Good article.I think Premier Rann is getting closer to the money.In addition to the points made above account needs to be taken of the fact that whoever controls the source of water controls the land around it.The Commonwealth is about to acquire a large, valuable and productive chunk of the Eastern States.Control of water is power.The Prime Minister is arguing that the situation relating to water is urgent and requires drastic and immediate solutions.Sound familiar? Yes, Howard is deploying his blue print on the war against terror and 'illegal immigrants'.Hector, rush and bully.Allow no time for thought,dicussion and analysis and most of all don't allow science and reason to deflect a political agenda.Howard has learn't to play on emotion and fear and thats what he is trying to do with the MDB.
Bruce Haigh

To briefly continue Kerry.An independent authority with state powers vested in it with mechanisims spelt out for financial contribution is more likely to protect the states,users and flows than a weak or acquisive federal government.Howard has not been able to counter the Rann proposal of an independent authority with the power and structure of The Reserve Bank.It would be quite open to a federal government, on the argument of national interest,to withhold funds from the states for MDB projects without taking into account their views or stakeholder intersts.If Turbull allows trading in licences and a futures market to develop, powerful agribusiness,banking and investment interests could compete with government and smaller consumers over water flows.It could also determine the future of irrigated agriculture into much bigger but not necessarily environmentally or socially sound projects.
We need checks and balances against the unfetted power of any government but particularly this governnment which has acted for sectional interests rather than the national interest.
Bruce Haigh

Bruce nothing to add just wanting to agree with your sentiments

As a south Aussie I can't help noticing that mention of SA by the Fed government is a after thought. In many times we are not even mentioned. Go Mike.

Bruce,
"If Turbull allows trading in licences and a futures market to develop..."

What do you mean "if"? Water trading already exists and in some areas the beginnings of a futures system. It's been going on for years, and yes big aggregations have resulted. These days there is a requirement for economies of scale, and some will do a better job than others with water. Size is irrelevant to efficiency.
I do share your concerns in terms of speculators distorting markets, a side effect of the free market. Someone in the chain does have to make a dollar out of the water somewhere, so there are boundries to price.

10Billion to spend on murray-darling...it really looks like another 'government secret venture' of use our money to effect an end, the middle part of to who and how and why of the money, to effect is left out...

If I had a choice, I would say no thanks and instead seek some practically effective solutions been suggested like...
- government subsidy to make up for difference in cost to roof of every home with solar panels from now on (dramatical lowering of external energy usage and carbon pollution)
- every town to city in Australia has a magnificent rain water collection system...yes the storm water collection and which now just wasted down the drain, put the money into recycling that (decreases dependency on natural land water, and with time a pipe interconnection that keeps the water collection even across the country, so more natural water left to sustain nature)
- desert farming techniques, just ask israel whom have been researching on this technique for years [so only the minimal and needed water is delivered to the crops with little runoff so dramatically reducing farm water need rather than the current farmers unsustainable mass unbalanced clearance of land and broad scale irrigation for cash crops (then or grass) which leads to foreseeable land degradations, after which cull the animals like its happening now and look for government handout to get out of the 'desertified' land with the money made and without consequence for the expected and seen and progressive land damage...]

These things will eventually get done, I would rather by our generation than a later when things might be much worse for us all...

Sam