This course is a study of Australian terrestrial water resources law, with a focus on the Murray-Darling Basin jurisdictions, including the Commonwealth.  The Australian law of terrestrial water resources management was founded on the often-unsuitable common law principles inherited from England.  It has undergone two major transitions through State legislative reforms; the first at the end of the nineteenth century and the second at the end of the twentieth century through the implementation of national water policy agreements made by the Council of Australian Governments ("CoAG"); namely, the 1994 Water Reform Framework Agreement and the 2004 "National Water Initiative".  In 2007, Prime Minister Howard's "A National Plan for Water Security" led to the enactment of the Water Act 2007 (Cth), the first significant Commonwealth water resources legislation with substantive effect.  The new Rudd Labor Government re-launched national water policy under the badge "Water for the Future" and, on 3 July 2008, signed, with the other Murray-Darling Basin jurisdictions, the Agreement on Murray-Darling Basin Reform, which will involve amendments to the the Water Act 2007 (Cth).

The evolving national water policy means that water resources law, although largely State based, has common streams of legal principle that flow through the various States' legal regimes and the new Water Act (Cth).  The course addresses those principles under the following five topics, which are considered at a three days intensive workshop:

• The Institutional Framework of water resources management, including the classification and condition of Australia's water resources, key constitutional principles and administrative agencies, and the statutory objectives of water resources management;
• Property Rights to Water, including the foundations of property rights to water, their historical basis in the common law and current statutory public and private rights to the use and flow and control of surface and ground water;
• Water Allocation Planning, including the history and legal purposes of planning, the main procedures of the planning system, and the core content of water plans relating to environmental water allocations and the concept of "consumptive pool";
• Administration of Statutory Water Entitlements, including the grant, variation and transfer of entitlements; and

• Catchment Management, including the National Water Quality Management Strategy and State policy and statutory bases of catchment management for the conservation of water resources and protection of water quality, especially in public water supply source areas.

At the conclusion of this course students should be able to:

• understand and explain the main legal principles governing the management of water resources in their own jurisdictions and make some comparisons with other jurisdictions;
• ascertain the legal effect of the national water policy reforms agreed by CoAG and implemented by State and Commonwealth legislation;
• identify and use the principal legal and policy materials applied in the management of water resources in their own jurisdiction; and
• comment critically on the law and policy relevant to a particular problem of water resources management that was the focus of the research assignment.

The scheme of assessment is expected to be three compulsory assessment exercises;

• a pre-workshop assignment of approx 800 words on national water policy, commenced 6 weeks before the workshop and to be submitted on-line to the WebCT site, assessed on a pass / fail basis;
• a presentation at the workshop on a question chosen from a prescribed list, usually relating to an important case, institution or principle, commenced 3 weeks before the workshop; and
• a large research assignment undertaken in a period of 6 weeks after the workshop on a question of the student's choice in consultation with the lecturer.

Students must rely on the Approved Assessment which will be posted to the course homepage on the ANU Law website, prior to the commencement of the course.

More information about the means of assessment will be available on the course home page during the enrolment period and on the WebCT site during the Course.

The three days intensive workshop is the only commitment of class time.  Students will need to manage their own time to complete the pre-workshop assignment and prepare the workshop presentation, as well as to undertake the research assignment after the workshop.  In addition to completing these assignments, students should also commit some time to general reading for the course, especially before the workshop. 

Click here for 2009 Graduate Law Timetable

LAWS8189 / LAWS8201 Fundamentals of Environmental Law (non-lawyers)

Students must have access to WebCT to complete the compulsory assessment.

This course will commence on WebCT on 16 September 2009, prior to the intensive component. Logon to WebCT at: http://webct.anu.edu.au/login/ using your ISIS username and password.

The intensive component of the course will run from 28 to 30 October 2009.

Enrolments will be accepted up to 16 September 09 (the start date for WebCT).