Establishment and Function

The Joint Select Committee on Drainage was a joint select committee of the Legislative Assembly and Legislative Council. It was constituted under the Joint Select Committee (Drainage) Acts 1965 (No.7316) and 1967 (No.7558). The purpose of the committee was to:

...conduct an inquiry into and to report and make recommendations to the Council and Assembly upon the question of whether the existing statutory provisions relating to drainage are satisfactory, and what changes (if any) should be made; and, in particular-

(a) whether the powers provided by section 655 of the Local Government Act 1958 to enable a municipal council to protect the roads in the municipality from damage are adequate;

(b) whether the provisions of Division 5 of Part XXI. of the Local Government Act 1958 and Division 5 of Part IV. of the Health Act 1958 are adequate to enable municipal councils to make satisfactory provision for the drainage of houses and land and to distribute the cost equitably amongst the owners of the properties which benefit;

(c) whether, subject to the concurrence of the Melbourne and Metropolitan Board of Works, the Dandenong Valley Authority, the State Rivers and Water Supply Commission or a drainage trust constituted under the River Improvement Act (as the case may require) a municipal council should be vested with the powers to define and develop the course of a drain and pay compensation in respect thereof and whether any person seeking to drain land should be able to avail himself of such a defined course;

(c) whether any limits should be prescribed with respect to the requirements which municipal councils may impose on the subdividers of land to carry the drainage from their subdivisions to a point of lawful discharge;

(d) whether any and what provision should be made in respect of the discharge of domestic sullage, septic tank effluents and trade wastes to drains under the control of a municipality, the Melbourne and Metropolitan Board of Works, the Latrobe Valley Water and Sewage Board, the Dandenong Valley Authority, the State Rivers and Water Supply Commission or a drainage trust constituted under the River Improvement Act 1958;

(f) whether the provisions of section 274 of the Water Act 1958 regarding liability for flooding should be modified, particularly as to the onus of proof, and whether any other statutes should be amended to incorporate these provisions;

(g) whether the provisions of section 27 of the Dandenong Valley Authority Act 1963 relating to the proclamation of flood-prone areas should be of more general application and what other authorities if any should have powers similar to those of the Dandenong Valley Authority and, if so, what authorities should be vested with the power to purchase and develop flood prone land;

(h) whether the provisions of section 11 of the Water Act 1958 as to the removal of obstructions from natural waterways are adequate, and, in particular, whether the expression watercourse should be defined by statute to include all lines of natural drainage;

(i) whether, in light of the foregoing and the evidence available to the committee, other statutory provision should be made for the effective drainage of land, particularly in intensively developed rural areas;

(j) any other matters which appear relevant to the enquiry.

[S.4 (a)-(j) Act Nos.7316 and 7558.]

The Committee comprised six members, three of which were members of and appointed by the Legislative Assembly and three who were members of and appointed by the Legislative Council. It presented seven progress and final report to Parliament. The Committee ceased to exist with the tabling of the final report on 25 March 1970.

Location of Records

Records of the Joint Select Committee on Drainage are listed below.