The Department of Sustainability and Environment worked closely with a Consultative Committee that includes local catchment management authorities, rural and urban water corporations and local government, along with representatives from the Victorian Farmers Federation, Environment Victoria, and the Department of Primary Industries.

The Consultative Committee advised the Department of Sustainability and Environment about developing the final strategy, as approved by the Minister for Water.

Working groups supported the Consultative Committee. These working groups considered the key water management issues facing the region and presented options to the Consultative Committee about the future management of the region’s water resource issues.

The working groups considered:

• the allocation and licensing of water for all users and the environment
• urban water planning and management
  
• the implications of land use change for water availability.

Consultative Committee Members

Organisation	Member	Position
n/a	Darryl Argall	Independent Chair
Central Highlands Water	Neil Brennan	Managing Director
Southern Rural Water	Graham Hawke	Deputy Chief Executive Officer
Grampians Wimmera Mallee Water	Jeff Rigby	Managing Director
Wannon Water	Grant Green	Managing Director
Barwon Water	Michael Malouf	Managing Director
Wimmera Catchment Management Authority	Marc Thompson David Brennan	Chief Executive Officer
Corangamite Catchment Management Authority	Don Forsyth Gareth Smith	Chief Executive Officer
Glenelg Hopkins Catchment Management Authority	Peter Butcher Kevin Wood	Chief Executive Officer
Mallee Catchment Management Authority	Jenny Collins	Chief Executive Officer
North Central Catchment Management Authority	Damian Wells	Chief Executive Officer
Victorian Farmers Federation	Basil Ryan	Landholder
Victorian Farmers Federation	Ian McEwan	Landholder
Great South Coast Municipal Group	Paul Younis Richard Perry	Chief Executive Officer, Corangamite Shire Council
North West Municipalities Association	Jim McKay	Chief Executive Officer, West Wimmera Shire Council
Department of Primary Industries	Terry Lewis	(Regional) Community Relationship Manager
Department of Sustainability and Environment	Ian Hastings	(Regional) Manager, Catchment Management
Environment Victoria	Juliet Lefeuvre	Healthy Rivers Campaigner
Victorian Association of Forest Industries	Philip Dalidakis Lisa Marty	Chief Executive Officer

Observers

Organisation	Member	Position
Western Coastal Board	Steve Blackley	Executive Officer
South East Natural Resource Management Board	Hugo Hopton David Williamson	General Manager
National Water Commission	Murray Radcliffe	Manager, Water Planning and Management
The Department of Water, Land and Biodiversity Conservation	Drew Laslett	Resource Allocation Manager, South East

Consultation with Traditional Owner groups

Consultation occurred with Traditional Owner groups throughout the Western Region. Each group has its own unique way of operating and its own issues and aspirations, but several key points were consistently made about future water management in the region, including:

• the importance of health of Country
  
• ensuring that Traditional Owners are active participants in managing water.
  

Feedback from Traditional Owner groups through this engagement has been incorporated into the development of the Final Strategy. Further information on the issues, concerns and aspirations raised by Western Region Traditional Owners can be found online in Technical reports 2a and 2b.

Indigenous groups consulted in the development of the Draft Strategy

• Gunditj Mirring¹
• Barengi Gadjin Land Council¹  
• Martang²
• Dja Dja Wurrung²
• Framlingham Aboriginal Trust³
• Victorian Indigenous Seafood Committee
• Ballarat and District Aboriginal Co-operative³
• Brambuk Incorporated³ 
• Wadda Wurrung Aboriginal Corporation³
• Worn Gundidj Aboriginal Co-operative
• Windamara Aboriginal Co-operative

^{1 Traditional Owner group and Registered Aboriginal Party (RAP)
2 RAP
3 RAP applicant}

Background Report

Indigenous consultation (PDF~612kB)

Community Consultation

Broader consultation with the Western Region community was based on the release of the Draft Strategy in March 2010. A series of meetings were held during the three months in which the Draft Strategy was open for public comment, including:

• public forums in Colac, Warrnambool, Hamilton and Horsham
• meetings with VFF branches in Larpent, Cobden, Koroit, Heywood, Lake Bolac, Edenhope and Warracknabeal
• meetings with other landholder groups in Port Fairy, Cressy, Horsham and Wallacedale
• briefings with local government (including the Municipal Association of Victoria)
• a plantation industry forum organised by the Victorian Association of Forest Industries
• briefings for boards and customer committees of water corporations and catchment management authorities.

The Consultative Committee received 272 written submissions about the Draft Strategy. These provided a range of perspectives from the irrigation, environment, tourism, cultural and industry sectors.