Water law reform in Australia and South Africa: Sustainability, efficiency and social justice

Abstract

Recent major reforms in Australia and South Africa have seen radical changes in the way in which water is conceived in legal terms and the regulatory frameworks for its allocation and distribution. The South African 1998 reforms were in part inspired by Australian changes, but it is argued that Australia can now look to the new South African legal and constitutional framework for inspiration for reforms more geared towards sustainable environmental and social outcomes. Both countries can now been seen as involved in a major program of natural resource ‘redistribution’. Australia has pioneered the adoption of best practice approaches combining goals of environmental protection and resource ef..