River Murray royal commissioner gets powers to compel interstate witnesses to co-operate

PREMIER Jay Weatherill has put forward new legislation he says would ensure a royal commissioner could compel interstate witnesses to co-operate with an inquiry on the River Murray.

Premier Jay Weatherill has put forward new legislation he says would ensure a royal commissioner could compel interstate witnesses to co-operate with an inquiry on the River Murray..

• Steven Marshall backs Royal Commission into Murray water theft
• Rorting claims: Royal Commission called into Murray-Darling Plan

PREMIER Jay Weatherill has put forward new legislation he says would ensure a royal commissioner could compel interstate witnesses to co-operate with an inquiry on the River Murray.

Mr Weatherill revealed in the Sunday Mail that he would launch a royal commission into alleged water theft in the Murray-Darling Basin.

Mr Weatherill yesterday pledged he would consult publicly on the terms of reference for the inquiry.

On choosing a commissioner, Mr Weatherill said he wanted “an eminent jurist, who will have broad respect across the nation ... because it does need to have the gravitas necessary to have an impact on a national basis”.

He said it should be “somebody that I think has a great forensic capacity to be able to undertake the detailed work that is necessary to get to the bottom of the water thefts that we have seen alleged, concerning the upstream states”.

Critics have questioned whether a state-based royal commission would have the power to compel interstate witnesses to give evidence.

Mr Weatherill on Sunday insisted he was on solid legal ground but yesterday introduced the Royal Commission (Application of Act) Amendment Bill to state Parliament, which he said would “clarify the extra-territorial reach of the Royal Commission”.

“This will address any doubt about the compellability of interstate witnesses,” he said.