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IRRIGATION CLAUSES AMENDMENT BILL 2010
FACT SHEET
The Irrigation Clauses Act 1973 provides the statutory basis for the construction,
operation and funding of irrigation schemes by a responsible water entity and the
statutory base for the development, operation and funding of all irrigation schemes in
Tasmania.
The Act also provides for the supply of water for irrigation under the system of
irrigation rights or general availability, and for the transfer of irrigation rights. The Act
is incorporated with the Water Management Act 1999, for the purposes of the
application of the Water Management Act to irrigation districts.
The Bill makes minor amendments to the Irrigation Clauses Act 1973. In its current
form, a literal interpretation of the Act may give rise to uncertainty in relation to which
persons the responsible water entity ("undertakers") of an irrigation district are able to
grant irrigation rights. Section 23(2) currently provides that under the system of
irrigation rights, the undertakers may grant to the occupiers of land in an irrigation
district and their successors a right to be supplied each irrigation season with a
certain volume of water.
The proposed amendments clarify that the Minister may declare that the undertakers
may grant an irrigation right to a person other than an occupier of land, subject to any
conditions that the Minister deems appropriate. Some further minor consequential
amendments to other sections of the Act are made to clarify certain matters in
relation to irrigation rights held by non-occupiers of land.
The proposed amendments will provide certainty to operators and prospective
purchasers of rights in new irrigation schemes. It will also ensure that the current
legislation is entirely consistent with the intent of the National Water Initiative.
The Department of Primary Industries, Parks, Water and Environment has
undertaken a comprehensive review of the Irrigation Clauses Act 1973 and intends to
make major amendments to the Act in 2011. In the interim these minor amendments
are intended to remove any ambiguity around who may be granted irrigation rights in
new irrigation districts.