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This is a Bill, not an Act. For current law, see the Acts databases.
1998-1999-2000-2001
The
Parliament of the
Commonwealth of
Australia
THE
SENATE
Presented and read a first
time
Lake Eyre
Basin Intergovernmental Agreement Bill
2001
No. ,
2001
(Environment and
Heritage)
A Bill for an Act to approve the
Lake Eyre Basin Intergovernmental Agreement, and for related
purposes
ISBN: 0642 466033
Contents
A Bill for an Act to approve the Lake Eyre Basin
Intergovernmental Agreement, and for related purposes
The Parliament of Australia enacts:
This Act may be cited as the Lake Eyre Basin Intergovernmental
Agreement Act 2001.
This Act commences, or is taken to have commenced, immediately after the
Lake Eyre Basin Intergovernmental Agreement (a copy of which is set out in
Schedule 1) takes effect under subclause 9.1 of that Agreement.
Note: Subclause 9.1 provides that the Agreement takes effect
when it has been approved and ratified by the Parliaments of South Australia and
Queensland.
The Lake Eyre Basin Intergovernmental Agreement is approved.
Note: See section 3.
AN AGREEMENT MADE THE 21ST DAY OF OCTOBER
2000
BETWEEN:
THE COMMONWEALTH OF
AUSTRALIA
AND
THE STATE OF QUEENSLAND
AND
THE STATE
OF SOUTH AUSTRALIA
RECITALS:
A. The Lake Eyre Basin
has within its boundaries areas of national and international ecological and
environmental significance, areas of high economic worth from activities such as
pastoralism, tourism, oil and gas extraction and mining, and areas of social,
cultural and heritage value, the sustainability of much of which depends upon
the continued health of the Thomson/Barcoo/Cooper, Georgina and Diamantina river
systems within Queensland and South Australia (as defined in the Australian
National Map Drainage Divisions and Basins and including their catchments, flood
plains, lakes, wetlands and overflow channels).
B. Management of the
Lake Eyre Basin which will best serve the object of sustainability requires a
joint cooperative approach between the States of Queensland and South Australia
and the Commonwealth.
C. The Parties to this Agreement entered into a
Heads of Agreement dated 26 May 1997 whereby it was agreed that the above
approach should be embodied in a formal interstate Agreement ratified by the
Parliaments of each State.
D. This Agreement is entered into by the
Parties in accordance with the Lake Eyre Basin Heads of Agreement, and is to
provide for the establishment of arrangements for the management of water and
related natural resources for that portion of the Lake Eyre Basin identified as
the Lake Eyre Basin Agreement Area in Clause 1.1, including the development
or adoption, and implementation of agreed Policies and Strategies for the
avoidance of adverse cross-border impacts and the creation of a relevant
institutional structure.
E. This Agreement is also entered into in
recognition of the provisions of the Intergovernmental Agreement on the
Environment dated 1 May 1992 between the Commonwealth, all States and
Territories, and the Australian Local Government Association, that States use
their best endeavours to establish appropriate mechanisms for ensuring
cooperative management where significant adverse external effects on another
State are expected and identified, and that the role of government is to
establish the policy, legislative and administrative framework to determine the
permissibility of land use, resource use or development proposals having regard
to the appropriate, efficient and ecologically sustainable use of natural
resources, and to provide for the consideration of regional implications where
proposals for the use of a resource affect several jurisdictions.
F.
The provisions of this Agreement are consistent with the Council of
Australian Governments’ National Water Reform Framework and the Natural
Heritage Trust Partnership Agreements.
THE PARTIES AGREE AS
FOLLOWS:
Part I - Application and
Interpretation
Application
1.1 This Agreement applies to that area of
the Lake Eyre Basin (the Agreement Area) encompassing portions of Queensland and
South Australia, as depicted in Schedule 1 of this Agreement, including
within that area the following river systems and associated catchments,
floodplains, overflow channels, lakes, wetlands and sub-artesian waters
dependent on surface flows:
(a) the Cooper Creek system including the Thomson
and Barcoo Rivers, and associated tributaries; and
(b) the Diamantina River
system, including the Georgina River, and including Warburton Creek in South
Australia, and associated tributaries.
