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Committee's Report

The committee's report on the Water Reform and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2014 was tabled on 17 November 2014.

An electronic copy of the report (PDF) is available via the following link: The Water Reform and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2014 was passed with amendment on 26 November 2014.

View: Report No. 52, Water Reform and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2014.
View: Water Reform and Other Legislation Amendment Act 2014
View: Government's response to recommendations contained in Report No. 52, Water Reform and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2014
View: Erratum to the Explanatory Notes for the Water Reform and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2014 
View: Amendments moved during consideration in detail by the Honourable Andrew Cripps MP, Minister for Natural Resources and Mines
View: Explanatory Notes to amendments moved during consideration in detail by the Honourable Andrew Cripps MP, Minister for Natural Resources and Mines
View: Amendments moved during consideration in detail by the Honourable Mark McArdle MP, Minister for Energy and Water Supply
View: Explanatory Notes for the amendments moved during consideration in detail by the Honourable Mark McArdle MP, Minister for Energy and Water Supply
 

About the Bill

On 11 September 2014 the Minister for Natural Resources and Mines, Hon Andrew Cripps MP, introduced the Water Reform and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2014 to the Queensland Parliament.

In accordance with Standing Order 131, the Bill has been referred to the Agriculture, Resources and Environment Committee for consideration. The committee must provide its report to the House by 17 November 2014.

According to the Explanatory Notes, the objective of the Bill are to:

• establish a new purpose for the whole Water Act that will encompass the broad nature of the Water Act’s provisions to ensure it provides for the responsible and productive management, allocation and use of Queensland’s water and riverine quarry resources;
• establish a watercourse identification map to identify what is and is not a watercourse;
• provide a new framework for management and allocation of water to deliver a significantly more efficient, flexible and responsive framework for water resource planning by:
  • providing for the development of statutory water plans as the primary catchment-based water management instrument,
  • providing for the development of water entitlement notices to grant, amend, refuse, repeal or cancel entitlements (under certain situations) to implement a water plan,
  • establishing a streamlined assessment and approval framework to facilitate major water infrastructure projects (including large-scale agricultural projects),
  • streamlining the framework for regulating the take and interference with water to reduce the regulatory burden,
  • reforming the framework for water licensing,
  • enabling the surrender of water allocations,
  • making other changes to chapter 2 such as minor amendments to align the streamlined frameworks;
• establish a consistent framework for underground water rights for the resources sector and for the management of impacts on underground water due to resources sector activities through changes to:
  • the Mineral Resources Act 1989 and Petroleum and Gas (Production and Safety) Act 2004,
  • expand the application of chapter 3 of the Water Act to the mineral resources sector;
• enact safety and health legislative provisions for the new overlapping tenure framework for Queensland’s coal and coal seam gas industries;
• broaden the categories of mandatory qualification for eligibility for appointment as the Commissioner for Mine Safety and Health;
• support the transition of category 2 water authorities to other institutional forms and simplify the administrative requirements for both category 2 water authorities and river improvement trusts;
• provide a pathway for water rights held under special agreement legislation to be transitioned into the Water Act framework to ensure consistency with the Water Act and provide clarity of access to water  for all water users;
• removing the reversal of the onus of proof under section 812A and 812B of the Water Act;
• make other amendments to:
  • remove provisions of the Water Act relating to drainage and embankment areas,
  • provide flexible ‘fit for purpose’ public notice requirements,
  • provide for online fees and payment,
  • remove spent transitional provisions from the Water Act.

View: Water Reform and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2014
View: Explanatory Notes to the Water Reform and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2014
View: Explanatory Speech by the Minister for Natural Resources and Mines

SUBMISSIONS

Submissions closed on 9 October 2014

timeline

Public briefing:  29 October 2014 - Public briefing transcript 
Public hearing;  29 October 2014 - Public hearing transcript
Public briefing: 15 October 2014 - Public briefing transcript
Report tabled:  17 November 2014