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Tweed River Entrance Sand Bypassing Project Agreement
TWEED RIVER ENTRANCE SAND
BYPASSING PROJECT AGREEMENT
BILL 1997
EXPLANATORY NOTES
The Tweed River Entrance Sand Bypassing Project Agreement Bill has
been drafted to be consistent with current legislative practice and in modern
language. As a consequence particular sections and clauses require little or
no specific further explanation and in these Explanatory Notes those parts
may be repeated or summarised in general terms only.
GENERAL OUTLINE
The Bill's Short Title
Tweed River Entrance Sand Bypassing Project Agreement Act 1997
Reasons for the Bill
There is a Deed of Agreement which requires that Queensland and New
South Wales take steps to have that Agreement ratified by its Parliament.
The New South Wales Parliament passed the Tweed River Entrance Sand
Bypassing Act 1995 (NSW), which commenced on 22 November 1995.
The Tweed River Entrance Sand Bypassing Project agreements are:
(a) the Heads of Agreement signed on 31 March 1994 by the
Premiers of New South Wales and Queensland (Schedule 2 of
the Bill); and
(b) the formal Deed of Agreement signed by the responsible
Ministers on 2 March 1995, as amended (clause 10.3 only) by the
Deed of Further Agreement Number 1 signed on 16 September
1997 (Schedule 1 of the draft Bill is the Deed of Agreement, as
amended to incorporate the Deed of Further Agreement Number
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Tweed River Entrance Sand Bypassing Project Agreement
1.).
Section 6 of the Deed of Agreement provides requirements for
ratification and submission to Parliament as follows:
"1. Each Party shall promptly take every practicable step to have this
Agreement ratified by its Parliament.
2. Each Party, so far as its jurisdiction extends and so far as it may be
necessary, shall provide for or secure the execution and enforcement of
the provisions of this Agreement and any Acts ratifying it.
3. If either Party is unable to secure ratification of this Agreement
because any provision is unacceptable to its Parliament, the Parties
shall negotiate in good faith to achieve a solution, including by
amendment of this Agreement, which promotes the purpose of this
Agreement."
Objectives of the Legislation
The objective of the Bill is to ratify agreements between the States of
Queensland and New South Wales, and to secure the execution and
enforcement of those agreements to implement the Tweed River Entrance
Sand Bypassing Project. The Project objectives are to:
(a) improve and maintain the southern Gold Coast beaches (in
Queensland); and
(b) improve and maintain the navigability of the Tweed River
entrance (in New South Wales).
The way in which the policy objectives are to be achieved in the Bill
The policy objectives are achieved by ratifying the agreements entered
into, and ensuring that sufficient authority exists for the State of Queensland
to fulfil its obligations under the agreements.
Alternatives to the Bill
The policy objectives can only be achieved by a new Act of Parliament.
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Tweed River Entrance Sand Bypassing Project Agreement
Assessment of the administrative cost to Government
The cost of undertaking the Project itself has previously been committed
by the signing of the legally-binding Deed of Agreement with New South
Wales. Estimates in 1990 dollars are given in the Heads of Agreement.
The costs of the project may vary substantially from year to year, and
each State is liable to meet the actual costs of the project as they become due
(clause 14 of the Deed of Agreement). In relation to appropriation, each
State has agreed to submit to its respective Parliament annually through the
budgetary process for the appropriation of all funds necessary or required
for the purposes of the project (clause 21 of the Deed of Agreement).
The cost of administering the Bill itself is expected to be minor.
Consistency with Fundamental Legislative Principles
The Bill is considered to comply with fundamental legislative principles.
Drafting to achieve this has resulted in some differences between this Bill
and the New South Wales Act.
In Queensland, any amendment to the terms of the Deed of Agreement
will require an Amendment Act.
It is important that the project is able to proceed as agreed between the
States. Accordingly, so that the State is able to carry out its obligations
under the Deed of Agreement to secure the execution and enforcement of
the provisions of the agreement, and for synergy with the cognate New
South Wales legislation, the Bill provides that an injunction may not impede
the project. In recognition of fundamental legislative principles, actions for
damages are not excluded.
Consultation
Consultation in relation to the draft Bill was carried out with key
stakeholders which comprised the following:
· Queensland State Government
- Department of the Premier and Cabinet
- Office of the Queensland Parliamentary Counsel
- Department of Economic Development and Trade
- Treasury Department
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Tweed River Entrance Sand Bypassing Project Agreement
- Department of Tourism, Small Business and Industry
- Department of Natural Resources
- Department of Justice
- Department of Mines and Energy
- Department of Transport
- Department of Local Government and Planning
· Local Government and Statutory Authorities
- Gold Coast City Council
- Beach Protection Authority
· New South Wales Government
- through the New South Wales Department of Land and
Water Conservation
· Tweed River Entrance Sand Bypassing Project
- Working Group
Organisations consulted supported the Bill, or raised no objection.
NOTES ON PROVISIONS
PART 1 - PRELIMINARY
Clause 1 states the short title of the Act.
Clause 2 defines the agreements.
Clause 3 provides that the Act applies to all persons including the
State.
Clause 4 states the purpose of the Act.
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Tweed River Entrance Sand Bypassing Project Agreement
PART 2 - RATIFYING AND IMPLEMENTING THE
AGREEMENTS
Clause 5 ratifies the agreements.
Clause 6 ensures that the State is able to carry out its obligations under
the Deed of Agreement to secure the execution and
enforcement of the provisions of the agreement, and, to the
extent that any of the terms may be inconsistent with
existing laws, ensures that (within the specific limits of the
project) the terms of the Deed of Agreement are paramount
to the extent of that inconsistency. (It is noted that the project
objectives are to enhance the coastal environment, and that
compliance with other laws is intended.)
Clause 7 provides that a proceeding for an injunction may not impede
the project, thus ensuring that the State is able to carry out its
obligations under the Deed of Agreement to secure the
execution and enforcement of the provisions of the
agreement.
PART 3 - MISCELLANEOUS
Clause 8 ensures that the Minister administering this Act is
empowered to enter into contracts or commercial activities
on behalf of New South Wales or as a joint party.
Clause 9 provides that the Gold Coast City Council will contribute
one-half of the State's share of the project costs, as provided
by Council decision and agreed between the Council and the
State.
SCHEDULE 1
Schedule 1 is the legally-binding Deed of Agreement, which is the
formal contract between the States of New South Wales and Queensland.
The Deed of Agreement was signed by the then New South Wales Deputy
Premier and Minister for Public Works and the then Queensland Minister
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Tweed River Entrance Sand Bypassing Project Agreement
for Environment and Heritage on behalf of the respective States on 2 March
1995. Subsequently, by the execution of the Deed of Further Agreement
Number 1 on 16 September 1997, the Ministers responsible for the
implementation of the project (the New South Wales Minister for Land and
Water Conservation and the Queensland Minister for Environment) agreed
to amend the Deed of Agreement so as to amend and clarify certain
prescribed dates in Clause 10.3. The Deed of Agreement contained in
Schedule 1 is the current version as amended.
SCHEDULE 2
Schedule 2 is the Heads of Agreement signed by the then Premiers of
New South Wales and Queensland on behalf of their respective States on
31 March 1994. The Heads of Agreement is the in-principle policy
agreement between the States of New South Wales and Queensland. From
this policy basis, the Deed of Agreement was developed.
© The State of Queensland 1997