Western Australian Consolidated Acts Western Australian Consolidated Acts (1) A person who
clears controlled land does not contravene section 12B if the clearing is
carried out —
(a)
under, and in accordance with the conditions of, a clearing licence granted
under this Part;
(b) as a
reasonably necessary emergency measure in order to avoid danger to persons or
property, where, as soon as is reasonably practicable, the land is restored to
the satisfaction of the Minister;
(c) as
an essential measure in performing an obligation or carrying out a duty under
the Agriculture and Related Resources Protection Act 1976 or the
Bush Fires Act 1954 ; or
(d)
under, and in accordance with, a regulation made under this Part permitting
the clearing of land by reference to the location of the land, the
circumstances in which, the purposes for which, or the extent to which, the
land is proposed to be cleared, or any of those matters,
or is attributable to
events none of which that person could reasonably have been expected to
prevent.
(2) The owner or
occupier of controlled land proposed to be cleared, or any person proposing to
clear controlled land in the course of exercising any statutory function, may,
in the prescribed manner, if any, apply to the Minister for a clearing licence
and on payment of such fees as may be prescribed the Minister may grant or
transfer any such licence, but where such an application is made and no
decision is given within 6 months thereafter, or within such further
period as the applicant may agree, then the Minister is deemed to have decided
to refuse the application.
(3) The Minister may
refuse any application for the grant or transfer of a clearing licence and,
unless the Minister is satisfied that there are exceptional reasons for not
refusing an application, shall do so where, in the opinion of the Minister
after the clearing that would otherwise be authorised there would be less than
one-tenth part of the land in question left under tree cover including the
indigenous undergrowth.
(4) The grant or
transfer of a licence may be in respect of —
(a) the
whole or a part of the land; and
(b) the
whole or a part of the clearing,
in respect of which
application was made and may be made subject to such reasonable conditions as
the Minister thinks fit, which conditions shall be endorsed upon or referred
to in the licence when granted or, as the case may be, transferred.
(5) A person who, in
connection with an application for, or an application for a review relating
to, a licence, knowingly makes any statement that is false or misleading in
any material particular commits an offence, and where the person convicted of
an offence against this subsection is the holder of the licence to which the
offence relates the Minister may, whether or not any penalty is imposed by the
court for the offence, by notice in writing given to that person, revoke the
licence.
(6) A licence takes
and shall have effect according to its tenor, but —
(a) the
Minister may, by notice in writing given to the holder of the licence, from
time to time after the licence is granted —
(i)
vary or add to the conditions of a licence; or
(ii)
provide that an unconditional licence shall be subject to
the conditions specified in the notice, or that a conditional licence shall
cease to be subject to any condition;
and
(b)
where a licence was granted before the coming into operation of the Country
Areas Water Supply Amendment Act 1980 1 for a period specified in the
licence, that licence shall have effect for that period notwithstanding
paragraph (a).
(7) Where the holder
of a licence contravenes or fails to comply with any condition endorsed on or
referred to in the licence —
(a) he
commits an offence and is liable for his act or omission to the extent that it
was not authorised by the licence;
(b)
whether or not any other penalty is imposed or order made, the court may
cancel that licence, and no compensation shall be payable in respect of any
such cancellation; and
(c) the
Minister may, by notice in writing given to the holder of the licence, revoke
the licence or suspend the operation of it for such period as the Minister
thinks fit.
[Section 12C inserted by No. 75 of 1980
s. 5; amended by No. 41 of 1984 s. 9; No. 25 of 1985
s. 89 and 93; No. 24 of 1987 s. 64; No. 73 of 1995
s. 62; No. 55 of 2004 s. 153; No. 38 of 2007 s. 23.]