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 CANBERRA, Australia (AP) - Prime Minister John Howard announced multibillion-dollar water reforms Thursday aimed at easing Australia's record drought, although his critics call it a pre-election ploy to establish his environmental credentials.
Australia, already the world's driest continent, faces its worst drought on record, crippling its agricultural sector and forcing many cities and towns to enact tight water restrictions as reservoirs dry up.
Under Howard's $7.8 billion plan, the federal government will seize regulatory control of Australia's largest waterway, the Murray-Darling river system, from the four states that now administer irrigation rights.
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