Lake Eyre Basin Community Advisory Committee, Innamincka flight, July 2005. Photo: V Norris
The Lake Eyre Basin Intergovernmental Agreement (the Agreement) brings together the Australia, Queensland, South Australian and Northern Territory Governments to ensure the sustainable management of the water and related natural resources associated with cross-border river systems in the Basin, and to avoid downstream impacts on associated environmental, economic and social values. The Agreement was signed by Ministers of the Australian, Queensland and South Australian Governments in October 2000, and by the Northern Territory Government in 2004. The Agreement has since been enacted in all Parliaments.
The Lake Eyre Basin Agreement currently applies to:
- the Cooper Creek system (including the Thomson and Barcoo Rivers);
- the Georgina and Diamantina River systems within Queensland and South Australia, ending at Kati Thanda - Lake Eyre;
- the Northern Territory portion of the Basin; and
- the Neales and Macumba River catchments, to the west of Kati Thanda - Lake Eyre North in South Australia.
The Agreement incorporates a number of guiding principles that recognise the significance of the Lake Eyre Basin for ecological, cultural and tourism reasons, and the need to make decisions which will foster ecologically sustainable development using a precautionary approach and take account of significant knowledge and experience of local communities.
The Agreement promotes a partnership between jurisdictions and key stakeholders, including NRM groups, industry and Aboriginal communities.
The Lake Eyre Basin (LEB) Ministerial Forum, Community Advisory Committee, Scientific Advisory Panel and Senior Officers Group assist in implementing the Agreement. In recent years the Ministerial Forum has adopted a number of Policies and Strategies to implement the objectives of the Agreement and since April 2008 has implemented a Five Year Action Plan.