States Grants (Water Resources Assessment) Act 1974 (Cth)

STATES GRANTS (WATER RESOURCES ASSESSMENT) ACT 1974

No. 145 of 1974

An Act to amend the States Grants (Water Resources Measurement) Act 1973.

BE IT ENACTED by the Queen, the Senate and the House of Representatives of Australia, as follows:—

Short title and citation.

1. (1) This Act may be cited as the States Grants (Water Resources Assessment) Act 1974.

(2) The States Grants (Water Resources Measurement) Act 1973 is in this Act referred to as the Principal Act.

(3) The Principal Act, as amended by this Act, may be cited as the States Grants (Water Resources Assessment) Act 1973-1974.

Commencement.

2.This Act shall come into operation on the day on which it receives the Royal Assent.

Title.

3.The title of the Principal Act is amended by omitting the words “Measurement and Investigation” and substituting the word “Assessment”.

Interpretation.

4.Section 3 of the Principal Act is amended by omitting sub-section (1) and substituting the following sub-section:—

“(1) In this Act, unless the contrary intention appears, ‘assessment’, in relation to any water resources, means—

(a) the measurement of the rate of flow, or the quantity and changes in the quantity, of those resources;

(b) the examination of the quality of those resources; and

(c) the recording, arrangement, analysis or publication of informa­tion arising from any such measurement or examination.”

Grants for assessment of surface water resources.

5.Section 4 of the Principal Act is amended by omitting from paragraph (a) the words “measurement of the discharge of the rivers in” and substituting the words “assessment of the surface water resources of”.

Grants for assessment of underground water resources.

6.Section 5 of the Principal Act is amended by omitting from paragraph (a) the words “investigation and measurement” and substituting the word “assessment”.

7. (1) Section 7 of the Principal Act is repealed and the following section substituted:—

Approval of works, &c.

“7. For the purposes of this Act, a State may, before or during a year to which this Act applies, request the Minister to approve, in relation to that year, specified works, equipment, facilities or things in connexion with the assessment of the surface water resources, or of the under­ground water resources, of the State, and the Minister may approve such a work, item of equipment, facility or thing in relation to that year.”.

(2) For the purposes of the Principal Act as amended by this Act, an approval of a work, item of equipment, facility or thing in connexion with the measurement of the discharge of rivers in the State, or the investigation and measurement of the underground water resources of the State, given under section 7 of the Principal Act in relation to the year that commenced on 1 July 1974 shall be deemed to be an approval of that work, item of equipment, facility or thing in connexion with the assessment of the surface water resources of the State, or of the underground water resources of the State, as the case may require, given, in relation to that year, under section 7 of the Principal Act as so amended.

Information to be submitted by States.

8. (1) Section 8 of the Principal Act is amended—

(a) by omitting from sub-section (1) all the words from and includ­ing the words “in connexion with” and substituting the words “in connexion with the assessment of the surface water resources, and of the underground water resources, of the State.”;

(b) by omitting from sub-paragraph (i) of paragraph (a) of sub-section (2) the word “February” and substituting the word “March”; and

(c) by omitting from sub-paragraph (ii) of that paragraph the word “August” and substituting the word “September”.

(2) The amendments made by sub-section (1) do not apply in relation to the year ended 30 June 1974.

Schedule 1.

9.Schedule 1 to the Principal Act is repealed and the following Schedule substituted:—

 

SCHEDULE 1 Section 4

ASSESSMENT OF SURFACE WATER RESOURCES

First Column	Second Column	Third Column	Fourth Column	Fifth Column
Name of State	Base of amount of expenditure	Maximum amount of grant for year ending—
		30th June 1974	30th June 1975	30th June 1976
$	$	$	$
New South Wales.............................................	299,400	667,500	750,000	831,350
Victoria.............................................................	199,000	275,000	340,000	364,000
Queensland.......................................................	180,000	420,000	470,900	501,800
South Australia.................................................	10,500	94,000	118,000	139,250
Western Australia.............................................	176,000	524,850	685,550	806,100
Tasmania...........................................................	89,500	102,500	108,365	114,140

 

Schedule 2.

10.Schedule 2 to the Principal Act is repealed and the following Schedule substituted:—

SCHEDULE 2 Section 5

ASSESSMENT OF UNDERGROUND WATER RESOURCES

First Column	Second Column	Third Column	Fourth Column	Fifth Column
Name of State	Base of amount of expenditure	Maximum amount of grant for year ending–
		30th June 1974	30th June 1975	30th June 1976
$	$	$	$
New South Wales.............................................	136,000	622,000	663,500	667.000
Victoria.............................................................	379,000	487,500	509,600	527,300
Queensland.......................................................	180,000	350,000	406,900	430,000
South Australia.................................................	82,000	276,500	305,500	329,000
Western Australia.............................................	260,000	775,000	981,000	1,175,000
Tasmania...........................................................	15,000	32,500	32,500	32,500