University of Adelaide WATER RIGHTS SURVEY

Thank you for participating in our water rights survey. There are 29 questions in all and almost all of them require a simple 'single click' response. There are also two optional open-ended questions where we invite you to share your ideas and thoughts more extensively. We hope your enjoy taking this survey.

1.To what extent do you agree with the following statement?

It is good policy and good practice to separate water rights from land rights and allow water rights to be separately traded.

2.To what extent do you agree with the following statement?

Allowing Water rights to be traded independently of land leads to greater agricultural productivity at the regional and national levels.

3.To what extent do you agree with the following statement?

It is ‘socially beneficial’/ ‘overall better for the country’ to allow water rights to be traded independently of land.

4.Do you currently trade in water rights?

Yes

No

Not applicable

5.This question concerns your impression of the impact of water trading on work activity and you personally.

Compared to a situation in which trading in water rights does not exist, the introduction and operation of water rights trading has made the commercial operation of my property:

6.Which region of the Murray Darling Basin do you live in and what is your postcode?

Region

Postcode

8.If your answer to the previous question included a role in (broadly defined) farming or agriculture, which of the following best describes your use of irrigation water?

my activity is completely dependent on irrigation water and could not be viable without it

my activity is somewhat dependent on irrigation water and would probably not be viable with it

my activity uses irrigation water but, with some adaptation, could possibly be viable without it

my activity is sometimes dependent on irrigation water but sometimes not depending on what I do on a seasonal or longer term basis

my activity makes no use of irrigation water.

not applicable

9.Which of the following describes your belief about the relationship between land rights and water rights?

Land and water rights should be permanently linked and not separately tradable

There should be some limited flexibility to trade water rights independently of land rights

There should be some limitation on the extent to which water rights can be traded independently of land rights but otherwise significant flexibility

It should be possible to trade water rights completely independent of initial allocations of water to land

10.Now, considering a questions similar to the one above but from a more quantitative perspective, which of the following best describes your belief about the extent to which water rights should be tradable independently of associated land

100% of the total water rights should be tradable

no more than 75% of the total water rights should be tradable

no more than 50% of the total water rights should be tradable

no more than 25% of the total water rights should be tradable

water rights should not be and never be tradable independently associated land

11.Thinking about your answers to the previous two questions, if you would like to tell us something about why you have made the responses that you have, please do so here.

12.To what extent do you agree with the following statement?

The market for water rights operates efficiently to the benefit of all participants or at least the significant majority of participants.

13.To what extent do you agree with the following statement?

Ecological or environmental flows are an important consideration and should be taken into account when determining water allocations.

14.To what extent do you agree with the following statement?

Economic considerations should be given higher priority than ecological or environmental flows when determining water allocations.

15.To what extent do you agree with the following statement?

The systems and processes for determining ecological or environmental flows work well and produce good outcomes.

16.To what extent do you agree with the following statement?

Aboriginal and Torrens Strait islanders (ATSI) flows (sometime called ‘indigenous flows’) are an important consideration and should be taken into account when determining water allocations on an equal basis with environmental and economic considerations.

17.To what extent do you agree with the following statement?

The systems and processes for determining ATSI flows work well and produce good outcomes.

18.To what extent do you agree with the following statement?

Climate change makes developing more effective and efficient water management in the Murry Darling Basin more important.

19.To what extent do you agree with the following statement?

Climate change makes developing effective and efficient water trading systems more important.

20.To what extent do you agree with the following statement?

The Government should have the right to compulsorily acquire water rights.

21.To what extent do you agree with the following statement?

I ought to be compensated if the government reduces my water entitlement.

22.To what extent do you agree with the following statement?

The only acceptable rationale for government to compulsorily acquire water rights is to use the water to benefit the whole community.

23.To what extent do you agree with the following statement?

The government should have the right to acquire water rights in order to increase general government revenue.

24.To what extent do you agree with the following statement?

It is inappropriate for regulation to specify what I should be permitted to do with my own water.

25.To what extent do you agree with the following statement?

I have a responsibility for cultivating crops that are ecologically sustainable for my region.

26.To what extent do you agree with the following statement?

If my water use impacts people downstream, they should seek redress through their local representative.

27.To what extent do you agree with the following statement?

If my water use impacts people downstream, it’s their problem not mine.

28.To what extent do you believe that you understand the relevant regulation and law in relation to your water rights?

I understand the regulation and law extremely well

I understand the regulation and law sufficiently well to operate effectively within the system

I understand just enough about regulation in the law to get by

I find regulation in the law difficult to understand

I find regulation in the law confusing and very difficult to navigate

29.Do you think current water policy settings cause any current and/or possible future unintended consequences which are insufficiently discussed in public debate on water issues? How does policy lead to negative or positive outcomes that were not part of the objectives in the original policy design? (If you would like to, please express your views, experience and knowledge about such effects)