Monash University Handbook 2011 Postgraduate - Unit

Refer to the specific census and withdrawal dates for the semester(s) in which this unit is offered.

Synopsis

This unit studies how Australia allocates and protects its most crucial natural resource - water. The emphasis is on current regulatory arrangements, although key aspects of the history of water development and politics in Australia are also examined. The approach taken is both legal and policy-oriented with significant elements of critique.

Objectives

After successful completion of this unit, students will:

1. have a sound understanding of the principal legal and policy instruments generally applied to the management of water resources in Australia
2. be able to coherently explain the legal aspects of water resources management at different scales, including current frameworks aimed at ensuring efficient allocation of water in Australia, whilst paying due attention to the technical and scientific context
3. be able to provide a historically informed and analytically well-grounded description of institutional arrangements for water resource management in Australia, with a particular emphasis on the interaction between Federal/State and public/private arrangements
4. be able to coherently critique the main elements of the regulatory arrangements governing the management of water resources in Australia, including the inherent tensions and difficulties within these arrangements
5. have a sound understanding of the legal aspects of undertaking balanced decision-making with respect to the allocation of water resources in Australia
6. be familiar with the mainstream theoretical debates within the policy arenas most relevant to water resource management generally and in Australia
7. be able to use a mixture of legal and other regulatory insights to provide a basic level of sound and informed regulatory advice to higher level decision-makers in the water resources and natural resource management sector generally.

Assessment

Essay (1,500 words): 20%
Assignment (6,000 words): 80%

Contact hours

24 Hours total per semester.