River Murray Act 2003

In this Act, unless the contrary intention appears—

activity includes—

an act carried out on a single occasion; and

a series of acts; and

the storage or possession of anything (including something in liquid or gaseous form);

animal means any live animal of any species and includes any animal organisms;

approved account means—

an account designated by the Minister as an approved account for the purposes of this Act, or a specified provision of this Act;

or

the Consolidated Account;

associate—see subsection (2);

authorised officer—see section 13;

business includes a business not carried on for profit or gain;

construct, in relation to any works, includes—

to establish, build or erect the works;

to repair the works;

to make alterations to the works;

to enlarge or extend the works;

council means a council within the meaning of the Local Government

Act 1999;

Court means the Environment, Resources and

Development Court established under the Environment, Resources and Development Court Act 1993;

domestic activity means an activity other than an activity undertaken in the course of a business;

domestic partner means a person who is a domestic partner within the meaning of the Family Relationships Act 1975, whether declared as such under that Act or not;

general duty of care means the duty under section 23;

Implementation Strategy means the River Murray

Act Implementation Strategy under

Part

5;

infrastructure includes—

pumps, pumping stations, pipes, tanks;

dams, reservoirs, artificial lakes and wells;

embankments, walls, channels, drains, drainage holes or other forms of works or earthworks;

any item or thing used in connection with—

testing, monitoring, protecting, enhancing or re-establishing any aspect of the environment; or

any other environmental program or initiative;

bridges and culverts;

buildings, structures and facilities;

other items brought within the ambit of this definition by the regulations;

interim restraining order means an Interim

Restraining Order issued under

Division

1 of

Part

8;

land means, according to the context—

land as a physical entity, including land covered by water;

any legal estate or interest in, or right in respect of, land;

management agreement means an agreement under

Division

2 of

Part

4;

Mining Act means the Mining

Act 1971, the Opal Mining

Act 1995 or the Petroleum

Act 2000;

Murray‑Darling Basin has the same meaning as in the Water Act 2007 of the Commonwealth;

Murray‑Darling Basin Agreement means the

Murray‑Darling Basin Agreement, a copy of which is set out in Schedule 1 of the Water Act 2007 of the Commonwealth, as in force from time to time;

natural resources of the River Murray means—

the River Murray system; and

soil, ground water and surface water, air, vegetation, animals and ecosystems connected or associated with the River Murray system;

and

cultural heritage and natural heritage, and amenity and geological values, connected or associated with the River Murray system; and

minerals and other substances, and facilities, that are subject to the operation of a Mining Act and are such that activities undertaken in relation to them may have an impact on the River Murray;

ORMs means the objectives under section 7;

place includes any land, water, premises or structure;

project includes any form of scheme, undertaking or activity;

protection order means a River Murray Protection

Order issued under Division

1 of

Part

8;

public authority includes a Minister, statutory authority or council;

related operational Act—see section 5(2);

reparation authorisation means an authorisation issued under section 28;

reparation order means a River Murray Reparation

Order issued under Division

1 of

Part

8;

River Murray means—

the main stem of the River Murray; and

the natural resources of the River Murray;

River Murray Protection Area—see section 4;

River Murray system means the River Murray itself, and all anabranches, tributaries, flood plains, wetlands and estuaries that are in any way connected or associated with the river, and related beds, banks and shores;

spouse—a person is the spouse of another if they are legally married;

statutory authorisation means an approval, consent, licence, permit or other authorisation granted or required under a related operational Act;

statutory instrument means—

a plan, program or policy; or

any other instrument of a prescribed kind, prepared pursuant to the provisions of an Act;

vegetation includes any plant organisms;

vehicle includes any—

vessel or craft;

plant or equipment designed to be moved or operated by a driver;

water resource has the same meaning as in the

Water Resources Act 1997;

works includes any form of infrastructure.

For the purposes of this Act, a person is an

associate of another if—

they are partners; or

one is a spouse, domestic partner, parent or child of another;

or

they are both trustees or beneficiaries of the same trust, or one is a trustee and the other is a beneficiary of the same trust; or

one is a body corporate or other entity (whether inside or outside

Australia) and the other is a director or member of the governing body of the body corporate or other entity; or

one is a body corporate or other entity (whether inside or outside

Australia) and the other is a person who has a legal or equitable interest in five per cent or more of the share capital of the body corporate or other entity; or

they are related bodies corporate within the meaning of the

Corporations Act 2001 of the

Commonwealth; or

a relationship of a prescribed kind exists between them;

or

a chain of relationships can be traced between them under any one or more of the above paragraphs.

For the purposes of subsection (2), a beneficiary of a trust includes an object of a discretionary trust.

A reference in this Act to the costs of any damage to the River

Murray will be taken to include a reference to any costs associated with—

minimising, managing or containing any such damage;

or

remedying any such damage; or

addressing any consequences resulting from any such damage;

or

compensating for any loss or adverse impacts arising from any such damage.

For the purposes of this or any other Act, the Minister may, in assessing the costs or extent of any damage to the River Murray, apply any assumptions determined by the Minister to be reasonable in the circumstances.