Definitions
1.2 In
this Agreement save where inconsistent with the
context:
“Ecosystem” means a community of organisms,
interacting with one another, and the natural resources comprising the
environment in which those organisms live and with which they also
interact.
“Lake Eyre Basin Agreement Area” means the area
referred to in clause 1.1 to which the Agreement
applies.
“Management Plan” means a plan or other document of a
State that has been adopted by the Ministerial Forum.
“Ministerial
Forum” means the group of Ministers of the Crown in right of the
Commonwealth and the State parties constituted under
Part V.
“Natural resources” means water, soil, the
atmosphere, plants, animals and micro-organisms that maintain and form
components of ecosystems.
“Principles” means the guiding
principles referred to in Part III.
“Policy” means a
document setting out a course or line of action developed or adopted and pursued
by the Ministerial Forum for the purpose of implementing this
Agreement.
“Related natural resources” means natural resources
the use or management of which affects or might affect, or is or might be
affected by the quantity or quality of water in the water systems described in
clause 1.1 of this Agreement, or the ecosystems of which such water is a
component part.
“Strategy” means a document setting out a course
or line of action developed or adopted and pursued by the Ministerial Forum for
the purpose of implementing a Policy.
Interpretation
1.3 In
this Agreement, unless the context otherwise requires:
(a) a reference to any
law or legislation or legislative provision includes any statutory modification
or re-enactment of, or legislative provision substituted for, and any
subordinate legislation issued under, that legislation or legislative
provision;
(b) a reference to a Recital, Clause or Schedule is to a recital,
clause or schedule in this Agreement;
(c) a reference to a person includes a
corporation, partnership, joint venture, association, authority, trust, state or
government;
(d) the singular includes the plural and vice versa
(e) a
reference to any gender includes the other gender;
(f) a reference to any
agreement or document is to that agreement or document (and, where applicable,
any of its provisions) as amended, novated, supplemented or replaced from time
to time; and
(g) a reference to "amendment" includes addition, alteration,
deletion, extension, modification and variation.
1.4 In this Agreement,
headings are for convenience of reference only and do not affect
interpretation.
1.5 In the interpretation of a provision of this
Agreement, a construction that would promote the purpose or object underlying
the Agreement (whether or not that purpose or object is expressly stated in the
Agreement) will be preferred to a construction that would not promote that
purpose or object.
1.6 Questions of interpretation of this Agreement are
to be raised in the Ministerial Forum.
Part II - Purpose and
Objectives
Purpose
2.1 The purpose of this Agreement is to provide
for the development or adoption, and implementation of Policies and Strategies
concerning water and related natural resources in the Lake Eyre Basin Agreement
Area to avoid or eliminate so far as reasonably practicable adverse cross-border
impacts.
Objectives
2.2 The objectives of this Agreement
are:
(a) to provide a means for the Parties to come together in good faith to
achieve the purposes of the Agreement;
(b) to define a process and context
for raising and addressing water and related natural resource management issues
in the Lake Eyre Basin Agreement Area that have cross-border impacts,
particularly those related to water quantity and quality, and flow
regimes;
(c) to establish institutional arrangements for the development or
adoption of Policies and Strategies and for the adoption of any relevant
management plans established by a State;
(d) to provide for each of the
Parties, so far as they are able within their respective jurisdictions, to
progress the implementation of Policies and Strategies developed or adopted
under this Agreement and to make management decisions and allocate resources
accordingly;
(e) to provide a mechanism to review Policies and
Strategies;
(f) to provide for the Parties to jointly promote and support the
management of water and related natural resources through a cooperative approach
between community, industry and other stakeholders, and all levels of government
in the sustainable management of the Lake Eyre Basin Agreement Area;
(g) to
encourage, promote and support water and related resource management practices
which are compatible with the spirit and intent of the Agreement;
(h) to
encourage and promote research and monitoring to improve understanding and
support informed decision making in the Lake Eyre Basin Agreement
Area;
(i) to provide for the review and, if necessary, revision of the
Agreement from time to time; and
(j) to raise general public awareness of the
special biodiversity and heritage values of the Lake Eyre Basin Agreement
Area.
