Northern Territory Consolidated Acts Northern Territory Consolidated Acts(1) In this Act, unless the contrary intention appears:
"agent", in relation to a ship's owner, has the meaning it has in section 8.
"analyst" means a person:
(a) who is appointed as an analyst under section 11; or
(b) who holds a kind of accreditation that is prescribed in relation to analysts in the Regulations.
"authorised officer" means a person who is appointed as an authorised officer under section 51.
"Chief Executive Officer" means the Chief Executive Officer of the Agency allocated primary responsibility for administration of this Act under an Administrative Arrangements Order.
"coastal waters" means the coastal waters of the Territory, within the meaning of the Coastal Waters (Northern Territory Powers) Act 1980 of the Commonwealth, and includes other waters within the limits of the Territory that are subject to the ebb and flow of the tide.
"Commonwealth Navigation Act" means the Navigation Act 1912 of the Commonwealth.
"condition" includes restriction.
"discharge" means any release, however caused, from a ship of a harmful substance or effluents containing such substances, and includes any escape, disposal, spilling, leaking, pumping, emitting or emptying, but does not include:
(a) dumping within the meaning of the Convention for the Prevention of Marine Pollution by Dumping of Waste and Other Matter, done at London on 13 November 1972;
(b) release of harmful substances directly associated with the exploration, exploitation and associated offshore processing of sea-bed mineral and petroleum resources; or
(c) release of harmful substances for purposes of legitimate scientific research into pollution abatement or control.
"discharge expenses" means:
(a) the reasonable costs and expenses incurred by the Territory in:
(i) investigating a discharge of a pollutant;
(ii) preventing a discharge or minimising the effects of a discharge of a pollutant;
(iii) treating animals and plants affected by a discharge of a pollutant;
(iv) rehabilitating or restoring the Territory's marine and coastal environment; or
(v) the exercise by an authorised officer of a power under Division 7 of Part 10 of this Act; or
(b) an amount reasonably paid by the Territory under section 84 or by the Chief Executive Officer under Part 12.
"environment" means land, air, water, organisms and ecosystems and includes:
(a) the well-being of humans;
(b) structures made or modified by humans;
(c) the amenity values of an area; and
(d) economic, cultural and social conditions.
"environmental harm" means:
(a) any harm to or adverse effect on the environment; or
(b) any potential harm (including the risk of harm and future harm) to or potential adverse effect on the environment,
of any degree or duration.
"executive officer", of a corporation, means a person who is concerned with, or takes part in, the corporation's management, whether or not the person is a director or the person's position is given the name of executive officer.
harmful substance has the meaning it has in Part 4.
"IMO" means the International Maritime Organization.
MARPOL has the meaning it has in section 7.
"master", in relation to a ship, means the person having lawful command or charge of the ship, but does not include a person not belonging to the ship who has lawful conduct of the ship.
"material environmental harm" means environmental harm that:
(a) is not trivial or negligible in nature;
(b) consists of an environmental nuisance of a high impact or on a wide scale;
(c) results, or is likely to result, in not more than $50,000 or the prescribed amount (whichever is greater) being spent in taking appropriate action to prevent or minimise the environmental harm or rehabilitate the environment; or
(d) results in actual or potential loss or damage to the value of not more than $50,000 or the prescribed amount (whichever is greater).
"n mile" means an international nautical mile.
noxious liquid substance has the meaning it has in Part 3.
"obstruct" includes:
(a) assault, threaten, abuse, insult, intimidate or hinder; and
(b) attempt to obstruct.
"occupier", in relation to a place, includes a person who reasonably appears to be the occupier, or in charge, of the place.
"oil" means petroleum of any form and includes:
(a) any liquid hydrocarbon mixture occurring naturally in the earth whether or not treated to render it suitable for transportation, including crude oil from which certain distillate fractions may have been removed or added;
(b) sludge and oil refuse;
(c) any oil used in connection with the propulsion and auxiliary machinery of the ship in which that oil is carried;
(d) refined products, other than petrochemicals, that are subject to the provisions of Annex II of MARPOL;
(e) substances listed in Appendix 1 to Annex II to MARPOL; and
(f) a mixture with any oil content.
"oil tanker" means a ship constructed or adapted primarily to carry oil in bulk in its cargo space and includes:
(a) a ship designed to carry either oil or solid cargoes in bulk; and
(b) any ship constructed or adapted primarily to carry a cargo of noxious liquid substances in bulk when it is carrying a cargo or part cargo of oil in bulk.
"owner", in relation to a ship, means the person who owns the ship, whether or not the person is registered as the ship's owner and includes a person:
(a) who exercises, or purports to exercise, a power of an owner; and
(b) who operates the ship or causes or allows the ship to be operated by someone else.
"owner", in relation to a seized object, includes the person from whom the object is seized unless the authorised officer concerned is aware of its actual owner.
"person in control", in relation to a ship, includes the person who has, or reasonably appears to have, command or charge of the ship.
"place" includes land and premises but does not include a ship.
"pollutant" means any substance which, if introduced into the sea, is liable to create hazards to human health, to harm living resources and marine life, to damage amenities or to interfere with other legitimate uses of the sea, and includes any substance subject to control by MARPOL and sewage.
"premises" includes:
(a) a building or other structure or part of a building or other structure; and
(b) land where a building or other structure is situated.
"public place" means any place that:
(a) the public is entitled to use;
(b) is open to the public; or
(c) is used by the public,
whether or not on payment of money.
"related Territory interests" means the Territory interests directly affected or threatened by a maritime casualty as defined in section 81 and includes:
(a) maritime coastal, port or estuarine activities, including, for example, fishing activities, that are an essential means of livelihood for persons;
(b) tourist attractions; and
(c) the health of Territorians and the wellbeing of the Territory.
"serious environmental harm" means environmental harm that is more serious than material environmental harm and includes environmental harm that:
(a) is irreversible or otherwise of a high impact or on a wide scale;
(b) damages an aspect of the environment that is of a high conservation value, high cultural value or high community value or is of special significance;
(c) results or is likely to result in more than $50,000 or the prescribed amount (whichever is greater) being spent in taking appropriate action to prevent or minimise the environmental harm or rehabilitate the environment; or
(d) results in actual or potential loss or damage to the value of more than $50,000 or the prescribed amount (whichever is greater);
"sewage" has the meaning it has in Part 5 and includes human wastes.
"ship":
(a) means a vessel of any type whatsoever operating in the marine environment and includes hydrofoil boats, air-cushion vehicles, submersibles, floating craft and fixed or floating platforms; and
(b) includes an aircraft when it is on the surface of the water.
"tonnage" means the tonnage of a ship determined in accordance with the International Convention on Tonnage Measurement of Ships.
(2) If a penalty is specified at the foot of a provision of this Act to be:
(a) an environmental offence level 1, 2, 3 or 4 – an offence against the provision is designated to be an environmental offence level 1, 2, 3 or 4, respectively, within the meaning of the Environmental Offences and Penalties Act ; or
(b) a number of penalty units – the penalty is to be determined by reference to the Penalties Act .
(3) A reference in this Act to the Act is to be taken to include a reference to the Regulations.