There are a number of reasons for governments to privatise water(Liquid gold)

Firstly it is about making some people very wealthy.

Secondly these wealthy people make political donations.

Thirdly it distances the political decision makers from taking responsibilty for their decisions.

Had the current attitude of our current politicans, existed when the snowy mountain scheme was being planned, it would never had been built.

Kellie, democracy is an illusion, a facade that politicans wants us to beleive whilst they jump into bed with whoever has the most money.

Under the Australian Constitution, the states and territories have responsibility for land and water management. According to the Federal government this includes roof water, which it claims is water that falls on land: Federal government rainwater policy is based on the assertion that a building is land.

When rain falls on land it becomes surface water, which is water flowing over land. Surface water, by definition, is non-taken water and is not owned by anyone, including government. Rights to take surface water are vested in government. A person who legally takes surface water owns that particular water.

The Federal government's assertion that a building is land means that a person's roof is not a device used for the taking of rain. It also means that rights at common law in relation to the taking of rain are abolished.

But if it is true that a person's roof is a device used for the taking of rain, this means that rights at common law to do so are not abolished, because rain occurs on a person's roof by act of nature.

Is it reasonable that Federal government rainwater policy should be based on the premise that a person's roof is not a device used for the taking of rain?

It is of particular significance that the Federal government should claim that state and territory governments could set entitlement regimes in order to regulate the use of rainwater, for example, when it is stored in a rainwater tank. Entitlement regimes imposed on the use of rainwater from tanks have the same effect as a tax in increasing the cost of the water per litre used. An obvious commercial advantage is to make rainwater less competitive with other forms of drinking water.
Greg Cameron

Quite amazing in this 'democracy' isn't it. The politicians can't sell much more so they will sell the water, no doubt without consultation with any of us lesser beings. Why do we not have better water management schemes? Because politicians cannot concentrate on anything but their own egos and how to stay in power and use our hard earned dollars to continue to feather their own nests. They cannot seem to think of our future needs in any type of long term capacity. I sometimes wonder what they actually do, apart from planning trips to far flung places to strut the world stage and opening piddling "World Something or Other Days". Of course water recycling should have been one of the main infrastructure projects commenced years ago but instead we have a state government that has done f...all for over 12 years and a federal government who will promise the world but deliver on nothing but more taxes. Where does it all end? Our electricity bill has again increased as have our water and sewerage rates and we have used less of both because we carefully tried to conserve our power and water useage. The water rates rise was approved at $40.00 but everyone has had an increase of $80 or more. For what? Well, we are getting a dam in the Hunter that we, who live here, are obviously paying for, even though presently the other dams are full to the brim. This new dam will probably service Sydney and the Central Coast. Too little too late. How much more can the ordinary Australian family bear in rates and taxes and charges. Are we the luncky country? Not with the completely arrogant, minority pleasing inept politicians we have presently and I mean both state and federal. They are totally out of touch with us. They live in a different world.

RaeBee, there is still hot air to be sold, lets tax CO2, then when that is bleed dry, lets tax methane.

My brother-in-law a plumber reckons the data base on water tanks, will wind up as a tax on water capture.

Yes, my brother is a plumber too. Guess what? he hasn't got a water tank and he lives in SA....I guess it could be laziness, you know, plumbers, electricians and builders do the work for a living so they do nothing when they come home. But he is a bit of a cynical bastard anyway. As for taxing the air we breath, well we were just a hair's breath off getting one. That's what a carbon tax will do, make us pay for the air we breath and the carbon we breath out or expel from the other orifice.

In the scheme of things human beings are just little better than ants on this planet, climate change happens no matter what we do to change the course of nature, we can't change it. Imagine thinking we, in our insignificance and arrogance, can change nature.

Taxing people will not make our lives any better nor the lives of the millions to come, the fact is there are too many people now and yet governments won't agree to euthanasia and want to save millions in third world countries. They simply can't do that because it is not possible in the world to come.

Look at Carl Sagan's Pale Blue Dot on U-Tube, it will give you an idea of how insignificant we all are in the scheme of things, in particular politicians. Governments are robbing us of our rights, our freedom, our water and probably our air if they can find a way and we will not save the world, if indeed it needs saving, by agreeing to these laws and sell offs. The world will turn regardless.

People can call me a denialist (new word invented by K.Rudd) cynic, climate change sceptic, right wing nutter, whatever. I don't care, we have to stand up for ourselves and stop politicans taking our money and our rights. It's about time we all stop being so bloody apathetic. I was once a total labour devotee, not now. No bloody longer.