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This is a Bill, not an Act. For current law, see the Acts databases.
Queensland
Nuclear Facilities Prohibition
Bill 2006
Queensland
Nuclear Facilities Prohibition Bill 2006
Contents
Page
Part 1 Preliminary
1 Short title . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
2 Commencement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
3 Purpose of Act and its achievement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
4 Act binds all persons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
5 Relationship with other Acts or laws. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
6 Definitions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Part 2 Prohibition on particular nuclear facilities
7 Prohibition on constructing or operating particular nuclear
facilities ........................................ 5
8 No development approval or mining tenement for a nuclear
facility ..................................... 5
9 No generating authority for a nuclear reactor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Part 3 Enforcement
Division 1 Orders to enforce Act
10 Starting proceeding for order . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
11 Making interim enforcement order . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
12 Making enforcement order . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
13 Effect of an order . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
14 Court's powers about orders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
15 Effect of enforcement order requiring restoration or
rehabilitation of land ................................ 9
16 Record of enforcement order requiring restoration or
rehabilitation of land . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
17 Application for removal of particulars of enforcement order
from registrar's records. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
18 Dealing with removal application . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
19 Appeal against refusal to approve removal or approval of
removal with conditions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
2
Nuclear Facilities Prohibition Bill 2006
Division 2 General procedural provision
20 Representative proceedings. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Part 4 Miscellaneous provisions
21 Plebiscite if the Commonwealth takes steps for a prohibited
nuclear facility. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
22 Executive officers must ensure corporation complies with Act. . . 14
23 Indictable and summary offences. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
24 Regulation-making power. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Schedule Dictionary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
2006
A Bill
for
An Act to prohibit in Queensland particular nuclear facilities,
and for other purposes
s1 4 s5
Nuclear Facilities Prohibition Bill 2006
The Parliament of Queensland enacts-- 1
Part 1 Preliminary 2
1 Short title 3
This Act may be cited as the Nuclear Facilities Prohibition 4
Act 2006. 5
2 Commencement 6
This Act commences on a day to be fixed by proclamation. 7
3 Purpose of Act and its achievement 8
(1) The purpose of this Act is to help protect the health, safety 9
and welfare of the people of Queensland. 10
(2) The purpose is achieved primarily by prohibiting the 11
construction and operation of particular nuclear reactors and 12
other facilities in the nuclear fuel cycle. 13
4 Act binds all persons 14
(1) This Act binds all persons including the State and, to the 15
extent the legislative power of the Parliament permits, the 16
Commonwealth and the other States. 17
(2) Nothing in this Act makes the State liable to be prosecuted for 18
an offence. 19
5 Relationship with other Acts or laws 20
(1) This Act applies despite any other Act or law. 21
(2) Nothing in this Act affects the operation of-- 22
(a) the Radiation Safety Act 1999; or 23
(b) the Medical Radiation Technologists Registration Act 24
2001. 25
s6 5 s9
Nuclear Facilities Prohibition Bill 2006
6 Definitions 1
The dictionary in the schedule defines particular words used 2
in this Act. 3
Part 2 Prohibition on particular 4
nuclear facilities 5
7 Prohibition on constructing or operating particular 6
nuclear facilities 7
(1) A person must not construct or operate a nuclear facility. 8
Maximum penalty--1665 penalty units. 9
(2) However, subsection (1) does not apply if the facility is for-- 10
(a) the storage or disposal of radioactive waste material 11
resulting from the use of nuclear material for research or 12
medical purposes; or 13
(b) another purpose authorised under the Radiation Safety 14
