Lake Eyre Basin Intergovernmental Agreement Act 2001 (Cth)

Lake Eyre Basin Intergovernmental Agreement Act 2001

No. 36, 2001

An Act to approve the Lake Eyre Basin Intergovernmental Agreement, and for related purposes

Contents 1 Short title................................... 2 Commencement............................... 3 Approval of the Agreement........................

Schedule 1—Lake Eyre Basin Intergovernmental Agreement

Lake Eyre Basin Intergovernmental Agreement Act 2001

No. 36, 2001

An Act to approve the Lake Eyre Basin Intergovernmental Agreement, and for related purposes

[Assented to 1 May 2001]

The Parliament of Australia enacts:

1 Short title

This Act may be cited as the Lake Eyre Basin Intergovernmental Agreement Act 2001.

2 Commencement

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.

3 Approval of the Agreement

The Lake Eyre Basin Intergovernmental Agreement is approved.

Schedule 1—Lake Eyre Basin Intergovernmental Agreement

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.