Media Release
March 14 2008
UniSA scholar brings the Law on Water to the US
UniSA’s
water law specialist and Professor of Business Law,
Dr Jennifer McKay has been awarded a prestigious
Fulbright Senior Scholarship at the 2008 Fulbright presentations in
Western Australia and will be heading to the US in August to engage with
US water policy law.
Prof McKay will take up the scholarship at the
Boalt School of Law at the
University of California, Berkeley, where she will complete a twelve
month study into changing current water allocation and use laws in the
United States and Australia to incorporate sustainability goals and
considerations.
As Director of UniSA’s Centre for Comparative Water Policies and Laws,
Prof McKay has already been instrumental in developing a comparative
framework for analysing legal institutional aspects of natural resources
management in Australia and India. She is also a leading researcher at
the Cooperative Research Centres for Water Quality and Treatment and
Irrigation Futures, and holds a ministerial appointment on the
Natural
Resources Management Council.
“The need for a sustainable development law for water is becoming
increasingly urgent for both Australia and the US as we grapple with the
triple bottom line of economically balancing sustainable water use with
environmental protection,” Prof McKay says.
“I will be reviewing state water laws in the West and East of the US and
comparing them with the sustainable development laws for water use in
Australia. I want to get a broader understanding of the evolving concept
of sustainable development law and how that is being defined within the
judiciary – so I will be looking at different cases and noting the
judges’ views, making comparisons, and I also hope to interview activist
judges about their decisions,” she says.
Prof McKay says there is enormous value in comparing water laws, their
interpretation and administration in two countries which operate as
federations and have similarly mature water economies.
“The water supply issue will provoke controversy for farmers here and in
the US when water is removed from the pool of water currently allocated
to farmers for consumption, and as urban residents are required to
change water use habits. Judges are going to bear the brunt of this
anger as they strive to reach sensible and sustainable decisions that
promote community acceptance,” Prof McKay says.
Prof McKay hopes her Fulbright Scholar research will have relevance to
other federations such as Canada, as well as less mature economies.
UniSA Vice Chancellor Professor
Peter Høj says he is delighted to see
significant research into sustainability being supported
internationally.
“Professor McKay is undertaking important and somewhat pioneering
research into the pressing legal issues that surround our resources and
how we manage them into the future,” Prof Høj says.
“We are very proud that the calibre and international significance of
her research has been acknowledged through the Fulbright Scholarship.”
Prof McKay plans to share her research outcomes with senior water public
policy makers and lawyers in Australia and the US through a calendar of
professional appointments and presentations; senior membership of
international water, law and resources organisations; and through her
roles on the editorial boards of international water policy and
environmental management journals. She is also considering cases in the
European Union on the water framework directive.
The largest educational scholarship of its kind, the prestigious
Fulbright program was created by US Senator J William Fulbright and the
US Government in 1946 to promote mutual understanding through
educational exchange. The program operates between the US and 150
countries.
Prof McKay is one of 24 Australians to be awarded a Fulbright
Scholarship this year. The scholarships are funded by the Australian and
US Governments and corporate partners, and administered by the
Australian-American Fulbright Commission in Canberra.
Contacts for interview
- Professor Jennifer McKay office (08) 8302 0887 mobile 0408 897 521 email jennifer.mckay@unisa.edu.au
Media contact
- Geraldine Hinter office (08) 8302 0963 mobile 0417 861832 email geraldine.hinter@unisa.edu.au