EXPLANATORY STATEMENT
Issued by the Authority of the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry
Murray-Darling Basin Amendment Act 2003
Proclamation
The Murray-Darling Basin Amendment Act 2003 (the Act) received Royal Assent on 26 June 2003.
Item 2 of the table in subsection 2(1) of the Act provides that Schedule 1 to the Act will commence on a single day to be fixed by proclamation.
The purpose of the Proclamation is to fix 21 December 2005 as the day on which Schedule 1 to the Act commences.
The purpose of Schedule 1 of the Act is to amend the Murray-Darling Basin Act 1993 (the “Principal Act”) to approve and give effect to the Murray-Darling Basin Amending Agreement between the Commonwealth, New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia (“Amending Agreement”) to amend the Murray-Darling Basin Agreement (“Agreement”).
Complementary legislation to give effect to the Amending Agreement has been proclaimed by New South Wales and Victoria. However, the legislation is yet to be considered by the Parliament of South Australia.
In circumstances where Commonwealth legislation is mirrored by the States, the Commonwealth usually does not proclaim the legislation until all other contracting governments have done so, and this may be done on the same day. In the case of the Amending Agreement, the Commonwealth delayed proclamation in anticipation that South Australia would pass the equivalent legislation through its Parliament. However, as it was not clear when South Australia would do this, and given that the Agreement provides that any amendments to the Agreement should be submitted for the approval of the respective parliaments as soon as practicable after agreement is reached by the Murray‑Darling Basin Ministerial Council, the Commonwealth has proceeded with the proclamation.
Legal advice indicated that the Commonwealth may validly proclaim the Amending Agreement, even though it will not be effective as a compact between all the contracting governments until such time as South Australia proclaims the amendments into effect.
The Amending Agreement makes new arrangements for sharing water made available in the River Murray catchment above the Hume Dam by the Snowy Scheme, and provides for the management of environmental flows in the River Murray.
The original Agreement was made on 24 June 1992 between the Commonwealth, New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia. Its purpose is to promote and co-ordinate effective planning and management for the equitable, efficient and sustainable use of the water, land and environmental resources of the Murray-Darling Basin.
Broadly the Amending Agreement enabled in Schedule 1:
- removes references to the Snowy Mountains Hydro-electric Authority (whose functions were transferred to a new corporation on 28 June 2002) and the associated Snowy Mountains Agreement;
- amends Part XII of the Agreement to require the Murray-Darling Basin Commission to determine the respective allocations to New South Wales and Victoria of water from the Snowy Scheme in a manner set out in a new Schedule G;
- adds a new Schedule G to the Agreement to make arrangements for the sharing between New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia of water made available in the catchment of the River Murray above Hume Dam by the Snowy Scheme;
- protects Victoria's and South Australia’s rights to water from the River Murray if New South Wales fails to ensure either the release of environmental entitlements to the Snowy River or the required annual releases from the Snowy Scheme to the River Murray;
- enables the transfer of water savings and purchases to environmental entitlements for the Snowy River and the River Murray and makes reductions in the respective States’ long term Murray-Darling Basin diversion caps;
- requires the Murray-Darling Basin Ministerial Council to develop environmental objectives and a strategy for environmental water that will be made available to the River Murray as a result of the Snowy Water Inquiry, and requires the Murray-Darling Basin Commission to manage this environmental water in accordance with the strategy;
- requires governments to inform the Murray-Darling Basin Commission of proposals to achieve water savings or to purchase water entitlements for environmental entitlements; and
- establishes the necessary additional water accounting, notification, consultation and modelling mechanisms that will be the responsibility of the Murray-Darling Basin Commission.
The Proclamation is a legislative instrument for the purposes of the Legislative Instruments Act 2003.