Act 1999; or 15
(c) the operation of a nuclear powered vessel. 16
8 No development approval or mining tenement for a 17
nuclear facility 18
(1) A development approval under the Integrated Planning Act 19
1997 does not authorise the construction of a nuclear facility. 20
(2) A mining tenement under the Mineral Resources Act 1989 21
does not authorise the construction or operation of a nuclear 22
facility. 23
(3) Subsections (1) and (2) apply whether the approval or 24
tenement was granted before or after the commencement. 25
9 No generating authority for a nuclear reactor 26
(1) A generating authority under the Electricity Act 1994 does not 27
authorise the connection, under that Act, of generating plant 28
s 10 6 s 10
Nuclear Facilities Prohibition Bill 2006
to a transmission grid or supply network if a nuclear reactor is 1
used for, or in connection with, the plant. 2
(2) Subsection (1) applies whether the authority was granted 3
before or after the commencement. 4
Part 3 Enforcement 5
Division 1 Orders to enforce Act 6
10 Starting proceeding for order 7
(1) A person may start a proceeding in the court-- 8
(a) for an order (an enforcement order) to remedy or 9
restrain the commission of an offence against this Act; 10
or 11
(b) if the person has started a proceeding under this section 12
for an enforcement order and the court has not decided 13
the proceeding--for an order under section 11 (an 14
interim enforcement order); or 15
(c) to cancel or change an order. 16
(2) A proceeding for an enforcement order may be started 17
whether or not a right of the applicant has been, or may be, 18
infringed by, or because of, the commission of the offence. 19
(3) If the chief executive is not a party to a proceeding for an 20
enforcement order, the applicant must, within 7 days after 21
starting the proceeding, give the chief executive notice of the 22
proceeding. 23
Maximum penalty--20 penalty units. 24
(4) The Minister or the chief executive may elect to be a party to 25
the proceeding the subject of the notice by filing in the court a 26
notice of election in the form approved by the chief executive. 27
(5) In this section-- 28
s 11 7 s 13
Nuclear Facilities Prohibition Bill 2006
person includes a body of persons, whether incorporated or 1
unincorporated. 2
11 Making interim enforcement order 3
(1) The court may make an order pending a decision of a 4
proceeding for an enforcement order if the court is satisfied it 5
would be appropriate to make the order. 6
(2) The court may make the order subject to conditions. 7
(3) However, a condition can not require the applicant to give an 8
undertaking about damages. 9
12 Making enforcement order 10
(1) The court may make an enforcement order if the court is 11
satisfied the relevant offence-- 12
(a) is being, or has been, committed; or 13
(b) will be committed unless the enforcement order is made. 14
(2) If the court is satisfied the offence is being or has been 15
committed, it may make the order whether or not there has 16
been a prosecution for the offence. 17
13 Effect of an order 18
(1) An order may direct a party to the proceeding for the order-- 19
(a) to stop an activity that constitutes, or will constitute, an 20
offence against this Act; or 21
(b) not to start an activity that will constitute an offence 22
against this Act; or 23
(c) to do anything required to stop committing an offence 24
against this Act; or 25
(d) to return anything to a condition as close as practicable 26
to the condition it was in immediately before an offence 27
against this Act was committed; or 28
(e) to do anything to comply with this Act. 29
(2) Without limiting the court's powers, an order may require the 30
repair, demolition or removal of a building. 31
s 14 8 s 14
Nuclear Facilities Prohibition Bill 2006
(3) An order-- 1
(a) may be in terms the court considers appropriate to 2
secure compliance with this Act; and 3
(b) must state the time by which the order is to be complied 4
with. 5
(4) A person must not contravene an order. 6
Maximum penalty for subsection (4)--3000 penalty units or 2 7
years imprisonment. 8
14 Court's powers about orders 9
(1) The court's power to make an order to stop, or not to start, an 10
activity may be exercised-- 11
(a) whether or not it appears to the court that the person 12
against whom the order is made (the relevant person) 13
intends to engage, or to continue to engage, in the 14
activity; and 15
(b) whether or not the relevant person has previously 16
engaged in an activity of the same type; and 17
(c) whether or not there is danger of substantial damage to 18
the environment or the health, safety or welfare of 19
anyone else if the relevant person engages, or continues 20
