Water Symposium
Join us for the premier event covering Water law, policy and regulation and help shape the conversation for 2023. Led by renowned water expert, Prof. Mike Young, you will examine the latest developments relating to the current Murry Darling Basin Plan & aspirations for the next plan, learn about the role of Indigenous water holders & water sharing, gain an update on water regulation, recent significant decisions, floods, negligence and the liability of public authorities. All this and so much more! 232N04
Description
Attend and earn 6 CPD units including
2 units in Substantive Law
4 units in Professional Skills
This program is applicable to practitioners from all States & Territories
The conference will be followed by a Networking Drinks Reception
Session 1
Regulating Water 2023 - 2026
Chair: Mike Young, Professor Water and Environment, University of Adelaide
9.00am to 9.45am Enforcement Action Under the Water Management Act 2000 (NSW)
- Update on NRAR regulatory priorities
- Outcomes of recent NRAR prosecutions – case analysis
- Enforceable undertakings
Presented by Sarah-jane Morris, Director Legal and Stacey Ella, Principal Legal Officer, Natural Resources Access Regulator
9.45am to 10.30am Water Law Case Update
- Experts and evidentiary hurdles
- Floods, negligence and the liability of public authorities
Presented by Ballanda Sack, Special Counsel, Beatty Hughes & Associates
10.30am to 11.00am The Expanding and Evolving Rule of Law in Water Management: Emergence of Treaty-Making and Institutions
- The emergence of treaty-making with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples encompassing land and natural resources management including water.
- Understanding the application of international law and Aboriginal law-lore and cultural authority over water management.
- A discussion of the Victorian approach to water management
Presented by Dr Bruce Lindsay, Senior Specialist Lawyer and Justice Lead, Environmental Justice Australia
11.00am to 11.15am Morning Tea
11.15am to 11.45am Political Panel
Take this opportunity to listen to parliamentarians share their blueprint for the future of water management for the Murray Darling Basin.
Rose Jackson MLC, NSW Shadow Minister for Water, Housing and Homelessness
Cate Faehrmann MLC, Chair, Environment and Planning Committee in the NSW Upper House, The Greens
11.45am to 12.15pm 2023 to 2026: A Good Finish to the Current Murray Darling Basin Plan
The MDBA was established in December 2008 and a formal review is due in 2026. It’s timely to reflect on the past 8 years in 2023, where, in the next two years the current plan is headed,
In conversation with:
Claire Miller, CEO, NSW Irrigators' Council
Mark Lamb, CEO, Murray Darling Association
Dr John Conallin, Senior Research Fellow, The Inland Fisheries Research Group, Gulbali Institute, Charles Sturt University
INDUSTRY PERSPECTIVE
12.15pm to 12.35pm Basin Plan: Next Steps to 2024 and Beyond
- The importance of overcoming constraints
- Resilience in agriculture as well as environment in the next Milennium drought
- Limitations of policy based on a model versus realities in a highly modified landscape
- The continuum of expectations: what do ‘we’ want?
Presented by Claire Miller, CEO, NSW Irrigator’s Council
12.35pm to 1.05pm The Power of Motions by the Murray Darling Association
- Explore what Motions are all about
- Why are they important
- What they have achieved
Presented by Mark Lamb, CEO Murray Darling Association
1.05pm to 1.15pm Final Q&A and Closing Comments by the Chair
Session 2
Indigenous Vision, Beyond 2023 and Floodplain Harvesting
2.15pm to 2.55pm The Indigenous Vision for the New Plan
- Can Closing the Gap clients contribute to the future health and well-being of the Murray Darling Basi?
