A community benchmarking survey from the Natural Resources Access Regulator (NRAR) has revealed that attitudes toward water enforcement in NSW have improved since NRAR’s inception in April 2018.
Chief Regulatory Officer at NRAR, Grant Barnes said the survey heard from 1,000 members of the general public, 1,000 water licence holders and 40 stakeholder groups, including Indigenous, environmental, industry and Government groups within the water community.
“According to the survey results, 60 per cent of water licence holders and 49 per cent of the general public believed that the compliance and enforcement of water laws had been historically mismanaged in NSW,” Mr Barnes said.
“Now however, 67 per cent of the general public, 56 per cent of water licence holders and 53 per cent of stakeholder groups reported feeling confident in the enforcement of water laws,” he said.
Mr Barnes said 67 per cent of water licence holders reported feeling fairly confident in their knowledge of water laws however, less than half of the general public (49 per cent) understood the consequences of breaching the laws.
He said that while NRAR was pleased with the results, it recognised that more could be done to increase public confidence and help water users to understand the rules.
“Communities across NSW expect a fair, transparent and enforceable compliance regime to prevent unlawful water take and that is what we are delivering,” he said.
“We still have a way to go, but we are on the right track,” Mr Barnes said
The 11-page report from NRAR’s community benchmarking survey can be accessed at this PS News link.
