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This is a Bill, not an Act. For current law, see the Acts databases.
South Australia
Water (Commonwealth Powers)
Bill 2008
A BILL FOR
An Act to refer certain matters relating to water management to the
Commonwealth Parliament for the purposes of section 51(xxxvii) of the
Constitution of the Commonwealth.
Contents
1 Short
title
2 Commencement
3 Definitions
4 Reference of
matters
5 Termination of references
6 Effect of termination of amendment
reference before initial reference
7 Evidence
The Parliament of South Australia enacts as
follows:
This Act may be cited as the Water (Commonwealth Powers)
Act 2008.
This Act will come into operation on a day to be fixed by
proclamation.
(1) In this Act—
amendment reference means the reference under
section 4(1)(b);
Basin water resources means water resources within or beneath
that part of this State that comprises the Murray-Darling Basin (as defined in
the terms, or substantially in the terms, set out in the initial referred
provisions), but does not include ground water resources of the Great Artesian
Basin;
Commonwealth Water Act means the Water Act 2007 of the
Commonwealth, as in force from time to time;
Commonwealth Water Act instrument means any instrument
(whether or not of a legislative character) that is made or issued under the
Commonwealth Water Act;
critical human water needs means the needs for a minimum
amount of water, that can only reasonably be provided from Basin water
resources, required to meet—
(a) core human consumption requirements in urban and rural areas;
and
(b) those non-human consumption requirements that a failure to meet would
cause prohibitively high social, economic or national security costs;
express amendment of the Commonwealth Water Act means the
direct amendment of the text of Parts 1A, 2A, 4, 4A, 10A and 11A of that Act or
of definitions of terms used in those Parts (whether by the insertion, omission,
repeal, substitution or relocation of words or matter) by another Commonwealth
Act or by an instrument under a Commonwealth Act, but does not include the
enactment by a Commonwealth Act of a provision that has or will have substantive
effect otherwise than as part of the text of those Parts or those
definitions;
initial reference means the reference under section
4(1)(a);
initial referred provisions means the text of Parts 1A, 2A,
4, 4A, 10A and 11A set out in the tabled text;
Murray-Darling Basin Agreement means the Murray-Darling Basin
Agreement (a copy of which is set out in the tabled text), as amended from time
to time by the parties to that Agreement in accordance with the procedure set
out in that Agreement;
reference means—
(a) the initial reference; or
(b) the amendment reference;
referred subject-matters means any of the
following:
(a) the powers, functions and duties of Commonwealth agencies
that—
(i) relate to Basin water resources; and
(ii) are conferred by or under the Murray-Darling Basin
Agreement;
(b) the management of Basin water resources to meet critical human water
needs;
(c) water charging in relation to Basin water resources (other than for
urban water supply after the removal of the water from a Basin water
resource);
(d) the transformation of entitlements to water from a Basin water
resource to enable trading in those water entitlements;
(e) the application, in relation to water resources that are not Basin
water resources, of provisions of the Commonwealth Water Act dealing with the
subject-matters specified in paragraphs (c) and (d) (being an application of a
kind that is authorised by the law of this State);
(f) the transfer of assets, rights and liabilities of the Murray-Darling
Basin Commission to the Murray-Darling Basin Authority established by the
Commonwealth Water Act, and other transitional matters relating to the
replacement of that Commission;
tabled text means the text of the proposed Water Amendment
Bill 2008 for a Commonwealth Act as tabled by or on behalf of the Minister
for the River Murray in the House of Assembly of South Australia on
23 September 2008.
(2) A reference in this Act to a Part of (or to be inserted in) the
Commonwealth Water Act includes a reference to any Schedule to (or to be
inserted in) that Act that contains provisions enacted for the purposes of that
Part.
(1) The following matters are referred to the Parliament of the
Commonwealth:
(a) the matters to which the initial referred provisions relate, but only
to the extent of the making of laws with respect to those matters by including
the initial referred provisions in the Commonwealth Water Act in the terms, or
substantially in the terms, set out in Schedule 1 of the tabled text;
and
(b) the referred subject-matters, but only to the extent of the making of
laws with respect to any such matter by making express amendments of the
Commonwealth Water Act.
(2) The reference of a matter under subsection (1) has effect
only—
(a) if and to the extent that the matter is not included in the
legislative powers of the Parliament of the Commonwealth (otherwise than by a
reference for the purposes of section 51(xxxvii) of the Constitution of the
Commonwealth); and
(b) if and to the extent that the matter is included in the legislative
powers of the Parliament of this State.
(3) The operation of each paragraph of subsection (1) is not affected
by the other paragraph.
(4) For the avoidance of doubt, it is the intention of the Parliament of
this State that—
(a) the Commonwealth Water Act may be expressly amended, or have its
operation otherwise affected, at any time after the commencement of this Act by
provisions of Commonwealth Acts whose operation is based on legislative powers
that the Parliament of the Commonwealth has apart from under the references
under subsection (1); and
(b) the Commonwealth Water Act may at any time have its operation
affected, otherwise than by express amendment, at any time by provisions of
Commonwealth Water Act instruments.
(5) Despite any other provision of this section, a reference under this
section has effect for a period—
(a) beginning when this section commences; and
(b) ending at the end of the day fixed under section 5 as the day on
which the reference is to terminate,
but no longer.
(1) The Governor may, at any time, by proclamation published in the
Gazette, fix a day as the day on which—
(a) the references terminate; or
(b) the amendment reference terminates.
(2) The Governor may, by proclamation published in the Gazette, revoke a
proclamation published under subsection (1), in which case the revoked
proclamation is taken (for the purposes of section 4) never to have been
published.
(3) A revoking proclamation has effect only if published before the day
fixed under subsection (1).
(4) The revocation of a proclamation published under subsection (1)
does not prevent publication of a further proclamation under that
subsection.
(5) If the amendment reference has terminated, the expression the
references in subsection (1)(a) refers to the initial reference
only.
6—Effect of
termination of amendment reference before initial reference
(1) If the amendment reference terminates before the initial reference,
the termination of the amendment reference does not affect—
(a) laws that were made under the amendment reference before that
termination (whether or not they have come into operation before that
termination); or
(b) the continued operation in the State of the Commonwealth Water Act as
in operation immediately before that termination or as subsequently amended or
affected by—
(i) laws referred to in paragraph (a) that come into operation after
that termination; or
(ii) provisions referred to in section 4(4)(a) or (b).
(2) Accordingly, the amendment reference continues to have effect for the
purposes of subsection (1) unless the initial reference is
terminated.
(3) Subsection (1) does not apply to or in relation to an amendment
of the Commonwealth Water Act that is excluded from the operation of this
section by the proclamation that terminates the amendment reference.
(4) For the purposes of subsection (1)—
(a) the laws referred to in subsection (1)(a) include Commonwealth
Water Act instruments; and
(b) the reference in subsection (1)(b) to the Commonwealth Water Act
as in operation immediately before the termination of the amendment reference
includes that legislation as affected by Commonwealth Water Act instruments that
have come into operation before that time.
(1) A certificate of the Clerk of the House of Assembly of South Australia
certifying that a document is an accurate copy of the tabled text, or is an
accurate copy of a particular part or of particular provisions of the tabled
text, is admissible in evidence in any proceedings and is
evidence—
(a) of the matter certified; and
(b) that the text of the proposed Commonwealth Bill was tabled in the
House of Assembly of South Australia as referred to in the definition of
tabled text in section 3.
(2) Subsection (1) does not affect any other way in which the tabling
or content of the tabled text, or the accuracy of a copy of the tabled text or
of a part or provisions of the tabled text, may be established.