- Maintaining a genuine sovereign voice and action in the Basin plan and what that looks like
Presented by Feli McHughes, Chairperson, Northern Basin Aboriginal Nations (NBAN), Principle First-nations Advisor, NSW Irrigators’ Council
2.55pm to 3.35pm Implementing the Murray–Darling Basin Plan and Looking to the Future
- What the Basin Plan has achieved, and what’s left to be done
- The challenges facing Australia’s largest and most complex river system
- Early planning for Basin Plan Review
Presented by Professor Quentin Grafton. Professor and Laureate Fellow; Chairholder UNESCO Chair in Water Economics and Transboundary Water Governance, Australian National University
3.40pm to 4.20pm Panel Discussion: Flood Plain Harvesting: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
Panel includes:
Dr Celine Steinfeld, Director, Wentworth Group of Concerned Scientist
Claire Miller, CEO, NSW Irrigator’s Council
Feli McHughes, Chairperson, Northern Basin Aboriginal Nations (NBAN)
Justin Field, Independent Member, NSW Legislative Council
4.20pm to 4.30pm Final Q&A and Closing Comments by the Chair
Post Conference Networking Drinks
Presenters
Mike Young
Mike Young holds a Research Chair in Water and Environmental Policy at the University of Adelaide, was the Founding Executive Director of its Environment Institute, is a fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences in Australia, and is a Distinguished Fellow of the Australian Agricultural and Resource Economics Society. Mike is a specialist in water policy reform and his research led to the unbundling of Australia’s water licences and the resultant development of an efficient trading system and the Australian Government decision to transfer responsibility for the administration of the Murray Darling Basin’s water resources to an independent expertise-based authority. He played a key role in establishing Australia’s National Land and Water Resources Audit. Mike is a current member of the Global Water Partnership's Technical Committee and is a recent member of the World Economic Forum’s Global Agenda Council on Water Security He was a founding member of the Wentworth Group of Concerned Scientists. In 2006, Mike was awarded Australia’s premier water research prize – the Land and Water Australia Eureka Award for Water Research. He has played a critical role in the consideration of options for the Murray Darling Basin. Prior to joining the University of Adelaide, Mike spent 30 years with CSIRO where amongst other things he established their Policy and Economic Research Unit. In 2003, Mike was awarded a Centenary Medal “for outstanding service through environmental economics”. His full curriculum vitae lists over 240 publications. More information is available at >www.myoung.net.au
Sarah-jane Morris
Sarah-jane Morris is a senior government lawyer and executive with 20 years’ experience providing legal advice and representation to government. She is currently the Director of Legal for the Natural Resources Access Regulator, providing criminal and administrative law advice to support enforcement of the State’s water laws. Sarah-jane has previously worked as Director, Water Law at the Department of Planning and Environment and was formerly a Director and Special Counsel at the NSW Crown Solicitor’s Office where she specialised in statutory interpretation, administrative law, criminal law and regulatory prosecutions. She has been involved with NRAR’s prosecutions since its inception.
Stacey Ella
Stacey Ella has more than a decade of experience in environmental law. In her current role as a Principal Legal Officer for the Natural Resources Access Regulator (NRAR), Stacey advises on and leads strategic prosecutions and other enforcement options under the NSW Water Management Act. Stacey’s previous experience includes working as the Managing Lawyer at the EDO’s Northern Territory office, working as a Senior Solicitor in the Environment and Regulatory team at the NSW Crown Solicitor’s Office where she acted on behalf of NRAR, in-house as a Senior Legal Officer and Principal Legal Officer at the NSW EPA and as a lawyer at the EDO’s NSW office.
Bruce Lindsay
Dr Bruce Lindsay is a senior lawyer and leads the justice program at Environmental Justice Australia, a public interest environmental law practice based in Melbourne. He has worked in areas including planning, environmental, water and administrative law since 2013, in law reform, community legal education and litigation. The nature of EJA’s work means that Bruce typically works closely with community organisations and NGOs. Alongside EJA work Bruce contributed to the law and policy component of the National Cultural Flows Research Project (2017-2018) and on ‘reframing net gain’ concepts for the Birrarung Council. He has taught Environmental Law at the Australian Catholic University. Bruce has a PhD from the ANU College of Law and a Masters in Environmental Science from Monash University.
Rose Jackson
Rose Jackson is a Labor Member of the NSW Legislative Council and the Shadow Minister for Water, Housing and Homelessness. Prior to entering NSW Parliament Rose worked for NSW Labor, the union movement, was a Councillor on Waverley Council and the President of the National Union of Students.
