Doyle’s Farm Produce Pty Ltd atf Claredale Family Trust v Murray-Darling Basin Authority

• 1. TORT — Negligence — duty of care — statutory authority — Murray-Darling Basin Authority established under the Water Act 2007 (Cth) — river system to be operated in the public interest — Authority’s functions include executing the agreement between States for sharing the water between the States — Authority required to operate in the face of conflicts — duty alleged to be owed to private irrigators — statutory framework does not erect or facilitate a sufficient relationship between the Authority and private irrigators — duty of care to some private irrigators would distort the focus of the statutory framework — alleged duty would be incongruous with the statutory framework
• 1. TORT — Negligence — duty of care — pure economic loss — novel case — assumption of responsibility — salient features — reasonable foreseeability — actual foresight — identification of the risks of harm — control over the risks of harm and vulnerability — no specific reliance — no indeterminacy — equivalent duties of care would be owed to others — no assumption of responsibility — salient features do not warrant imposition of duty of care to avoid pure economic loss
• 1. TORT — Negligence — alleged breach of duty in the conduct of river operations — whether failure to take precautions which a reasonable person in the Authority’s position would have taken — no breach of duty
• 1. TORT — Negligence — alleged breach of duty in the conduct of commercial negotiations for access to privately-owned infrastructure — no breach of duty

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