Urban water rights exist...for some

Northern Territory – Attachment 16

Commonwealth Government Policy

Commonwealth government policy is that all water in Australia, including rainwater, is vested in state and territory governments; the commonwealth considers that state and territory governments have the right to licence, regulate and tax the use of rainwater (Attachments 17-21).

Government policy is based on the assumption that water from a roof falls on land (Attachment 19). This assumption is incorrect: water collected from roofs for rainwater tanks does not fall on land.

South Australian Government Policy

The state government says it has the right to tax the use of water collected from roofs for rainwater tanks, and already imposes a tax on certain non-residential use (Attachment 22).

Before water can be taxed it must be ''taken''.

Water is ''taken'' when it is legally captured from its natural source and taken under a person's control.

Government policy is that ''taken'' water is owned by the person who takes it (Attachment 23).

The policy is contained in the government publication, ''Who Owns Water?'', which says, ''Once water has been legally captured from its natural source and taken under a person's control, that person could then be said to own that particular water'' (Attachment 24).