MANAGING CHANGE: Lessons for water

As Australia begins to implement the National Water Initiative, there are lessons to be learned from past experience in rural adjustment and rural assistance schemes. The experience is rich and the messages powerful. Government intervention in the process of adjustment and change can impede, facilitate or expedite adjustment. To maximise the opportunities arising from water reform, several important lessons can be identified. The role of autonomous adjustment processes in generating individual and community wealth is vital. A portfolio of approaches to securing additional water for the environment through the market place are discussed. Opportunities exist to use existing processes to manage environmental impacts, facilitate water trading and target any adjustment assistance.