to engage, in the activity. 21
(2) The court's power to make an order to do anything may be 22
exercised-- 23
(a) whether or not it appears to the court that the relevant 24
person intends to fail, or to continue to fail, to do the 25
thing; and 26
(b) whether or not the relevant person has previously failed 27
to do a thing of the same type; and 28
(c) whether or not there is danger of substantial damage to 29
the environment or the health, safety or welfare of 30
anyone else if the relevant person fails, or continues to 31
fail, to do the thing. 32
(3) The court may cancel or change an order. 33
s 15 9 s 15
Nuclear Facilities Prohibition Bill 2006
(4) The court's powers under this section are in addition to, and 1
do not limit, its other powers. 2
(5) In this section-- 3
environment see the Environmental Protection Act 1994, 4
section 8. 5
15 Effect of enforcement order requiring restoration or 6
rehabilitation of land 7
(1) This section applies if-- 8
(a) the court makes an enforcement order directing a person 9
(the declared person) to restore or rehabilitate land; and 10
(b) the declared person has an interest in the land; and 11
(c) the order states that this section applies to the land. 12
(2) The applicant must, as soon as practicable after the making of 13
the order, give the chief executive-- 14
(a) a notice stating that the order has been made; and 15
(b) a copy of the order. 16
Maximum penalty--20 penalty units. 17
(3) Subsection (4) applies if the declared person transfers to 18
another person (the transferee), in any way, all or part of the 19
declared person's interest in the land. 20
(4) To the extent the transferred interest in the land is the subject 21
of the order, on the transfer-- 22
(a) a reference in the order to the declared person is taken to 23
be a reference to the transferee; and 24
(b) the order is taken to have been made against the 25
transferee on the transfer of the interest; and 26
(c) any outstanding liability, other than criminal liability, of 27
the declared person becomes a liability of the transferee. 28
(5) If it is not reasonably practical for the transferee to comply 29
with the order within the period stated in it, the transferee may 30
apply to the court, under section 10(1)(c), to extend the 31
period. 32
s 16 10 s 17
Nuclear Facilities Prohibition Bill 2006
(6) To remove any doubt, it is declared that on the transfer of the 1
interest, the declared person is not criminally liable for a 2
contravention of the order that happens on or after the transfer 3
of the interest. 4
(7) Subsections (4) to (6) have effect for each successor in title to 5
the transferee's interest in the same way the subsections had 6
effect for the transferee. 7
16 Record of enforcement order requiring restoration or 8
rehabilitation of land 9
(1) As soon as practicable after receiving a notice under section 10
15(2), the chief executive must give the registrar notice of the 11
making of the enforcement order the subject of the notice. 12
(2) The registrar must keep records showing that the order has 13
been made. 14
(3) The registrar must keep the records in a way that a search of 15
the register kept by the registrar under any Act relating to title 16
to the land the subject of the order will show that the order has 17
been made. 18
17 Application for removal of particulars of enforcement 19
order from registrar's records 20
(1) This section applies to a person who-- 21
(a) has an interest in land that is the subject of an 22
enforcement order to which section 15 applies; and 23
(b) wishes to have the particulars of the order removed from 24
the registrar's records because-- 25
(i) the court has cancelled the order; or 26
(ii) the order has been substantially complied with; or 27
(iii) the person proposes alternative measures for 28
ensuring the land is restored or rehabilitated. 29
30
Example of alternative measures--
31
a covenant registered under the Land Title Act 1994
s 18 11 s 18
Nuclear Facilities Prohibition Bill 2006
(2) The person may apply to the chief executive for the particulars 1
of the order to be removed from the registrar's records (a 2
removal application). 3
(3) The application must be written and accompanied by, 4
according to the circumstances-- 5
(a) evidence of the cancellation of the order; or 6
(b) the information or documents the person relies on to 7
establish substantial compliance with the order; or 8
(c) details of the alternative measures proposed by the 9
person to ensure the land will be restored or 10
rehabilitated. 11
18 Dealing with removal application 12
(1) If a person makes a removal application for an enforcement 13
order in relation to land the subject of the order, the chief 14