Part III - Guiding Principles
3.1 Consideration of all issues and the making of all decisions under
this Agreement will be guided by the following Principles, namely that it be
acknowledged:
(a) that the Lake Eyre Basin Agreement Area has important
social, environmental, economic and cultural values which need to be conserved
and promoted;
(b) that there are landscapes and watercourses in the Lake
Eyre Basin Agreement Area that are valuable for aesthetic, wilderness, cultural
and tourism purposes;
(c) that naturally variable flow regimes and the
maintenance of water quality are fundamental to the health of the aquatic
ecosystems in the Lake Eyre Basin Agreement Area;
(d) that the water
requirements for ecological processes, biodiversity and ecologically significant
areas within the Lake Eyre Basin Agreement Area should be maintained, especially
by means of flow variability and seasonality;
(e) that flooding throughout
the catchments within the Lake Eyre Basin Agreement Area is beneficial in that
it makes a significant contribution to pastoral activities as well as flood
plain ecosystem processes;
(f) that the storage and use of water both within
and away from watercourses, and the storage and use of water from associated
ground water, are all linked and should be considered together, and that water
resources throughout catchments within the Lake Eyre Basin Agreement Area should
be managed on an integrated basis;
(g) that precautionary approaches need to
be taken so as to minimise the impact on known environmental attributes, and
reduce the possibility of affecting poorly understood ecological
functions;
(h) that natural resource management decisions need to be made
within the context of the National Strategy for Ecologically Sustainable
Development and relevant national and international obligations;
(i) that
the collective local knowledge and experience of the Lake Eyre Basin Agreement
Area communities are of significant value; and
(j) that decisions need to be
based on the best available scientific and technical information together with
the collective local knowledge and experience of communities within the Lake
Eyre Basin Agreement Area.
Part IV - Roles of the Parties
Responsibilities and Interests of all Parties
4.1 The
following will guide the Parties in defining the roles, responsibilities and
interests of the Parties in relation to the achievement of the objectives of
this Agreement.
Responsibilities and Interests of the
Commonwealth
4.2 The responsibilities and interests of the
Commonwealth in safeguarding and accommodating matters of national interest
include ensuring that the policies or practices of a State that affect or might
affect the water and related natural resources to which this Agreement applies,
do not result in significant adverse external effects in relation to another
State.
4.3 When considering its responsibilities and interests under
Clause 4.2 the Commonwealth will have regard to the role of the States in
dealing with significant adverse external effects in accordance with the
requirements of the Intergovernmental Agreement on the Environment, and any
action taken pursuant to that Agreement.
4.4 The Commonwealth will
monitor the activities of the States in the Lake Eyre Basin Agreement Area to
ensure Australia meets its international obligations in accordance with the
Intergovernmental Agreement on the Environment.
4.5 The Commonwealth has
responsibility for the management (including operational policy) of natural
resources on land which the Commonwealth owns or which it occupies for its own
use.
4.6 The Commonwealth will ensure that matters of national interest
relating to environmental protection, sustainable agriculture and water and
related natural resources management in the Lake Eyre Basin Agreement Area are
appropriately addressed in consultation with the States.
4.7 The
Commonwealth will consult with the States as required by the Intergovernmental
Agreement on the Environment prior to entry into any international agreement
which may directly impact on the Lake Eyre Basin Agreement
Area.
Responsibilities and Interests of the States
4.8 Each
State will continue to have responsibility for the development and
implementation of policy in relation to matters concerning the Lake Eyre Basin
Agreement Area which have no significant effects on the water and related
natural resources of the Lake Eyre Basin Agreement Area.
4.9 Each State
will continue to have responsibility for its policy formulation and the
administration of its legislation relevant to water and related natural resource
management within the Lake Eyre Basin Agreement Area, but in so doing will, to
the fullest extent that it is able, comply with this Agreement and any
applicable Policies and Strategies developed or adopted under it. Further, to
the extent that may be necessary, each State will use its best endeavours to
secure the passage through its respective Parliament of legislation for the
purpose of conforming with and implementing this Agreement and any such Policies
and Strategies.
