Biodiversity Inquiry for SA Parliamentary Committee (2015)
Client: South Australian Parliament Environment, Resources and Development Committee
Prepared report of the Committee into South Australia’s regulatory and policy framework for biodiversity (partnered with Seed Consulting).
Natural Resources Management – South Australia (1995 – present)
Clients: South Australian Department of Environment and Natural Resources; Primary Industries SA; South Australian Department of the Premier and Cabinet
Advised on, designed or assisted implementation of wide range of statutory reforms in relation to water resources (including national water reforms), natural resources management, River Murray, climate change, fisheries management, native vegetation (including establishment of the vegetation offset credit and trading scheme), carbon farming on Crown land and listing of threatened species.
Use of market-based instruments – Queensland, Western Australia (2006, 2007, 2008)
Client: BDA Group (environmental economists) for Queensland EPA and Swan River Trust (Western Australia) respectively
Advised on developing statutory schemes for nutrient offsetting.
Murray-Darling Basin Plan (2010 – present)
Clients: Murray-Darling Basin Authority, Australian Government Solicitor
Provided legal and policy advice and assisted in drafting the Murray-Darling Basin Plan 2012, including assisting conduct of State jurisdiction negotiations
Ongoing provision of advice to MDBA regarding implementation of aspects of the Basin Plan and Water Act 2007 (Cth), including in relation to water trading rules, water resource plan development and assessment and compliance.
Water Act 2007 (Commonwealth) (2007 – 2008)
Clients: Murray-Darling Basin Authority, Australian Government Solicitor, Commonwealth Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts
Prepared drafting instructions for Commonwealth Water Bill 2007 and Water Amendment Bill 2008 (with AGS).
Murray-Darling Basin Agreement (2008 – present)
Clients: Murray-Darling Basin Authority, Commonwealth Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts
Prepared amendments to the Murray-Darling Basin Agreement to implement Water Act 2008 and intergovernmental agreement between Commonwealth and Basin States.
Prepared amendments to implement new Basin Salinity Management strategy, 2018.
Murray-Darling Basin water resources management (2000 – 2006)
Client: Murray-Darling Basin Commission
Advised in relation to inter-jurisdictional water management, including salinity management, interstate water trade and environmental watering.
Water law reforms – Western Australia (2008; 2014)
Client: Western Australian Department of Water
Advised on water entitlements reform and prepared drafting instructions for Water Resources Management Bill.
Agreement for inter-basin water transfer Ord River – Western Australia (2016)
Client: Western Australian Department of Water
Prepared draft intergovernmental agreement as basis for further negotiation between Western Australian and Northern Territory governments regarding access to water from the Ord River scheme.
Nepal water law and policy (2018 – 2019)
Client: ICEWaRM, for CSIRO and the Government of Nepal
Advising on reform to water law and policy in Nepal, including legal and policy considerations for potential interventions in the Kamala River Basin.
Flow – The essentials of environmental flows (2003) Dyson M., Bergkamp, G. and Scanlon, J., (eds)
Client: IUCN
Edited and contributed to leading international textbook on environmental flows, now translated into 7 languages.
Political economy of water markets (2016)
Clients: AMP Insights and Ecosystem Economics for The Rockefeller Foundation
A report for The Rockefeller Foundation to identify and understand the conditions, policies and laws that lead water markets to function as a useful counterpart to other tools for sustainable water management. A central objective was to identify market, policy, institutional, legal or combined imperfections and failures that impede water market function.
Basin Compliance Compact (2018)
Client: Murray-Darling Basin Authority
Assisted MDBA, Basin jurisdictions and Independent Reviewer (Wendy Craik) develop Basin Compliance Compact; prepared reviewer’s report
Murray-Darling Basin water compliance review (2017)
Client: Independent Panel appointed by Deputy Prime Minister
Advised independent review panel and prepared panel’s report on water compliance in the Murray-Darling Basin
Independent Panel of Inquiry – Review of Northern Territory Water Licences (2017)
Client: Northern Territory Chief Minister
Chair of independent review panel to conduct review of grant of Northern Territory water licences
Due diligence assessments – Murray-Darling Basin projects (2008 – 2013)
Client: Marsden Jacob Associates, for Commonwealth Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts
Undertook legal aspects of nine due diligence assessments for proposed Commonwealth funding
Administrative decision-making (2015)
Client: Murray-Darling Basin Authority
Provided staff training sessions on administrative decision-making
