Author(s)

F. Rochford

Abstract

Australia’s federal Water Act requires the creation of water plans that enable the delivery of sufficient water to meet ‘critical human needs’ This obligation does not create any individual right, although a state may attempt to argue a failure to provide critical human needs as a basis for challenging the Plan. This paper considers the origin of this requirement, the way in which it is intended to be operationalised, and the potential problems in the prioritisation of this requirement. It then considers the creation of a right to water with more content, and the preconditions for establishing that right in Australia. Keywords: water, human rights, law, legislation.

Keywords

water, human rights, law, legislation