4.10 Each State will assist in the encouragement and
promotion of research and monitoring to facilitate informed decision making for
the Lake Eyre Basin Agreement Area, and the sharing of access to the results of
such research and monitoring so far as either State may control such
access.
4.11 Each State will consult with and
involve Local Government (where relevant) in the implementation of this
Agreement and the Policies and Strategies developed or adopted under it to the
extent that State statutes and administrative arrangements authorise or delegate
relevant responsibilities to Local Government, and in a manner which reflects
the concept of partnership between the Commonwealth, State and Local
Governments.
Part V - Institutional
Structure
Constitution of the Ministerial Forum
5.1 The Ministerial
Forum is constituted.
5.2 The Ministerial Forum will consist of one
Minister from each State and one Minister of the Commonwealth. Each Party will
appoint its Minister from time to time, by notice in writing to each other
Party.
5.3 Whenever a member of the Ministerial Forum is:
(a) unable
for any reason to attend a meeting of the Ministerial Forum; or
(b) otherwise
unable to perform the duties of a member of the Ministerial Forum,
another
Minister of that State or the Commonwealth will be appointed to act in the place
of that member, and while so acting that other Minister will have all the
responsibilities and perform all the duties of that member.
Procedures
of the Ministerial Forum
5.4 The Ministerial Forum will meet at least
once in each year but otherwise at such times as it sees fit and will, subject
to this Agreement, determine its own procedure.
5.5 A resolution before
the Ministerial Forum will be carried only by a unanimous vote.
5.6 The
Commonwealth Minister will act as the chair of the Ministerial
Forum.
5.7 A permanent record of all resolutions of the Ministerial Forum
will be kept.
Functions of the Ministerial Forum
5.8 The
Ministerial Forum will be responsible for the implementation of this
Agreement.
Community Advice and Representation
5.9 The
Ministerial Forum will ensure that it has satisfactory access to community
advice in relation to matters relevant to this Agreement.
5.10 For that
purpose the Ministerial Forum may either:
5.10.1 adopt one or more
independently formed groups, committees or bodies to provide community advice
representation and feedback; or
5.10.2 appoint the members of a committee to
perform that function.
5.11 Whichever means of access to community advice
the Ministerial Forum selects the following will apply:
5.11.1 There will be
appropriate representation of:
(a) Aboriginal interests;
(b) pastoral
interests;
(c) agricultural interests;
(d) mining and petroleum
interests;
(e) conservation interests;
(f) tourism
interests;
(g) matters and interests affecting the Cooper Creek River system
as referred to in clause 1.1 of this Agreement; and
(h) matters and
interests affecting the Diamantina River system as referred to in
clause 1.1 of this Agreement; and
5.11.2 The following roles will be
satisfactorily performed:
(a) representation of the various interests
referred to in sub-clause 5.11.1;
(b) the seeking out of community
views relevant to matters covered by this Agreement and the communication of
those views to the Ministerial Forum;
(c) the communication of decisions and
initiatives of the Ministerial Forum to the various communities; and
(d) the
performance of such other functions relevant to this Agreement as the
Ministerial Forum may require.
5.12 This clause will apply if the
Ministerial Forum chooses to adopt one or more independently formed groups,
committees or bodies to provide advice representation and
feedback.
(a) Subject to the availability of funds under Part XI of
this Agreement, the independently formed groups committees and bodies will
receive such allowances and expenses as the Ministerial Forum may from time to
time determine, such payments to be disbursed or divided amongst individual
members in such manner as those groups committees or bodies may themselves
decide.
(b) The Ministerial Forum may at any time determine that any one or
more or all of the adopted groups committees or bodies will cease to be its
provider of community advice, representation and feedback provided however that
the Ministerial Forum will within a reasonable time (and in any event before any
relevant significant decisions are made) replace that source of community advice
in accordance with this Agreement.
5.13 This clause will apply if the
Ministerial Forum chooses to appoint a committee to provide community advice,
representation and feedback.
(a) Each member will be appointed by the
Ministerial Forum.
