction adjustment programs including next rounds of the Sustainable Communities Program
g) any other related matter.
