On Wednesday the government proposedfundamental changes to the way water is obtained for mining, irrigation and residential developments.

It has opened for public comment the concept of fast-tracking “trading’ Queensland’s water licences, through a strategic review of Queensland’s Water Act.

The state government proposes to convert 10,500 water licences to water allocations by the end of 2017.

Of the 10,500 conversions, about 8000 would be fast-tracked.

The idea of trading water licences was raised and supported in 2002 by the Wentworth Group of Concerned Scientists in their 2002 Blueprint for a National Water Plan.

However Wednesday's proposed changes were announced in a political climate in which questions are being asked about the lobbying activities of New South Wales water consultancies moving into Queensland.

In a report that accompanies the review of Queensland’s Water Act, the government says bringing water licence trading on line more quickly would have a  “net benefit” of $15 million a year.

“The cost benefit analysis shows a net benefit to government, industry and community in the order of $162 million over the next 10 years based on a conservative assumption of one large-scale project, worth approximately $1 billion, going through this process every two years,” the report says.

Presently water licences are tied to areas of land.

The government has said it is slow and expensive to convert the licence linked to an area of land to a future allocation of water that can be used by a water-user for a project in that area of land.

It wants to change this to let water users “manage their water by planning up front with the knowledge of their exact volumetric entitlement”.

“This would allow them to plan their water and deliver security and certainty to water users through a stronger market”, it said.

Last month, Queensland Ombudsman Phil Clarke found that successive Queensland governments had “unfairly traded” water licences for 13 years after court action and a Crime and Misconduct Commission inquiry.

He questioned whether it made sense to fast-track “the trading of water licences”, because it would entrench problems in Queensland’s water allocation system.

On Wednesday, Natural Resources Minister Andrew Cripps said the government’s proposed changes “aligned the water approvals process with the environmental impact assessment process”, which balances sustainability and economic development opportunities.

“The government will continue to ensure the mineral resources sector, petroleum and gas sector and other water users maintain reliable and secure access to water and I will continue to engage with the resources and agriculture sectors on the proposed reforms,” he said.

The Wentworth Group of Concerned Scientists in July 2003 supported the idea of trading in water licences.

“Water trading is a key way for new or expanding enterprises to gain access to water,” the scientists wrote in their 2003 Blueprint for a National Water Plan.

“Selling water can fund investment in water efficiency, or allow entitlement holders with degraded land to realise a return on their assets and change their business,” they said.

In recent months there have been a string of media reports about water consultancies moving into Queensland to act as intermediaries between councils, large development proposals and water suppliers.

Those reports have been based around comments to a New South Wales corruption inquiry.

In May questions were raised about the water supply to a large residential estate in the Ripley Valley near Ipswich. The matter was linked to questions asked in the same New South Wales corruption inquiry.

Mr Cripps introduced the broad changes to the Water Act, explained here, on Wednesday.

The public can enter submissions on the matter until July 29.