EXPLANATORY STATEMENT
(Issued by the Authority of the Minister for Climate Change and Water)
Subject: Water Amendment Act 2008
Proclamation
Item 3 of the table in subsection 2 (1) of the Water Amendment Act 2008 (the Act) provides that Schedule 2 to the Act commences on a day to be fixed by Proclamation. However, if any of the provisions of Schedule 2 do not commence within six months of the date the Act receives the Royal Assent, then those provisions commence on the first day after the end of that six month period. Schedules 1, 3 and 4 commence immediately after the commencement of Schedule 2.
The purpose of the Proclamation is to fix 15 December 2008 as the day on which Schedule 2 to the Act commences and as a consequence Schedules 1, 3 and 4 would also commence on that day.
The Act will enable water resources in the Murray-Darling Basin to be managed in the national interest, optimising environmental, economic and social outcomes.
All the provisions of the Act, other than Schedules 1- 4, commence when the Act receives Royal Assent.
Schedule 1 implements those amendments that rely in part on the referrals of powers from referring State Parliaments. Schedule 2 implements other amendments to the Act, the Trade Practices Act 1974 and the Legislative Instruments Act 2003 arising from the Intergovernmental Agreement on Murray‑Darling Basin Reform, or of a minor technical nature. Schedule 3 provides for transitional matters relating to the reforms implemented by this Bill, which do not rely on a referral of powers. Schedule 4 provides for Indigenous representation on the Basin Community Committee.
The Proclamation is a legislative instrument for the purposes of the Legislative Instruments Act 2003.
Authority: Subsection 2(1) of the
Water Amendment Act 2008