executive must, within 6 weeks after receiving the 15
application-- 16
(a) decide whether or not the chief executive is reasonably 17
satisfied, according to the circumstances, that-- 18
(i) the court has cancelled the order; or 19
(ii) the order has been substantially complied with; or 20
(iii) the alternative measures proposed by the person 21
will ensure the land will be restored or 22
rehabilitated; and 23
(b) either-- 24
(i) approve the application, with or without conditions 25
to be complied with before particulars of the order 26
may be removed from the registrar's records; or 27
(ii) refuse to approve the application. 28
(2) As soon as practicable after acting under subsection (1), the 29
chief executive must-- 30
(a) give the person an information notice; and 31
(b) if the chief executive approves the application without 32
conditions--give notice of that fact to the registrar. 33
s 19 12 s 19
Nuclear Facilities Prohibition Bill 2006
(3) If the chief executive approves the application with conditions 1
and is reasonably satisfied they have been complied with, the 2
chief executive must, as soon as practicable, give notice of 3
that fact to the registrar. 4
(4) As soon as practicable after receiving a notice under 5
subsection (2)(b) or (3), the registrar must remove the 6
particulars of the order from the registrar's records. 7
(5) As soon as the particulars of the order have been removed 8
from the registrar's records, the order is taken to have been 9
complied with. 10
(6) In this section-- 11
information notice means a notice stating-- 12
(a) the chief executive's decision under subsection (1), and 13
the reasons for it; and 14
(b) if the decision is to refuse to approve the application or 15
to approve it with conditions-- 16
(i) that the person may appeal against the decision to 17
the court within 28 days after the person receives 18
the notice; and 19
(ii) how to appeal. 20
19 Appeal against refusal to approve removal or approval of 21
removal with conditions 22
(1) This section applies if-- 23
(a) a person who has an interest in land that is the subject of 24
an enforcement order makes a removal application for 25
the order; and 26
(b) the chief executive decides to refuse to approve the 27
application or to approve it with conditions. 28
(2) The person may appeal against the decision to the court within 29
28 days after the person receives an information notice about 30
the decision, under section 18(2)(a). 31
(3) If the person appeals against the decision, the court may make 32
any order it considers appropriate, including, for example, an 33
s 20 13 s 21
Nuclear Facilities Prohibition Bill 2006
order directing the registrar to remove the particulars of the 1
order from the registrar's records. 2
(5) As soon as the particulars of the order have been removed 3
from the registrar's records, the order is taken to have been 4
complied with. 5
Division 2 General procedural provision 6
20 Representative proceedings 7
(1) A person (the representative) may start a proceeding for an 8
order on behalf of an entity, with the entity's consent. 9
(2) If the entity is an unincorporated body, the body's committee 10
or other controlling or governing body must give the consent. 11
(3) The representative is a party to the proceeding despite the 12
proceeding having been started on behalf of the entity. 13
(4) The entity is not a party to the proceeding. 14
(5) The entity may contribute to, or pay, the legal costs incurred 15
by the representative in relation to the proceeding. 16
Part 4 Miscellaneous provisions 17
21 Plebiscite if the Commonwealth takes steps for a 18
prohibited nuclear facility 19
(1) This section applies if the Minister is satisfied the government 20
of the Commonwealth has taken, or is likely to, take any step 21
supporting or allowing the construction of a prohibited 22
nuclear facility in Queensland. 23
(2) Without limiting subsection (1), the Minister may be satisfied 24
as mentioned in subsection (1) if the Minister is satisfied the 25
government of the Commonwealth-- 26
(a) has taken, or is likely to take, steps to make or amend a 27
law of the Commonwealth or to exercise any power 28
under a law of the Commonwealth to facilitate the 29
s 22 14 s 22
Nuclear Facilities Prohibition Bill 2006
construction of a prohibited nuclear facility in 1
Queensland; or 2
(b) adopts a policy position of supporting or allowing the 3
construction of a prohibited nuclear facility in 4
Queensland. 5
(3) The Minister must take steps for the conduct of a plebiscite in 6
Queensland to obtain the views of the people of Queensland 7
about the construction of a prohibited nuclear facility in 8
Queensland. 9
(4) The Minister must take the steps required by subsection (3) at 10
