Snowy Mountains Hydro-Electric Power Act 1949

07 July 1949

The Snowy Mountains Hydro-Electric scheme was initiated by the Australian Government when Parliament passed the Snowy Hydro-Electric Power Act 1949. The project remains the largest engineering project ever undertaken in Australia. It is a major contributor to the electricity supplies of New South Wales, Victoria and the Australian Capital Territory. It also supplies water for irrigation. The scheme required construction of:

• seven power stations
• 6 dams
• 80 kms of aqueducts
• 145 kms of tunnels
• 1,600 kms of roads and train tracks.

A post-Second World War reconstruction project, the scheme provided much-needed employment and electricity supplies for a growing country. From 1949 to 1974 over 100,000 people worked on the project. 70% of workers were migrants from more than 30 different countries.

The Australian Constitution does not give the Australian Parliament any specific powers that could be used to build the scheme. The states have the power to develop electricity and water resources. Instead, the defence powers of the Australian Parliament were used to pass the Snowy Mountains Hydro-Electric Power Act 1949. It was argued a secure supply of electricity in a time of war was in the national interest.