AGY-5312 | Lake Illawarra Authority

Full description

By the 1980s, the environment of Lake Illawarra, in the Illawarra region south of Sydney, had become seriously degraded from the effects of population growth with increased pollutant and sediment loads from catchment clearing, farming, urbanisation and industry. (1) On 11 February 1988, the Lake Illawarra Authority (LIA) was established under the Lake Illawarra Authority Act 1987 with the task of remedying this situation. (2)

Under the Act, the Authority was to carry out, or cause to be carried out, development works for the improvement of Lake Illawarra and its foreshores and immediate environs. These works, as set out in Schedule 2, included: (3)

(a) the removal of ooze, silt, sand, sediment, algae and weed growth;
(b) the deepening of channels and bays and disposal of spoil;
(c) the construction of silt traps and nutrient filters at entry points of streams and drains;
(d) the landscaping of foreshores, including the planting and removal of trees and other vegetation;
(e) the provision of recreational facilities and amenities, including beaches, boat ramps, boatsheds, jetties, wharves, moorings and appropriately screened car parks; and
(f) the carrying out of land reclamation and works for the protection of the environment.

The LIA could also grant leases or licences for the conduct of commercial activities such as restaurants, kiosks or boatsheds or for the extraction of sand and other material. (4)

Originally, the Authority was comprised of seven members, two of whom represented the local municipal councils, Wollongong and Shellharbour. Of the five community members, one was appointed as the Chairperson of the Authority. (5) Appointments were for a two year term. (6) An officer of the then Public Works Department, nominated by the Director of that Department, was appointed as the Executive Officer who managed the affairs of the Authority. (7)

In late 1999, the Act was amended to increase the number of members to ten to allow the appointment of members to represent the associated ministerial Department, NSW Fisheries, and the local Catchment Management Committee. (8) The number of members remained at ten until the Authority’s abolition but representation was adjusted over time in accordance with changes in departmental administrative arrangements. (9)

Wollongong and Shellharbour City Councils partnered with the Authority in the conduct of the works, contributing financially and “in kind”. (10)

Having no employees of its own, the LIA relied on the support services of the department reporting to the Minister responsible for administering the Lake Illawarra Authority Act 1987. (11)

In 2012, the Government commissioned a review into the Lake Illawarra Authority and the future management of the lake. The review was led by Troy Grant, Parliamentary Secretary for Natural Resources, and its report was issued in May 2013. The review concluded that the LIA had achieved its key objectives and recommended that it be disbanded and the management of the lake assumed by Wollongong and Shellharbour City Councils through an Estuary Management Committee. (12)

The Illawarra Lake Authority was dissolved, and the Lake Illawarra Authority Act 1987 repealed, on 1 July 2014 by the Trade and Investment Cluster Governance (Amendment and Repeal) Act 2014. (13) Its assets and liabilities were transferred to the Department of Trade and Investment, Regional Infrastructure. (14)

Endnotes
1. Lake Illawarra Authority Significant Achievements 1988 to 2011, June 2011, p.[ii], http://www.lpma.nsw.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0020/196202/LIA_ACHIEVEMENTS_2011_update_V2.pdf (accessed 5 February 2016).
2. Lake Illawarra Authority Act 1987 (Act No.285, 1987), s.6(1); NSW Government Gazette No.26, 11 February 1988, p.783.
3. Ibid., Sch.2.
4. Ibid., s.13.
5. Ibid., s.6(4).
6. Ibid., Sch.3, cl.4.
7. Ibid., s.7(2).
8. Lake Illawarra Authority Annual Report 1999-2000, p.4.
9. Lake Illawarra Authority Annual Reports 1999-2000, p.4; 2011-12, p.3.
10. Lake Illawarra Authority Annual Report 1989-1990, p.7.
11. Lake Illawarra Authority Annual Report 2012-13, p.4.
12. Department of Trade and Investment, Regional Infrastructure and Services, Review of the Lake Illawarra Authority (Troy Grant, Parliamentary Secretary for Natural Resources), April 2013, pp.i, 17.
13. Trade and Investment Cluster Governance (Amendment and Repeal) Act 2014 (Act No.26, 2014), ss.15(1), 17(1); Commencement Proclamation (2014 No 403) published on NSW Legislation Website, 27 June 2014.
14. Department of Trade and Investment, Regional Infrastructure and Services Annual Report 2013-14, p.200.