The government legislation, not opposed by the Liberal and National parties, despite some reservations, will enable the government to disclose the activities of the bigger traders.
Under regulations, the government will be able to publish the names of companies who own two per cent or more of water in a system on the Victorian Water Register.
As the level is set by regulation, the government can change the figure, without recourse to parliament.
The new legislation will also try to protect Barmah Choke from being subject to more pressure from downstream demands by water users.
The legislation will allow for the introduction of a cap-and-trade system for any new water extraction share for river diverters within declared areas like the lower Murray. The government said this would protect the entitlements of existing users. In the case of a shortfall, it will allow for limits on daily water take to ensure entitlement holders get a fair share of available water.
Shadow Water Minister Steph Ryan told parliament she supported making information on the water register more accessible, but noted that a lot of irrigators consulted about the proposed changes wanted to keep their information private.
State Member for Shepparton Suzanna Sheed said in parliament the consultations revealed that the community wanted more transparency.
“The holdings of corporations have been known for some time, so this additional capacity to report individuals’ ownership in the extent of trading is welcome,” Ms Sheed said.
“The Commonwealth of Australia is of course the largest owner, with 690.5 gigalitres of water ownership across the Goulburn Murray systems.
“The Victorian register has now moved to make this information available; it is really welcome.
“Yet when we look to see who the second-largest owner of shares is, we see that it is Fresh Country Farms of Australia, a Sydney-based investment company owned by Canada’s PSP Investments.
“This company is one of the largest pension managers in Canada, reportedly having $168 billion in assets, comprising the pensions of firefighters, public servants, Canadian armed forces, federal police, public sector workers.”
A survey conducted as part of consultations last year showed that the majority of people, although not all, wanted to keep their personal information private.
