Victorian Consolidated Legislation

Forests Act 1958 - SECT 21

Special powers of Secretary

21. Special powers of Secretary



(1) Subject to this Act the Secretary may-

   (a)  permit the taking or converting of any timber or other forest produce
        in any State forest at not less than such minimum rates or amounts as
        are prescribed by or under this Act;

   (b)  take and sell any timber or forest produce in any State forest;

   (c)  convert any such timber into logs sawn timber or merchantable articles
        and sell the same;

   (d)  convert any such forest produce into merchantable articles and sell
        the same;

   (e)  construct and maintain roads tracks and tramways and other works for
        the transport of timber, including timber resources within the meaning
        of the Sustainable Forests (Timber) Act 2004, forest produce and
        merchantable articles and purchase tramways and other works for such
        purposes and operate tramways or works so constructed or purchased and
        purchase rent or charter and use vehicles and vessels with the
        necessary motive power;



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   (ea) close by the erection of barriers either temporarily or, with the
        approval of the Governor in Council, permanently the whole or any part
        of a road track tramway or other work constructed or maintained by the
        Secretary or under the control of the Secretary;



   (eb) permit the use, subject to such conditions limitations and
        restrictions as are prescribed or as the Secretary considers
        appropriate to impose, of any closed road track tramway or other work
        by specified persons or for specified purposes or both;



   (f)  construct purchase or rent and operate sawmills and other mills and
        kilns and depots for seasoning timber and purchase or rent machinery
        and plant for the purposes of this section; and

   (g)  purchase cattle and depasture them on State forests and sell such
        cattle.

(1AA) The Secretary must not exercise a power under subsection (1)(a), (b) or
(c) in respect of vested timber resources within the meaning of the
Sustainable Forests (Timber) Act 2004.







(1A) Without in any way limiting or derogating from the powers of the
Secretary under paragraph (ea) in subsection (1) the Secretary may authorize
any authorised officer, either generally or in any particular case, to close
to vehicular traffic any such road track tramway or other work by the erection
of barriers whilst the authorised officer considers it to be dangerous for use
by the public.

(2) The power to sell given by this section includes the power to sell by
public auction or by tender or at not less than the rates or amounts
prescribed by or under this Act.

(3) The powers conferred on the Secretary under this Act to construct purchase
or operate tramways shall notwithstanding anything in any Act include power-



   (a)  to construct any such tramway or any part thereof on along or across
        any road or (where such tramway is proposed to be constructed wholly
        or partly on Crown land other than a State forest) on any route in or
        through such Crown land;

   (b)  to purchase any such tramway constructed wholly or partly on along or
        across any road; or

   (c)  to operate any such tramway.



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(5) Notwithstanding anything in this section no tramway or part thereof (as
the case may be) proposed to be constructed pursuant to this section along any
road which is under the care and management of any municipal council shall be
so constructed unless with the consent of the said council or (failing such
consent being given within three months after the receipt by the council of an
application therefor) of the Governor in Council.