The implementation of COAG`s water reforms, the National Water Initiative and the Murray-Darling Basin agreement required an additional agreement between New South Wales and Queensland. (a) the implementation of relevant international agreements (to the extent that such agreements are relevant for the exploitation and management of water resources in the river basin); and 2.67 Two of the international agreements on which the Water Act is based are the Convention on Wetlands of International Importance, including as Habitat for Waterfowl (Ramsar Convention) and the Convention on Biological Diversity. [135] 2.5 The first agreement to regulate the use of pelvic waters was the River Murray Waters Agreement (Waters Agreement). The Waters Agreement was signed by the Commonwealth, NSW, Victoria and SA in 1914 and entered into force in 1915. The River Murray Commission was established in 1917. [8] The role of the Murray River Commission was to regulate the main flow of the Murray River to ensure that each of the three States Parties received its agreed water allocation. [9] 2.12 In 1994, the Australian Council of Governments (COAG) adopted a strategy for effective and sustainable reform of Australian water management. [24] This strategy was developed in 1996. [25] In 2004, COAG approved an intergovernmental agreement on a National Water Initiative (NWI). [26] The Commonwealth, states and territories have agreed on the importance of meeting the water needs of rural and urban communities, while ensuring the health of water and river systems. Within the framework of the IMO, governments have made a number of commitments: the Paroo River Agreement between New South Wales and Queensland in 2003 was reached after a common recognition of the importance of water resources in the Paroo River system to preserve the uniqueness of the Paroo Basin.
NSW has entered into a number of formal intergovernmental agreements for purposes such as funding water management programmes or projects to better understand water resources and the water-dependent environment. Intergovernmental agreements may also cover state-to-state benefit-sharing or responsibilities or other water-related issues, such as floods, groundwater, water sharing, water degradation and the environment. Intergovernmental agencies may be established to monitor, study or recommend water initiatives to share or protect common water resources. 2.16 Following the entry into force of the Water Act, the Commonwealth, NSW, Victoria, SA, Queensland and ACT entered into a Memorandum of Understanding on the basin at a COAG meeting in March 2008. [33] It was agreed to implement further cooperation agreements on water management in the watershed, based on Water Act agreements, particularly with respect to matters in which the Australian government does not have constitutional legislative authority. [34] Much has been said about the international agreements underlying the [Act] and it has been proposed that these agreements preclude the consideration of socio-economic factors. . .
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