(b) In appointing members to represent Aboriginal
interests the Ministerial Forum will have regard, as a fundamental element of
its decisions, to such recommendations as the Aboriginal communities of the Lake
Eyre Basin Agreement Area may choose to make.
(c) The Ministerial Forum may
appoint members of the committee from time to time to fill
vacancies.
(d) The Ministerial Forum may at any time appoint to the
committee such additional members as it thinks fit.
(e) The appointment of
members of the committee will be for a period of three years from the date of
each appointment provided however that members will be eligible for
re-appointment for such terms from time to time as the Ministerial Forum thinks
appropriate.
(f) Subject to the availability of funds under Part XI of
this Agreement, a member of the committee will receive such allowances and
expenses as the Ministerial Forum may from time to time determine.
(g) The
Ministerial Forum may at any time terminate the appointment of individual
members or disband the committee:
(i) if of the opinion that the member or
members or the committee is or are no longer substantially representing the
interests or matters in respect of which the member or members or the committee
as the case may be was or were appointed; or
(ii) for such reason as the
Ministerial Forum considers appropriate,
provided however that the
Ministerial Forum will within a reasonable time (and in any event before any
relevant significant decisions are made) appoint or re-appoint members of the
committee in accordance with this Agreement, or, if the whole committee has been
disbanded, replace that source of community advice in accordance with this
Agreement.
(h) The Ministerial Forum may appoint to the committee the
individual members of a group, committee or body independently formed. To the
extent that may be necessary to satisfy the requirements of this Agreement, the
Ministerial Forum will appoint additional members.
Part VI - Conference
6.1 The Ministerial Forum may from time to time arrange a conference to
be attended by the members of the Ministerial Forum, members of committees
appointed or adopted under this Agreement and of other interested groups,
interested individuals, scientific and technical advisers and senior government
officers.
6.2 There will be a conference at least once before the second
anniversary of the effective date of this Agreement and thereafter on at least a
biennial basis.
6.3 The purpose of such conferences will be to exchange
information and views on issues relevant to the operation of this
Agreement.
Part VII - Scientific and Technical
Advice
7.1 The Ministerial Forum may seek scientific and technical advice
relevant to this Agreement from such persons or bodies as it thinks appropriate.
In particular, the Ministerial Forum may obtain scientific and/or technical
advice in relation to the identification of requirements for the effective
monitoring of the condition of the rivers and catchments within the Lake Eyre
Basin Agreement Area and the establishment of programs to meet those
requirements.
7.2 The Ministerial Forum may if it thinks appropriate,
establish a panel of scientists and technicians for the purpose of providing
advice to the Ministerial Forum relevant to this Agreement.
Part VIII - Policies and
Strategies
8.1 The Ministerial Forum will, without unnecessary delay, develop or
adopt Policies and Strategies for the management of the Lake Eyre Basin
Agreement Area in accordance with the purpose, objectives and Principles set out
in this Agreement.
8.2 The Ministerial Forum may vary or revoke such
Policies and Strategies, and may make supplementary Policies and
Strategies.
8.3 The Ministerial Forum may adopt management plans prepared
by the States if those plans are consistent with this Agreement and with the
Policies developed or adopted by the Ministerial Forum for the management of the
Lake Eyre Basin Agreement Area, and once adopted, such management plans prepared
by the States will be treated as plans of the Ministerial Forum under this
Agreement.
Content of Policies and Strategies
8.4 The
Policies and Strategies will make provision for such matters as the Ministerial
Forum thinks fit, including but not limited to:
(a) objectives for water
quality and river flows;
(b) objectives for water and related natural
resource management in the Lake Eyre Basin Agreement Area for the achievement of
the water quality and river flow objectives;
(c) catchment management
policies and strategies for the achievement, as far as practicable, of the water
quality and river flow objectives;
(d) policies for dealing with relevant
existing entitlements under State laws and significant water related
developments; and
(e) research and monitoring requirements and programs to
meet those requirements.
Part IX - Ratification and Effective
Date
9.1 This Agreement, other than Part IX, is subject to approval and
ratification by the Parliaments of South Australia and Queensland and will come
into effect when so approved and ratified by the Parliaments of both
States.
