Navigating muddy waters: Does the High Court have a role in adjudicating interstate river disputes?

摘要

The operation of s 100 of the Constitution, both as a justiciable limit on Commonwealth legislative power and more broadly, remains largely unexplored. This article examines the drafting history of s 100 to uncover the High Court's anticipated role in relation to State/Commonwealth and State/State disputes generally, and concerning the use of interstate river water. Further, this article looks abroad to the experience of other constitutional federations (namely, the United States, Canada and Switzerland) in managing interstate rivers to better understand the role that notions of non-justiciability and judicial deference may have in limiting the role of the High Court. Finally, in light of this comparative study, this article evaluates the limits of the future judicial review and interstate dispute resolution roles of the High Court in relation to interstate river waters.