Cate Faehrmann MLC
Cate has a long history as an activist for women?s rights and the environment. She's been on the front lines with the LGBTIQ+ community in the fight for equality, an unwavering voice for dying with dignity, and has fought for animal welfare. Cate was previously a member of parliament from 2010-2013, and most recently was Chief of Staff for parliamentary leader of the Australian Greens, Dr Richard Di Natale. She has been active in many environmental and social justice organisations, including as Chair of Sea Shepherd Australia, Executive Director of the Nature Conservation Council of NSW, founding director of GetUp! and on the board of the Environmental Defenders Office NSW. Cate came to The Greens because she shared the party's values of environmental sustainability, social and economic justice, and the desire to work for a society that puts people and planet first ? not the vested interests of the big business buddies and dodgy developer donors of the old parties. Cate's areas of policy interest are the environment and tackling climate change, women?s rights, the right for terminally ill people to die with dignity, mental health, urgently needed drug law reform, and animal welfare. In her spare time, you?ll find her exploring our beautiful wilderness or enjoying the incredible festivals NSW has to offer. We hope you?ll join Cate in her journey as The Greens take on the regressive, far right parliamentarians that are blocking progress on so many important issues.
Claire Miller
Claire Miller is the CEO of the NSW Irrigators’ Council, representing water users across the State since 1983. Claire has a professional background in journalism, as a senior ministerial water policy adviser, and various roles for irrigated agricultural industries and communities. She has a Masters Degree in Environmental Studies, and is a director on the East Gippsland CMA board.
Mark Lamb
An experienced senior management executive, Mark joined the Murray Darling Association in December 2021 in the role of Chief Executive Officer. Mark has worked across various sectors, both at a local level and for global organisations, and is passionate about peak bodies, having led three peak bodies, both domestically and Internationally. Mark has an exceptional track record of organisational development, membership growth, conferencing and events, and consensus-building across complex policy areas. Mark began his career in banking and finance, before transitioning to more broadly-based financial services including financial planning and risk management. He has held a number of strategic and consulting roles, especially in relation to key areas such as leadership and team building, marketing and distribution, with proven business, strategy and operational skills. Much of his consulting was focused on the areas of professionalism - quality improvement and change management – both internally and externally. Mark has assisted many organisations to transition into new strategies and methodologies. He has global experience and expertise in training and has conducted open and in-house training courses around the world, and is a highly-rated lecturer, trainer and facilitator, experienced in behavioural change management.
Dr John Conallin
Dr John Conallin has over two decades of local international research experience working in different fields within IWRM, NRM and the interface between fisheries and irrigation management. His international work is within the broader international focus of food and water security, and meeting the UN Sustainable Development Goals. He emphasises the importance of encompassing the social-ecological values within systems and their input into management and decision making. His work focusses on capacity building through research of local stakeholders (primarily government and NGOs) with an emphasis on learning and pragmatism balanced with precision and acquiring evidence for use within decision making.
Celine Steinfeld
Dr Celine Steinfeld is the Director of the Wentworth Group of Concerned Scientists, a not for profit organisation with the goal of linking science to public policy. She previously led the Wentworth Group's water program having specialised in water policy and management in large river basins. Her honours and PhD focused on river management in the Murray-Darling Basin at the University of New South Wales. She won the University Medal in 2008, the NSW Government Peter Cullen Postgraduate Scholarship in 2009 and the international River Management Young Achievers Award in 2012. After graduating, Celine worked in policy implementation at the Murray-Darling Basin Authority. She is a visiting fellow at UNSW Sydney's Centre for Ecosystem Science.
Justin Field
Justin Field has been a member of the Legislative Council since 2016 and has focussed his parliamentary advocacy on water and natural resource management issues. Prior to entering the Parliament, Justin worked for a number of environmental NGOs focused on the impact of coal seam gas and coal mining on local communities and the environment and he was instrumental in the early strategy of the Lock the Gate movement. Justin served as an officer in the Australian Army (Australian Intelligence Corps) between 2000 and 2007, attaining the rank of Captain. He graduated from Duntroon in June 2001. Justin holds a Bachelor of Arts from Deakin University and majored in International Relations. Justin is married to Melissa and has a five year old son, Banjo and outside of parliament and politics spends his time doing long distance triathlons, surfing and is an avid vegetable gardener.
Venue
Cliftons - Spring Street
Level 3, 10 Spring Street
Sydney 2000
NSW
Australia
Parking Information
Parking not included in you registration. Here are some options below.
Secure Park 20 Bond Street - click here for rates
Wilson Park 1 O'Connell Street - click here for rates
Wilson Park 31 Bond Street - click here for rates
Directions
Nearby Public Transport:
Train Stations - Wynyard 400m OR Martin Place 500m
Bus Interchange - Clarence Street 450m
Ferry - Circular Quay 1.2km