Part 2Water planning

Part 2—Water planning 6—Water planning (1) The Minister must prepare and maintain a document to be called the State Water Demand and Supply Statement. (2) The State Water Demand and Supply Statement must— (a) assess the state of South Australia's water resources and the extent of water supplies available within the State; and (b) assess current and future demand for water within the State; and (c) outline policies, plans and strategies relevant to ensuring that the State's water supplies are secure and reliable and are able to sustain economic growth within the State. (3) The State Water Demand and Supply Statement may— (a) address any other matter considered to be relevant by the Minister; and (b) take into account any policy, plan or strategy determined to be relevant by the Minister. (4) The Minister must comprehensively review the State Water Demand and Supply Statement at least once in every 5 years. (5) The Minister may amend the State Water Demand and Supply Statement at any time. (6) The Minister must, in relation to a proposal— (a) to create the State Water Demand and Supply Statement; or (b) to undertake a comprehensive review of the State Water Demand and Supply Statement, invite interested persons to make written representations on the proposal in such manner, and within a period, specified by the Minister. (7) The Minister must, within 14 days after the finalisation of the State Water Demand and Supply Statement, or the finalisation of a comprehensive review of the State Water Demand and Supply Statement, cause copies of the statement (or the Statement as revised) to be delivered to the President of the Legislative Council and the Speaker of the House of Assembly. (8) The Minister must— (a) make appropriate provision for the publication of the State Water Demand and Supply Statement; and (b) ensure that copies of the State Water Demand and Supply Statement are reasonably available for inspection (without charge) and purchase by the public at places determined by the Minister; and (c) ensure that notice of any amendment to the State Water Demand and Supply Statement is published in the Gazette within a reasonable time after the amendment is made. (9) The Minister must, on or before 31 March in each year, prepare a report that relates to the State Water Demand and Supply Statement and that— (a) provides information about the water demand and supply status of the various regions of the State; and (b) identifies and analyses the impacts of any emerging risks or significant issues associated with the State's water supplies; and (c) reports on such other matters as the Minister thinks fit. (10) The Minister must, immediately after the finalisation of the report under subsection (9), cause copies of the report to be delivered to the President of the Legislative Council and the Speaker of the House of Assembly. (11) When the President of the Legislative Council and the Speaker of the House of Assembly receive a statement or report under this section, the President and the Speaker must— (a) immediately cause the statement or report to be published; and (b) lay the statement or report before their respective Houses at the earliest opportunity. (12) If the President of the Legislative Council or the Speaker of the House of Assembly is absent at the time that a statement or report is delivered to the Parliament under this section, the Clerk of the relevant House will receive the statement or report on behalf of the President or the Speaker (as the case may be) (and the statement or report will then be taken to have been received by the President or the Speaker). (13) If a statement or report is received by the President of the Legislative Council or the Speaker of the House of Assembly at a time when Parliament is not sitting, the statement or report will be taken to have been published under subsection (11) at the expiration of 1 clear day after the day of receipt of the report. (14) A statement or report will, when published under subsection (11), be taken for the purposes of any other Act or law to be a report of the Parliament published under the authority of the Legislative Council and the House of Assembly. (15) A statement or report under this section is an expression of policy and does not in itself affect rights or liabilities (whether of a substantive, procedural or other nature).