Northern Territory Consolidated Acts Northern Territory Consolidated Acts74. Reference areas
(1) The Board may, by notice in the Gazette , declare a specified area of pastoral land to be a reference area for the purposes of evaluating the effect that the grazing of stock has on the pastoral land on which it is located.
(2) The Board shall not make a declaration under subsection (1) unless it has given to the lessee not less than 28 days notice of its intention to do so and has considered the submissions, if any, made by the lessee within that time relating to the proposed declaration.
(3) A reference area:
(a) shall not exceed one square kilometre in size; and
(b) will, where necessary, be fenced by the Minister.
(4) Subject to any agreement to the contrary between the lessee and the Minister, a pastoral lessee is not obliged to maintain a reference area or its fences.
(5) A person shall not:
(a) if the area is fenced, allow stock within a reference area; or
(b) in any case do anything on or near a reference area that degrades or damages, or is likely to degrade or damage, the reference area or the fences.
Penalty: $50,000.
(6) A pastoral lessee shall, as soon as possible after becoming aware of it, advise the Board of any damage to the fence around a reference area.
Penalty: $1,000.