New South Wales Consolidated Acts

STOCK DISEASES ACT 1923 - SECT 15B

15B Power of Minister to close certain roads, travelling stock reserves and public places

(1) The Minister may, in the circumstances set out in subsection (2), make an order declaring:

(a) all roads, travelling stock reserves and public places, or

(b) roads, travelling stock reserves or public places of a specified class or description,

located within a specified area to be closed to walking and grazing stock or to walking and grazing stock of a specified class.

(2) An order under this section may be made whenever the Minister is of the opinion that all or some of the walking or grazing stock referred to in subsection (1) may be infected with a designated disease and could, if allowed to walk over or graze on the roads, travelling stock reserves or public places, or roads, travelling stock reserves or public places of a specified class or description, located within a specified area:

(a) cause those roads, reserves or places to become infected with the disease, or

(b) cause other stock within the area to become infected with the disease, or

(c) where holdings, roads, travelling stock reserves and public places within the area are currently not infected with the disease-expose those holdings, roads, reserves and places to the disease.

(3) In making such an order, the Minister may, in specified circumstances or subject to specified conditions, exempt stock or stock of a specified class from the operation of the order.

(4) An order under this section may be made so as to remain in force in respect of a specified area for a period not exceeding 3 months from and including:

(a) the day after its publication under subsection (5) or, if an earlier order is still in force in respect of that area at the time of publication under that subsection, the day after the day on which the earlier order expires, or

(b) if a later day is specified in the order, that later day.

(5) An order made under this section must be published in an approved newspaper that circulates within the specified area concerned.

(6) In subsection (5), "approved" means approved by the Director-General.

(7) The owner of stock to which an order made under this section applies and the person in charge of the stock (if not their owner) must, unless exempted by a provision of the order or unless subsection (8) applies, each ensure that the stock do not walk over or graze on a road, travelling stock reserve or public place that the order declares to be closed.

(8) If the boundary between a holding and a road or travelling stock reserve has never been fenced, a person who owns or is in charge of stock that are kept on the holding does not fail to comply with subsection (7) merely because the person has failed to ensure that the stock have not walked over or grazed on the road or reserve.

(9) Subsection (8) applies only if the stock concerned are free of the designated disease and the holding and the part of the road or travelling stock reserve adjoining the holding are not within a quarantine area.