Page 3615 - Week 08 - Thursday, 19 August 2010
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Bill, as amended, agreed to.
Water Resources Amendment Bill 2010
Debate resumed from 25 March 2010, on motion by Mr Corbell:
That this bill be agreed to in principle.
MR SESELJA (Molonglo—Leader of the Opposition) (10.43): The Liberal opposition will be supporting this bill which, in essence, brings the management of all water resources in the ACT under the control of the ACT government. The bill transfers to the ACT the management of ground and surface water previously controlled by the commonwealth. This includes the surface water of the Googong Dam area. It should be noted that this does not include responsibility for the management of the range of activities in and on Lake Burley Griffin and commonwealth land. The commonwealth retains that responsibility.
The bill also permits the transfer or trade of water interstate. This is necessary under the Murray-Darling Basin cap arrangements and the operations of the national water initiative. It also provides for the construction of groundwater monitoring bores. These bores are not used for extraction of water. They specifically are for the purpose of monitoring groundwater levels.
Sensibly, the bill consolidates all the penalty provisions into a new part 9A. This makes for easier reading of the act. More importantly, though, it means that the commonwealth, even though it is not subject to penalty provisions, nonetheless will be required to hold the necessary licences to do any work in relation to water under the control of the ACT.
There needs to be some legislative cooperation between the ACT and the commonwealth to facilitate the transfer of water management responsibilities. To this end, I note from the minister’s presentation speech that the commonwealth has tabled the necessary legislative amendments in the parliament. In contemplation of the passing of that legislation by the commonwealth, the bill we are debating today, if passed, will come into operation either on the minister’s written notice or six months after notification, which first occurs.
I also note from the minister’s tabling speech that the ACT will benefit financially to the tune of $415,000 in the first financial year of the transfer and $150,000 annually thereafter. The financial benefit complements the efficiencies that will be gained and the certainty that will be created with the complete clarity of which government has control over what water.
This bill represents positive outcomes for the people of the ACT and we are pleased to support it.
MR RATTENBURY (Molonglo) (10.45): The Greens will also be supporting the Water Resources Amendment Bill. This bill seeks to bring the management of water
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