Role of the Private Sector in the Supply of Water and Wastewater Services

The Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering (ATSE) is pleased to note the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet’s Discussion Paper, ‘The Role of the Private Sector in the Supply of Water and Wastewater Services. ATSE considers Water Policy and Management to be one of the major issues vital to the economic and environmental sustainability of Australia. Droughts and floods are a feature of Australian life. Since diversion of the Tank Stream to supply water to the convict settlement at Sydney Cove, Australians have had to adapt to managing a highly variable water resource.

ATSE has played an important role in focusing national attention on the policy and management issues associated with Australian water resources since its establishment in 1976. Its second National Invitation Symposium in 1978 dealt with the ‘Land and Water Resources of Australia’. In 1989, it focused on ‘The Murray-Darling Basin: a Resource to be Managed’. In 1999, jointly with the then Institution of Engineers Australia, it prepared a report on ‘Water and the Australian Economy’. Its 2003 Annual Symposium dealt with a wide range of water issues under the heading ‘Water: The Australian Dilemma’. And, more recently, ATSE completed a major study on ‘Water Recycling in Australia’. These publications and the views of a wide range of Fellows with experience in water matters provide the basis for this submission.