Stakeholder perceptions of water reform in two catchments in Queensland Australia

This paper describes ways towards agreement on contentious water allocation issues by examining the interests and values of water users about water sharing. The research aims to improve the capacity of irrigators to participate in water resource planning and allocation decision processes. It will assist government and other stakeholders to develop consultation processes that address issues of equity, fairness, productivity, private and ’public’ good in a positive and timely fashion. The process commenced with research applied to water reform decision making processes in the Lockyer valley and the lower Balonne catchment in Queensland Australia. The photovoice interview technique has been used to uncover the values and interests of stakeholders as they adjust to the challenges of water reform. Without addressing these underlying values and interests it is unlikely that decisions reached will be accepted or suitable in the long term. We then incorporated this information into a decision making framework which focused on parties achieving mutual understanding of one another’s interests; seeking of common ground; support with non-aligned information; identification of options; and taking a mutual gains and consensus-building approach. This paper mainly reports on findings about the Lockyer where the researcher was able to be more involved with the decision-making process. Besides the obvious desire to obtain greater reliability in irrigation water, landowners there shared a desire to manage their own access to water rather than risk solutions being imposed on them by government. Government agencies and other stakeholders were concerned with the need to balance production with environmental sustainability and how to meet the Government water reform agenda. The paper suggests that water reform decision making processes can be greatly enhanced by integrating conflict management techniques and skills into consultation about water planning