The comment by National Water Commission CEO Ken Matthews earlier this week, that there are no national guidelines for dealing with over-allocation, raises questions about the raison-d'etre of the Commission.

He went on to say that, under current conditions, many significant water-dependent ecosystems are under threat.

According to their own core documents, "the National Water Commission is responsible for driving progress towards the sustainable management and use of Australia's water resources under our blueprint for water reform - the National Water Initiative".

The Commission also states that "the National Water Initiative aims to improve environmental management practices to ensure adequate water for the environment and for other public benefit outcomes. Defining management goals, establishing environmental water managers and monitoring environmental outcomes are central to meeting this aim".

Fair Water Use has contacted Mr Matthews, asking him to define how the Commission intends to drive towards this vital aim of the National Water Initiative: a scheme which, by his own admission, is devoid of a national strategy to address over-allocation, at the root of the current Murray-Darling crisis.