[no bill text published] NSW Assessment and Publication Requirements for Water Access Licence Transfers to Government

Water Management Amendment (Transfer of Water) Bill 2023

Independent Bill

30 Nov 2023: This bill has lapsed and is no longer under discussion.

Legislative Assembly

Legislative Council

Assent

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Topics

environmental impact socio-economic impact water access water management water rights

Introduced by: Helen Dalton MP (IND)

Links to official parliament websites

Official page: progress through parliament

Official page: bill text and explanatory notes

Effects of this bill

If this bill passes, it means that:

The Water Minister cannot register a water access licence transfer to the Commonwealth, the State, or their agencies unless an assessment is done.
The assessment must show the transfer has neutral or positive socio-economic and environmental impacts.
The Water Minister must publish the assessment report on a public website.
Assessors must consider production and employment levels; they must also look at business incomes and costs.
Assessors must evaluate psychological wellbeing; this includes stress, happiness, and family harmony.
Assessors must consider access to social services and changes to working conditions.

The Debate

What different members said when this bill was debated:

Helen Dalton IND

“For those members who are not across the detail of the Water Management Amendment (Transfer of Water) Bill 2023, its purpose is to implement in New South Wales legislation the resolution on water agreed to at the Murray-Darling Basin Ministerial Council—or MinCo—in 2018.”

Official source →

News articles and press releases

Water Management Amendment (Transfer of Water) Bill 2023

Mrs HELEN DALTON, Member for Murray — 2023-06-29

Under the bill the New South Wales water Minister would not be allowed to transfer water access licences to the Commonwealth or the State unless an assessment is undertaken. A report on the assessment will need to be published on a publicly available website that demonstrates that there will be no negative socio-economic impacts. If that is the case then the transfer will not go ahead, or it should not go ahead.