9.2 Any amendment of this Agreement, including the addition or
amendment of a Schedule approved by the Ministerial Forum under clause 10
or 12, is subject to approval and ratification by the Parliaments of South
Australia and Queensland and will come into effect when so approved and
ratified.
9.3 Each State will take all practical steps to seek the
enactment of legislation:
(a) approving and ratifying this Agreement, and any
amendment to this Agreement which may be approved by the Ministerial Forum from
time to time, on behalf of the State; and
(b) authorising and requiring the
performance and observance of this Agreement by the Government of the
State.
Part X - Review and Amendment
Review
10.1 The Ministerial Forum must cause a review
of:
(a) the operation of this Agreement; and
(b) the extent to which the
objectives set out in Clause 2.2 of this Agreement have been
achieved,
to
be undertaken without unnecessary delay after the fifth anniversary of the
effective date of this Agreement, and thereafter on a ten yearly
basis.
10.2 A report of each review required under clause 10.1 is to
be tabled in the Parliament of each State and presented to the Commonwealth
Minister within 12 months after completion of it.
10.3 The Ministerial
Forum must cause a review of all Policies and Strategies to be undertaken
without unnecessary delay after the fifth anniversary of the development or
adoption of them, and thereafter as necessary but in any event not less
frequently than every ten years.
10.4 The Ministerial Forum must cause a
review of the condition of all watercourses and catchments within the Lake Eyre
Basin Agreement Area to be undertaken without unnecessary delay after the
effective date of this Agreement, and thereafter on a ten yearly
basis.
Amendment
10.5 The Ministerial Forum may approve
such amendments to this Agreement, including amendments to or addition of
schedules to this Agreement, as the Ministerial Forum considers desirable from
time to time.
Part XI - Funding and Accountability
Arrangements
11.1 Subject to the availability of respective appropriations, the
Commonwealth and the States will make available all necessary financial and
other resources for the establishment and operation of the Ministerial Forum and
associated institutional arrangements.
11.2 The Commonwealth and the
States will determine and agree appropriate cost-sharing arrangements which
reflect their respective roles and responsibilities under this
Agreement.
11.3 Any group committee or body appointed or adopted under
Part V and which receives funding under this Agreement will produce to the
Ministerial Forum in respect of each financial year a full account of its
application of all funds received by it together with a report of its activities
towards which such funding has been applied.
Part XII - Further Parties
Accession by New Parties
12.1 The State of New South
Wales and the Northern Territory may become parties to this
Agreement:
(a) with the consent of the existing Parties; and
(b) on such
terms and conditions as may be prescribed by the existing Parties in a Schedule
to this Agreement.
12.2 The Ministerial Forum may approve any Schedule
prepared pursuant to Clause 12.1(b).
12.3 This Agreement will not
apply to the State of New South Wales or the Northern Territory until:
(a) a
copy of the Agreement incorporating the Schedule provided for in Paragraph
12.1(b) has been signed on behalf of that State or Territory and the Parliament
of that State or Territory has approved this Agreement, including the Schedule;
and
(b) the Schedule has been approved and ratified by the States under
Part IX.
12.4 Each State will take the steps referred to in
Part IX for the approval and ratification of any schedule approved by the
Ministerial Forum under this clause.
Part XIII - General
Counterparts
13. This Agreement may be executed in any number of
counterparts and all of those counterparts taken together constitute one and the
same instrument.
Signed by The Minister for
the )
)
Environment and Heritage of the
Commonwealth ) [Signature omitted]
)
this 13th day of October
2000 )
in the presence of
[Signature
omitted]
......................................................
Witness
Signed
by The Minister for Environment )
)
and Heritage and Natural
Resources of )
) [Signature omitted]
the State of
Queensland )
)
this 21st day of October 2000 )
in the
presence of
[Signature
omitted]
......................................................
Witness
The
Common Seal of )
)
Minister for Water
Resources )
) [Signature omitted]
of the State of South
Australia )
)
affixed this 21st day of October 2000 )
in
the presence of
[Signature
omitted]
......................................................
Witness
Schedule 1:
THE LAKE EYRE BASIN AGREEMENT AREA