Water Symposium: Managing Legal and Regulatory Risk
Issues covered include: water law, Murry- Darling Basin, environment, resource management
Description
Australia is the driest inhabited continent on Earth and among the world's highest consumers of water. Amongst OECD nations Australia is ranked fourth-highest in water use per capita. Only 6 per cent of Australia's runoff was in the Murray-Darling Basin, where 50 per cent of Australia's water use occurs. For the Water Industry, these are not just statistics to rattle off, but part of the reality of doing business and ensuring legal compliance with the rules around access to water.
Attend and earn 7 CPD units including
4 units in Substantive Law
3 units in Professional Skills
Session 1
Water Access. The Murray-Darling Basin and the Lessons Learned from the South Australian Murray-Darling Basin Royal Commission – The Legal Issues
Chair: Mike Young, Professor of Water and Environmental Policy, University of Adelaide
9.00am to 9.05am Opening Comments by the Chair
9.05am to 9.45am: Keynote Presentation: What Does A State of the Art Water Allocation and Management System Look Like? What Would Bring the MDB to This Frontier?”
Presented by Mike Young, Professor of Water and Environmental Policy, University of Adelaide
9.45am to 10.30am: Murray Darling Basin: The Royal Commission Report and Moving Forward
- What is an ‘environmentally sustainable level of take’ from the water resources of the Murray Darling Basin?
- Government funded water efficiency schemes: Have billions of dollars been wasted?
- Meaning of ‘supply measures’ and ‘environmental equivalency’ and their relationship to ‘fish kills’
- What is being done on river ‘constraints’?
- The Basin Plan and climate change risks
- The ‘best available scientific knowledge’ and the way forward
Presented by Richard Beasley SC, Level 9 Wentworth Chambers
10.30am to 10.50am Morning Tea
10.50am to 11.35am: Pathways to Water Sovereignty: Cultural Flows and First Nations' Water Rights
- First Nations' water values and knowledge
- Indigenous-led research to inform water management
- A platform for policy and legal reform
Presented by Rene Woods, Chair and Will Mooney, Executive Officer, Murray Lower Darling River Indigenous Nations (MLDRIN)
Commentary by Dr Bruce Lindsay, Lawyer, Environmental Justice Australia
11.35am to 12.15pm: Modern Approaches to Regulating Groundwater Impacts from Mining
- State and Federal examples of conditions regulating ground water impacts from mining
- Technical issues with regulating ground water impacts
- Relevant court cases
- An analysis of groundwater conditions in the recent Commonwealth approval of the Adani Carmichael Mine
Presented by Simon Ball, Partner, MinterEllison; Recommended Town Planning and Development Lawyer, Doyle’s Guide 2019
12.15pm to 12.20pm Q&A and Closing Comments by the Chair
Session 2
Regulation and Enforcement of Water and Climate Change
Chair: Claire Smith, Partner, Clayton Utz; Best Lawyers 2018-2019 Water Lawyer of the Year
1.20pm to 1.25pm Opening Comments by the Chair
1.25pm to 2.10pm: NSW Water Law and Policy: A System Operator’s Perspective
Presented by Dr Madeleine Hartley, Regulatory & Corporate Strategy Adviser, Water NSW; 2019 Corporate Counsel Awards Government Lawyer of the Year; Excellence Award recipient in recognition of contribution to NSW water reform
2.10pm to 2.55pm: Regulating Access to Water: Role and Function of the Natural Resources Access Regulator (NRAR)
- The policy drivers for an independent water regulator in NSW
- The role and functions of NRAR
- NRAR’s approach to achieve best practice water regulation
- Key achievements since NRAR’s inception
Presented by Kirsty Ruddock, Director, Regulatory Investigations and Compliance with the Natural Resources Access Regulator and Nina Lucas, Principal Legal Officer, Natural Resources Access Regulator
2.55pm to 3.10pm Afternoon Tea
3.10pm to 3.40pm: Using Water Smarter: Water Security In The Face Of Climate Change
- What’s the picture for water supply in the face of climate change - are we planning for it?
- What are the barriers to improving water efficiency and recycling?
- How can households and businesses be part of the water security solution?
Presented by Justin Field Independent Member, NSW Legislative Council
3.40pm to 4.20pm: Are Our Water Laws Climate-Ready?
- Are water laws in Australia equipped to deal with increasing water scarcity?
- What are the risks for businesses, communities and the environment under current regulatory frameworks?
- How can water be incorporated into the adaptation component of nationally determined contributions (NDCs) under the Paris Agreement?
Presented by Dr Emma Carmody, Senior Solicitor, EDO NSW; Legal Advisor, Secretariat of the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands, Switzerland; Board of Trustees, Alliance for Water Stewardship International; 2018 recipient of Dunphy Award for most outstanding effort by an individual at NSW Environment Awards for work as a water lawyer, in particular in relation to compliance and enforcement; listed in Best Lawyers of Australia 2020 for planning and environment law
4.20pm to 4.55pm: PANEL DISCUSSION: Water Rights and the Application of the Decision of Gloucester Resources Limited v Minister for Planning
The consequences for water policy and decision making in light of the decision of Gloucester Resources Limited v Minister for Planning [2019] delivered on 8 February 2019.
Facilitator: Claire Smith, Partner, Clayton Utz
Panellists:
Professor Rosemary Lyster, Professor of Climate and Environmental Law, Director, Australian Centre for Climate Change and Environmental Law, University of Sydney
Richard Beasley SC, Level 9 Wentworth Chambers
David Morris, Chief Executive Officer, Environmental Defenders Office
4.55pm to 5.15pm: Closing Address Bret Walker SC, Fifth Floor, St James Hall, Royal Commissioner, South Australian Murray-Darling Basin Royal Commission
Venue
Cliftons Sydney
Level 3, 10 Spring Street
Sydney 2000
NSW
Australia
Directions
Nearby Public Transport:
Train Stations - Wynyard 400m OR Martin Place 500m
Bus Interchange - Clarence Street 450m
Ferry - Circular Quay 1.2km
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