a time the Minister considers most advantageous to the health, 11
safety and welfare of the people of Queensland. 12
(5) In this section-- 13
plebiscite includes a referendum under the Referendums Act 14
1997 or a plebiscite under an Act. 15
prohibited nuclear facility means a nuclear facility for a 16
purpose other than a purpose mentioned in section 7(2). 17
22 Executive officers must ensure corporation complies 18
with Act 19
(1) The executive officers of a corporation must ensure the 20
corporation complies with this Act. 21
(2) If a corporation commits an offence against a provision of this 22
Act, each of its executive officers also commits an offence, 23
namely, the offence of failing to ensure the corporation 24
complies with the provision. 25
Maximum penalty--the penalty for the contravention of the 26
provision by an individual. 27
(3) Evidence that the corporation has been convicted of an 28
offence against a provision of this Act is evidence that each of 29
its executive officers committed the offence of failing to 30
ensure the corporation complies with the provision. 31
(4) However, it is a defence for an executive officer to prove 32
that-- 33
(a) if the officer was in a position to influence the conduct 34
of the corporation in relation to the offence--the officer 35
s 23 15 s 24
Nuclear Facilities Prohibition Bill 2006
exercised reasonable diligence to ensure the corporation 1
complied with the provision; or 2
(b) the officer was not in a position to influence the conduct 3
of the corporation in relation to the offence. 4
(5) In this section-- 5
executive officer, of a corporation, means a person who is 6
concerned with, or takes part in, its management, whether or 7
not the person is a director or the person's position is given 8
the name of executive officer. 9
23 Indictable and summary offences 10
(1) An offence against the following is a misdemeanour-- 11
(a) section 13(4); 12
(b) section 22(2), to the extent the offence relates to an 13
offence by a corporation against section 13(4). 14
(2) Any other offence against this Act is a summary offence. 15
24 Regulation-making power 16
(1) The Governor in Council may make regulations under this 17
Act. 18
(2) A regulation may impose a penalty for a contravention of a 19
provision of a regulation of no more than 20 penalty units. 20
16
Nuclear Facilities Prohibition Bill 2006
Schedule Dictionary 1
section 6 2
applicant means-- 3
(a) for a provision about a proceeding for an order--the 4
person who started the proceeding; or 5
(b) for a provision about an order--the person who started 6
the proceeding for the order. 7
commencement means the commencement of the section in 8
which it appears. 9
court means the Planning and Environment Court. 10
enforcement order see section 10(1)(a). 11
enriching, nuclear material, means any process by which the 12
proportion of an isotope is increased in relation to the natural 13
abundance of the isotope. 14
interim enforcement order see section 10(1)(b). 15
notice means a notice in writing. 16
nuclear facility means any of the following-- 17
(a) a facility for converting uranium ore into uranium 18
hexafluoride or another chemical to enable its 19
enrichment; 20
(b) an isotope separation plant or other facility for enriching 21
nuclear material; 22
(c) a fabrication plant or other facility for transforming 23
nuclear material into a form suitable for use as fuel in a 24
nuclear reactor; 25
(d) a nuclear reactor, whether or not designed for generating 26
electricity; 27
(e) a reprocessing plant or other facility for the chemical 28
separation of fuel that has been irradiated in a nuclear 29
reactor; 30
17
Nuclear Facilities Prohibition Bill 2006
Schedule (continued)
(f) a separate storage installation for storing or disposing of 1
nuclear material in the nuclear fuel cycle used in or 2
resulting from a nuclear facility under paragraph (a), (b), 3
(c), (d) or (e). 4
nuclear fuel cycle includes any process or step in the 5
utilisation of material capable of undergoing nuclear fission, 6
including its ultimate disposal. 7
nuclear material means a radioactive substance associated 8
with the nuclear fuel cycle, including, for example, 9
radioactive waste material. 10
nuclear reactor means a device designed to produce 11
controlled nuclear fission. 12
order, without reference to any particular type of order, means 13
an enforcement order or an interim enforcement order. 14
registrar means the registrar of titles under the Land Title Act 15
1994 or another person responsible for keeping a register for 16
dealings in land. 17
removal application see section 17(2). 18
© State of Queensland 2006
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