Minister Administering the Water Management Act 2000 v Sharkey [2017] NSWCA 319

Court of Appeal Supreme Court New South Wales Medium Neutral Citation: Minister Administering the Water Management Act 2000 v Sharkey [2017] NSWCA 319 Hearing dates: 8 August 2017 Decision date: 11 December 2017 Before: Meagher JA at [1]; White JA at [46]; Emmett AJA at [57] Decision: 1. Grant the applicant leave to appeal. 2. Appeal dismissed. 3. Applicant/appellant pay the respondent's costs of the application for leave and of the appeal. Catchwords: WATER – water access licences – where licence entitlement to take water from Murray River under repealed Water Act 1912 (NSW) converted to access licence under Water Management Act 2000 (NSW) – where access licence category to which entitlement converted dependent on whether 1912 Act licence permitted taking of water from "regulated" or "unregulated" part of river under the 2000 Act – Murray River relevantly "regulated" downstream from "the upper limit of the storage of Hume Dam"

STATUTORY INTERPRETATION – ordinary and natural meaning of "the upper limit of the storage of Hume Dam" – whether practical considerations justify departure Legislation Cited: Water Act 1912 (NSW) Water Management Act 2000 (NSW) Cases Cited: Gill v Donald Humberstone & Co Ltd [1963] 3 All ER 180 Wingecarribee Shire Council v De Angelis [2016] NSWCA 189 Category: Principal judgment Parties: Minister Administering the Water Management Act 2000 (Applicant) Clive Conrad Sharkey (Respondent) Representation: Counsel: PD Herzfeld and M Sherman (Applicant) In person (Respondent)