Its interior has one of the lowest rainfalls in the world and about three-quarters of the land is arid or semi-arid. The state of Northern New South Wales is a state now officially in drought where many inhabitants of the surrounding region obtain underground water for human consumption and the growing of food.
Local council inquiries into this matter were seen as lacking in genuine humanitarian concern by embracing procrastinating sentiment. This led to feelings that democratic public expressions of concern over water mining were being overridden by vested interests anticipating a future extremely lucrative global demand for bottled drinking water.