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Message from Watertrust CEO Karen Hutchinson
21 July 2026
Watertrust Australia is a systems change organisation. Our mission is to achieve better and fairer water outcomes for Australia. We do this by bringing deliberation into the mix in the complex and contentious water space to resolve policy deadlocks.
It means being here for the long haul. Our work takes time and patience, and success is likely to be incremental. It does not mean you can’t have impact along the way. In fact, visible, relevant impact is essential to our work.
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Could addressing fairness make some water sharing challenges more achievable?
27 May 2026
Water sharing plans are a classic area of policy deadlock. Watertrust Australia’s work into fairness, which we are currently refining and testing with water policy practitioners, could provide new processes for decision makers to genuinely engage with stakeholders in this often-vexed area.
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Watertrust Australia’s submission to the Basin Plan Review
27 May 2026
In the contested world of water policy, disagreements are likely. But with transparent, inclusive and well-reasoned deliberation in place, deadlock and impasse does not have to be inevitable. Watertrust Australia’s submission to the Murray Darling Basin Plan Review makes the case to embed processes like these into the Basin Plan.
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What does fair look like from your perspective?
27 May 2026
This month in Adelaide, Peter Cullen Trust fellows and friends took a day to get immersive with the concept of fairness and how to apply it in water policy discussions. The workshop was an opportunity for Watertrust Australia to share its work on fairness to see how it lands with a group of experienced practitioners.
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Community Empowerment
15 April 2026
A few weeks ago, I joined a One Basin CRC panel that focused on empowering local communities, as part of a broader conversation around the review of the Murray-Darling Basin Plan.
What encouraged me about the panel was the clear and genuine appetite for approaches where locals and local knowledge have a stronger place in shaping the outcomes that affect them.
What encouraged me about the panel was the clear and genuine appetite for approaches where locals and local knowledge have a stronger place in shaping the outcomes that affect them.
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Does fairness really matter?
15 April 2026
“Does fairness really matter?” Watertrust Australia’s CEO, Karen Hutchinson asks in the Leith Boullly AM Oration.
The Leith Boully AM Oration held in Brisbane on March 10 honoured the work of the late much loved Leith Boully AM. In addition to Karen’s oration, the theme of fairness was a provocation for the other speakers on the day.
The Leith Boully AM Oration held in Brisbane on March 10 honoured the work of the late much loved Leith Boully AM. In addition to Karen’s oration, the theme of fairness was a provocation for the other speakers on the day.
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AWA Policy Forum
14 April 2026
Bringing together people who work across water together from around the country, the AWA’s National Policy Forum provided an opportunity to interrogate some of the thorny problems of water reform, while providing a springboard for future progress.
For Watertrust Australia Principal Kane Aldridge it was an invaluable opportunity to be in the same room as water policy professionals from across the country.
For Watertrust Australia Principal Kane Aldridge it was an invaluable opportunity to be in the same room as water policy professionals from across the country.