Access to an appropriate and reliable water supply is critical to the success of any primary production venture. Water rights are a hot topic in many parts of Australia, and Tasmania is investing heavily in ensuring that its abundant water is made available where it is most needed. This paper starts with a short “Water Rights 101” component, and then covers:
- the Tasmanian experience in developing new generation irrigation schemes
- why other Australian irrigation schemes will likely follow the Tasmanian lead with new generation schemes
- the legal and practical implications of the new generation irrigation schemes: issuing of water entitlements, trading water entitlements, temporary and permanent entitlements, public searchable registers, mortgaging water entitlements
- commentary on the tax implications of the new generation schemes.