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SOIL AND LAND CONSERVATION ACT 1945 - SECT 22

SOIL AND LAND CONSERVATION ACT 1945 - SECT 22

22 .         Soil conservation districts

        (1)         The Governor may by Order in Council made on the recommendation of the Minister —

            (a)         constitute any portion of the State defined in the Order a conservation district for the purposes of this Act;

            (b)         assign a name to any such district;

            (c)         alter the boundaries of any such district;

            (d)         abolish any such district.

        (1aa)         The portion of the State constituted as a land conservation district under subsection (1) may be defined by reference to a map showing, where practicable by using geographical or other known features, the locality in such a way as to enable the boundaries of the land conservation district to be readily identified.

        (1a)         Before recommending that an Order be made under subsection (1) the Minister shall consult with the local government of each district that is wholly or in part comprised within the proposed land conservation district.

        (2)         In respect of any districts constituted under this section the Governor may make regulations for all or any of the following purposes —

            (a)         prohibiting the lighting of fires except under such circumstances, and subject to such limitations, conditions and restrictions as may be prescribed by the regulations or pursuant thereto;

            (b)         regulating or prohibiting the clearing or destruction of, or interference with trees, shrubs, plants or grasses;

            (c)         prohibiting or regulating any change in the use of any land;

            (d)         restricting or regulating the use of any land for agricultural or pastoral purposes;

            (e)         generally for requiring the doing on or in respect of any land of any act or thing which may be likely to prevent or mitigate land degradation or promote soil conservation and for prohibiting the doing on or in respect of any such land of any act or thing which may be likely to facilitate land degradation.

        (3)         Any regulation made under subsection (2) —

            (a)         may be made to apply to all land conservation districts, whether constituted before or after the regulations come into force or to any specified land conservation district;

            (b)         may be made to apply to any class or classes of land, or to all land, or to all land other than land of any specified class or classes within the area to which the regulation applies;

            (c)         may authorise any matter or thing to be determined, applied or regulated from time to time by the Minister or the Commissioner.

        (4)         Every person who without lawful excuse acts in contravention of or fails to comply in any respect with any regulations made under subsection (2) or any direction, requirement, prohibition, condition, limitation or restriction given or imposed under any such regulations shall be guilty of an offence against this Act.

        Penalty for this subsection: a fine of $2 500.

        [Section 22 amended: No. 113 of 1965 s. 8; No. 42 of 1982 s. 24 and 42; No. 46 of 1988 s. 21; No. 20 of 1989 s. 3; No. 47 of 1994 s. 10; No. 14 of 1996 s. 4; No. 19 of 2022 s. 18(1).]