Here on the driest inhabited continent, we use more water per person than anywhere on earth. But instead of treating every drop as precious, we let most of the rain which falls on our cities drain away as stormwater. This is one claim to fame the Greens want to turn around quickly.

There are better ways to secure Melbourne’s water supply than taking water from regional Victoria or spending billions on an oversized, energy-hungry desalination plant.

Our vision: The Greens would make better use of high quality recycled water which currently discharges to Bass Strait. We would insulate householders from rising prices by improving standards for new buildings and implementing a practical plan for upgrading our existing buildings.

We will require all new buildings to meet strict water efficiency standards; stormwater harvesting and storage projects will be so widespread and effective that we won’t need the desalination plant to generate water for us.

We’ll stop logging our water catchments, and provide practical support to irrigation communities to help them adapt to a drier future. We’ll ensure our rivers have guaranteed minimum flows to keep them – and the regional economies that depend on them – healthy.