A judgement handed down on Tuesday in the NSW Court of Appeal has left the Murray-Darling Basin Authority (MDBA) without its defence of claiming it is a ‘public or other authority’ to limit liability in the class action brought over alleged negligent water management.
Justice Leeming said, “It may readily be accepted that New South Wales plays a part in the operations of the [MDBA]. Mentioned above are its participation in the agreement, its membership of the Ministerial Council, and its funding. But that does not make the functions performed by the [MDBA’s] delegates when physically located in New South Wales public official functions of New South Wales.”
This decision leaves intact the April judgement of NSW Supreme Court Justice Christine Adamson.
The class action involves many farmers from the NSW Murray region who are seeking damages from the MDBA and the Commonwealth over alleged negligence in the exercise of the MDBA’s power in managing water delivery through the basin.
The class action has the potential to lay the foundation of further action against what some once considered the ‘untouchables’.
This article appeared in The Koondrook and Barham Bridge Newspaper, 14 October 2021.
