WILDERNESS PROTECTION ACT 1992 - SECT 22
WILDERNESS PROTECTION ACT 1992 - SECT 22
22—Constitution of wilderness protection areas and wilderness protection
zones
(1) The Governor may,
by proclamation made on the recommendation of the Minister—
(a)
constitute as a wilderness protection area or a wilderness protection
zone—
(i)
a reserve, or part of a reserve or any other Crown land;
(ii)
any other land if the proclamation is made with the
consent of the owner of the land and of all other persons who have an interest
in the land registered under the Real Property Act 1886 ; and
(b)
assign a name to the wilderness protection area or zone so constituted.
(2) The Governor may,
on the recommendation of the Minister, by subsequent proclamation—
(a)
abolish a wilderness protection area or wilderness protection zone constituted
under this section; or
(b)
alter the boundaries of a wilderness protection area or
wilderness protection zone constituted under this section; or
(c)
alter the name of a wilderness protection area or wilderness protection zone
constituted under this section.
(3) A proclamation
must not be made under subsection (2)(a) or (b) by virtue of which any
land ceases to be, or to be included in, a wilderness protection area or
wilderness protection zone unless—
(a) the
proclamation is made in pursuance of a resolution passed by both Houses of
Parliament; or
(b) in
the case of land comprising the whole or part of a wilderness
protection zone—the proclamation constitutes the land as a wilderness
protection area or part of a wilderness protection area.
(4) Notice of a motion
for a resolution under subsection (3)(a)—
(a) must
not be given until the Minister has notified the Environment, Resources and
Development Committee in writing of the proposed abolition, or alteration in
the boundaries, of the wilderness protection area or zone; and
(b) must
be given at least 14 sitting days before the resolution is passed.
(5) Where, in the
opinion of the Minister, land should be constituted as a wilderness protection
area or a wilderness protection zone under this section—
(i)
because it meets the wilderness criteria to a sufficient
extent to justify its protection as wilderness under this Act; or
(ii)
to enable it to be restored to a condition that justifies
its protection as wilderness under this Act; or
(b) in
order to provide a buffer zone to protect land of a kind referred to in
paragraph (a); or
(c) to
enable the adoption of convenient boundaries for a wilderness protection area
or wilderness protection zone,
the Minister may recommend to the Governor that he or she constitute the land
as a wilderness protection area or wilderness protection zone under
subsection (1) or alter the boundaries of an existing
wilderness protection area or zone by adding the land to the area or zone
under subsection (2).
(6) Before making a
recommendation under subsection (5), the Minister must comply with the
following requirements:
(a) if,
in the Minister's opinion, an Aboriginal organisation has a particular
interest in the land to which the proposal relates, the Minister must consult
that organisation in relation to the proposal;
(b) if
the Parks and Wilderness Council has not provided the Minister with a report
setting out its views in relation to the proposal and to the future management
of the land the Minister must obtain such a report from the Council;
(c)
the Minister must by public notice—
(i)
identify the land to which the proposal relates and set
out the Minister's reasons for the proposal; and
(ii)
set out the text of the Parks and Wilderness Council's
report; and
(iii)
invite interested persons to make submissions to
the Minister in relation to the proposal within a period of three months
following publication of the notice;
(d)
the Minister must give a copy of the notice to the Environment, Resources and
Development Committee and to the holder of a mining tenement (if any) in force
in respect of the land;
(e)
the Minister must make copies of all submissions made in response to the
notice available for public inspection or purchase (except for submissions
made in confidence) and for that purpose the Minister must, by public notice,
give notice of the place or places at which the copies are available;
(f)
the Minister must refer all submissions made in response to the notice to the
Parks and Wilderness Council for comment and must before making a
recommendation to the Governor consider all submissions and the comments of
the Council;
(g) if
the Minister decides to defer, or not to proceed with, the proposal he or she
must give public notice setting out the reasons for the decision.
(7) Upon constitution
of a reserve, or part of a reserve, as a wilderness protection area or
wilderness protection zone the land ceases to be a reserve, or part of a
reserve, under the National Parks Act.