Gold Coast Mayor Ron Clarke has publically voiced his support for capping water price increases to Consumer Price Index (CPI) levels.

Under current State Government legislation, commercial customers who use over 100 kilolitres are exempt from any pricing cap and are can face substantially higher charges.

“[The] Council agreed. Just about every business in the city uses more than 100kl of water. Whatever can be done to help businesses when our local economy is plainly struggling must be done,’’ Cr Clarke said.

The NSW Government has announced that Kevin Young has been appointed as the new Managing Director of Sydney Water replacing Dr Kerry Schott.

The Victorian Government has announced research currently underway into building  “new insights into Victoria's surface water and groundwater resources.”

The Senate Rural Affairs and Transport References Committee has called for submissions to its inquiry into the impact of mining of coal seam gas on the management of the Murray Darling Basin.

Water restrictions during the drought cost households $1 billion a year, and a similar amount could have been saved if construction of the Sydney desalination plant had been delayed, according to the head of the Productivity Commission's inquiry into water, Wendy Craik.

Mark Babister of the National Committee on Water Engineering (part of Engineers Australia), has called for a national approach to flood mapping in the wake of the enormous damage to property caused by this years floods across three Australian states.

The head of Canberra's water authority has declared the draft guide for the Murray-Darling Basin "dead".

TechnologyOne has launched OneWater, the first software solution in Australia designed to help water corporations, companies and councils with the complexities of managing water.

The Federal Government has released the nation's first ever dedicated sustainable population strategy which sets out the framework, backed by new funding for a sustainable Australia.

The Queensland Government has announced a new Energy and Water Ombudsman Queensland (EWOQ) following the retirement of Barry Adams.

The former Executive Director of the Water Services Association of Australia, Ross Young, has been appointed to lead the Australian water business of international environmental and engineering consulting company, GHD.

Tony Abbott’s  private member's bill to wind back the Queensland government's controversial Wild Rivers legislation is set to be defeated in the Senate following a last minute decision by Family First Senator Steve Fielding not to support the bill.

The Chief Executive of the Murray Darling Basin Authority (MDBA), Rob Freeman, has resigned, citing personal reasons for his departure after nearly three years in the position.  It is the third resignation from the six-person board of the Authority in recent months.  

Sydney’s Desalination Plant has been named “Desalination Plant of the Year” at the 2011 Global Water Awards in Berlin.

The Federal Budget has announced a number of water initiatives while simultaneously axing $100 million over three years to contribute the $22 billion in Federal cuts.

South Australian water prices are due to increase by 26.3% this financial year, increasing the average household water bill to $200.

The Queensland Government is set to introduce legislation before the State Parliament to cap water and wastewater distribution prices for Southeast Queensland householders for the next two years starting from 1 July 2011.

A draft marine bioregional plan and a Commonwealth marine reserve network proposal for the South-west Marine Region have been released for public consultation. 

Irrigators in the Atherton sub-artesian area will have access to 100 per cent of their groundwater entitlements for the 2011-2012 water year.

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