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Both the Water Act 2007 (Cth) and the Murray-Darling Basin Plan rely to a significant extent upon Australia's international legal obligations under "relevant international agreements" to provide not only a constitutional basis for the legislative schema but also a foundation for how the Commonwealth has sought to develop the Plan. This raises issues regarding the extent of the international legal obligations in those agreements, the relevance of each agreement, and whether - consistent with High Court jurisprudence - the Act and Plan are consistent with aspects of the Commonwealth's s 51(xxix) power with respect to "external affairs". This article reviews these issues and comments on the relationship between international law and the Act and the Plan.

Both the Water Act 2007 (Cth) and the Murray-Darling Basin Plan rely to a significant extent upon Australia's international legal obligations under "relevant international agreements" to provide not only a constitutional basis for the legislative schema but also a foundation for how the Commonwealth has sought to develop the Plan. This raises issues regarding the extent of the international legal obligations in those agreements, the relevance of each agreement, and whether - consistent with High Court jurisprudence - the Act and Plan are consistent with aspects of the Commonwealth's s 51(xxix) power with respect to "external affairs". This article reviews these issues and comments on the relationship between international law and the Act and the Plan.

On August 24, 2018, the secretariat of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) released its report and recommendations on its review of the introduction from the sea of sei whales (Balaenoptera Borealis) by Japan. The report was prepared by the secretariat under CITES Article XIII for consideration at the 70th meeting of the CITES Standing Committee, which met in Sochi, Russian Federation, from October 1 to 5, 2018.