Ramsay v Minister for Lands and Water; Hospitality and Racing, The Minister administering the Water Management Act 2000 [2023] NSWCA 299

Court of Appeal Supreme Court New South Wales Medium Neutral Citation: Ramsay v Minister for Lands and Water; Hospitality and Racing, The Minister administering the Water Management Act 2000 [2023] NSWCA 299 Hearing dates: 24 November 2023 Date of orders: 12 December 2023 Decision date: 12 December 2023 Before: Bell CJ at [1]; Payne JA at [75]; Adamson JA at [76]. Decision: Appeals dismissed with costs. Catchwords: ENVIRONMENT AND PLANNING – jurisdiction of Land and Environment Court to hear Class 1 appeals – ss 368(1)(a) and (c) of the Water Management Act 2000 (NSW) – where floodplain harvesting (regulated river) access licence not granted in relation to share component said to have been sought – whether determinations of Minister to grant licences with lower share components than had been sought amounted to refusals to grant access licences – whether decision as to share component for access licence constituted imposition of a discretionary condition Legislation Cited: Land and Environment Court Act 1979 (NSW) s 17(c) Water Management Act 2000 (NSW) ss 3, 45, 56, 57, 57A, 61, 63, 66, 67, 68, 68A, 368, Sch 9 cl 98 Water Management Amendment Act 2014 (NSW) Uniform Civil Procedure Rules 2005 (NSW) r 13.4 Water Management (General) Regulations 2018 (NSW) regs 23A-23L Water Management (Application of Act to Certain Water Sources) Proclamation 2022 Water Sharing Plan for the Macquarie and Cudgegong Regulated Rivers Water Source 2016 (NSW) Cases Cited: Australian Building and Construction Commission v Construction, Farming, Mining and Energy Union (2018) 262 CLR 157; [2018] HCA 36 Knight v FP Special Assets (1992) 174 CLR 178; [1992] HCA 28 PMT Partners Pty Ltd (in liq) v Australian National Parks and Wildlife Service (1995) 184 CLR 301; [1995] HCA 36 Roy Morgan Research Centre Pty Ltd v Commission of State Revenue (Vic) (2001) 207 CLR 72; [2001] HCA 49 The Owners of the Ship "Shin Kobe Maru" v Empire Shipping Co Inc (1994) 181 CLR 404; [1994] HCA 54 Texts Cited: P Herzfeld and T Prince, Interpretation (2nd ed, 2020, Law Book Co) Category: Principal judgment Parties: In 2023/229215: