Australians have been sold a myth about the successful management of Australia’s water by successive governments that isn’t borne out by the reality, which is marked by dispossession, overextraction, degradation and mismanagement of this precious resource.

“It’s time”, Professor Quentin Grafton argues, “for a real change in how Australia manages and cares for its waters.”

Grafton is Director of the Centre for Water Economics, Environment and Policy (CWEEP) at Crawford School of Public Policy, and Chairholder of the UNESCO Chair in Water Economics and Transboundary Water Governance.

‘Retelling Australia’s Water Story’ was the topic of Professor Quentin Grafton’s address to the National Press Club of Australia Thursday, 10 October 2024.

Grafton expands on this topic in his new book, also titled Retelling Australia’s Water Story, published this month as part of Monash University Publishing’s ‘In the National Interest’ Series. The full text of Professor Grafton’s address is given in the link below:

https://hdl.handle.net/1885/733721561

Listen to the audio of the address.