From these negotiations came the Lake Eyre Basin Intergovernmental Agreement (view here) signed by the Federal Environment Minister, South Australian Minister for Water Resources, and Queensland Minister for Natural Resources in October 2000. While the Northern Territory and New South Wales governments are not a party to the Agreement at this stage, the way has been left open for them to be part of it in the future.

The Lake Eyre Basin Intergovernmental Agreement is an historic, groundbreaking agreement to disregard state borders in the management of water and related natural resources across the Queensland and South Australian portions of the Georgina/Diamantina and Cooper's Creek catchments.

The Lake Eyre Basin Intergovernmental Agreement came into effect when it was passed by the Parliaments of South Australia and Queensland. The South Australia Parliament passed the Lake Eyre Basin Agreement Bill in April 2001 and the Queensland Parliament in August 2001. While the Commonwealth was not required to legislate, it voluntarily passed legislation recognising and approving the Agreement.

The Intergovernmental Agreement will ensure the economic, environmental and social well being of a part of the Lake Eyre Basin by protecting its water and related natural resources.

It also established the Lake Eyre Basin Ministerial Forum, the inaugural meeting being held in Longreach on 26th May, 2001. The Lake Eyre Basin Coordinating Group has been appointed as the Community Advisory Committee or CAC to the Ministerial Forum.

Direct access to decision-makers was a key request by the community of the Lake Eyre Basin at a 1997 stakeholder meeting in Birdsville. The Lake Eyre Basin Coordinating Group, in its role as the CAC to the Lake Eyre Basin Ministerial Forum, will provide not only that access, but also a channel to communicate the decisions and initiatives of the Ministerial Forum out into the community.

The CAC met for the first time on 14th August 2001 at William Creek to the west of Lake Eyre. Added to the Lake Eyre Basin Coordinating Group to form the CAC is a representative from each of the Arid Areas Catchment Water Management Board (SA) and the Local Government Association of Western Queensland.

The additional representatives on the CAC are a recognition by the Ministerial Forum of the importance of input from those sectors to any policies or strategies for the management of water and related natural resources in the Georgina/Diamantina and Cooper's Creek catchments of the Lake Eyre Basin.