New South Wales Consolidated Acts

STATE EMERGENCY AND RESCUE MANAGEMENT ACT 1989 - SECT 61

61 Power of police to take other safety measures

(1) A senior police officer may, if satisfied that there are reasonable grounds for doing so for the purpose of protecting persons or animals from injury or death or protecting property threatened by an actual or imminent emergency, direct, or authorise another police officer to direct, the doing of any one or more of the following:

(a) the closure to traffic of any street, road, lane, thoroughfare or footpath or place open to or used by the public, in the danger area or any part of the danger area,

(a1) the removal of vehicles in the danger area or any part of the danger area,

(b) the closure of any other public or private place in the danger area or any part of the danger area,

(c) the pulling down, destruction or shoring up of any wall or premises that have been damaged or rendered insecure in the danger area or any part of the danger area,

(d) the shutting off or disconnecting of the supply of any water, gas, liquid, solid, grain, powder or other substance in or from any main, pipeline, container or storage facility in the danger area or any part of the danger area,

(e) the shutting off or disconnecting of the supply of gas or electricity to any premises in the danger area or any part of the danger area,

(f) the taking possession of, and removal or destruction of any material or thing in the danger area or any part of the danger area that may be dangerous to life or property or that may interfere with the response of emergency services to the emergency,

(g) the protection or isolation of any material or thing in the danger area by preventing a person from removing or otherwise interfering with the material or thing.

(2) The cost of taking action under subsection (1) (c) is to be borne by the owner of the wall or premises and is to be paid to, and may be recovered in a court of competent jurisdiction by, the Commissioner of Police.

(3) For the purposes of the exercise of a function under subsection (1) (d), a senior police officer may require the person who controls or supplies the substance concerned to immediately send some competent person to the scene for the purpose of shutting it off or disconnecting it in accordance with the reasonable directions of the officer.

(4) A person must comply with a requirement, or directions, under subsection (3).

Maximum penalty: 50 penalty units.

(5) A person who supplies a substance referred to in subsection (1) (d) or (e) is not liable for any damages because of any interruption of that supply under this section if the supply is shut off or disconnected in accordance with the directions of the senior police officer.

(6) The regulations may limit the circumstances, and regulate the manner, in which the powers conferred by this section may be exercised.