Information about the Inquiry

Provisions of the Water Act 2007

Information about the Inquiry

On 09 February 2011 the Senate referred the following matter to the Legal and Constitutional Affairs Committees for inquiry and report.

(1)The provisions of the Water Act 2007 (the Act), with particular reference to the
direction it provides for the development of a Basin Plan, including:

(a) any ambiguities or constraints in the Act which would prevent a Basin  
         Plan from being developed on an equally weighted consideration of  
         economic, social and environmental factors;
(b) the differences in legal interpretations of the Act;
(c) the constitutional power of the Commonwealth to legislate in the area of  
         water;
(d) the role of relevant international agreements and the effect of those on  
         the parts of the Act which direct the Basin Plan to give effect to those  
         agreements and their effect on the Act more generally;
(e) any amendments that would be required to ensure that economic, social  
         and environmental factors are given equally weighted consideration in  
         developing the Basin Plan; and
(f) any other related matter.

(2) That in conducting its inquiry, the committee should consult those with
particular legal expertise in the area of water.

On 6 June 2011, the committee tabled an interim report which indicated an intention to present the final report by 10 June 2011.

Submissions should be received by 18 March 2011. On 11 May 2011,the Senate granted an extension of time for reporting until 06 June 2011.

The Committee is seeking written submissions from interested individuals and organisations preferably in electronic form submitted online or sent by email to legcon.sen@aph.gov.au as an attached Adobe PDF or MS Word format document. The email must include full postal address and contact details.

Alternatively, written submissions may be sent to:

Committee Secretary
Senate Legal and Constitutional Committees
PO Box 6100
Parliament House
Canberra ACT 2600
Australia

Notes to help you prepare your submission are available from the website at https://www.aph.gov.au/senate/committee/wit_sub/index.htm. Alternatively, the Committee Secretariat will be able to help you with your inquiries and can be contacted on telephone +61 2 6277 3560 or facsimile +61 2 6277 5794 or by email to legcon.sen@aph.gov.au.

Inquiries from hearing and speech impaired people should be directed to Parliament House TTY number 02 6277 7799. Adobe also provides tools at http://access.adobe.com/ for the blind and visually impaired to access PDF documents. If you require any special arrangements to enable you to participate in the Committee's inquiry, please contact the Committee Secretariat.

Once the Committee accepts your submission, it becomes a confidential Committee document and is protected by Parliamentary Privilege. You must not release your submission without the Committee's permission. If you do, it will not be protected by Parliamentary Privilege. At some stage during the inquiry, the Committee normally makes submissions public and places them on its website. Please indicate if you want your submission to be kept confidential.


For further information, contact:

Committee Secretary
Senate Legal and Constitutional Committees
PO Box 6100
Parliament House
Canberra ACT 2600
Australia

Phone:+61 2 6277 3560
Fax:+61 2 6277 5794
Email:legcon.sen@aph.gov.au