The push to conserve water comes as Australia tries to recover from its worst drought on record. The drought has cut farm output and slashed supplies in the Murray Darling Basin, the nation’s biggest river system.
“Climate change is a major threat – for much of Australia it means more droughts and less rain,” Wong said. “We can, and we must, make better use of our available water resources.”
The Labor government’s plan follows a A$10 billion proposal by former Prime Minister John Howard’s coalition government to improve the nation’s water efficiency.
Water shortages are a “serious threat” to the nation’s economy and way of life, Wong said.
Australia’s rainfall is the lowest of all the world’s continents, excluding Antarctica, according to the Web site of Melbourne Water, a water management authority owned by the Victorian government.
“In our towns and cities we must secure water supplies for current and future needs, including from a range of new sources that rely less on rainfall given the clear threat climate change poses to traditional water sources,” the minister said.
The plan also includes A$1 billion committed during last year’s election for an urban water and desalination program, she said. Water allocations bought to return to rivers in the Murray Darling Basin will be owned by a new government body called the Commonwealth Environmental Water Holder, Wong said.