Western Australian Consolidated Acts Western Australian Consolidated Acts (1) A person shall not
take any protected flora on private land unless —
(a) he
is the owner or occupier of the private land; or
(b) he
is authorised so to do by the owner or occupier of the private land.
(1a) In any
proceedings for an offence against subsection (1) it is a defence for the
person charged to prove that the taking occurred as an unavoidable incident or
consequence in the performance of any right, power or authority conferred
upon, or in the discharge of any duty or obligation imposed upon, the person
by or under any Act or agreement to which the State is a party and which
is ratified or approved by an Act or notwithstanding the fact that the
performance of that right, power or authority, or the discharge of the duty or
obligation, was exercised in a reasonable manner.
(2) A person shall not
sell any protected flora taken by him on private land
unless —
(a) he
is the holder of a commercial producer’s licence or a nurseryman’s
licence issued under this section;
(b) the
flora —
(i)
if taken by a person who is the holder of a commercial
producer’s licence — is of a class or description specified
in his licence and is taken from the private land specified in the licence;
and
(ii)
if taken by a person who is the holder of a
nurseryman’s licence — is of a class or description specified
in his licence and has been grown and cultivated by him on the private land
specified in the licence;
and
(c) the
flora is marked, tagged or otherwise identified in accordance with the terms
and conditions of his licence.
(3) A person —
(a) who
is an owner or occupier of private land; or
(b) who
is authorised to take any protected flora on private land by an owner or
occupier of the private land,
may on payment of the
prescribed fee apply to the Minister for the issue to him of a commercial
producer’s licence or a nurseryman’s licence.
(4) An application
under subsection (3) shall be in the prescribed form and shall
specify —
(a) the
land to which the application relates;
(b) the
classes or descriptions of flora to which the application relates.
(5) Subject to
subsections (6) and (7), the Minister shall issue a licence to any person
who has made an application in accordance with the provisions of this section,
but the licence shall be issued subject to such conditions as, having regard
to the conservation of protected flora, the Minister considers fit, which
conditions shall be endorsed upon or attached to the licence.
(5a) Subject to
subsection (6), a licence is valid from the date of issue for the period
stated in the licence.
(5b) The Minister may
reduce or waive the fee payable in respect of a licence issued under this
section.
(6) The Minister
may —
(a) by
notice in writing served on the person, revoke any licence issued under this
section if the person to whom the licence has been issued is convicted of any
offence against this Act; and
(b)
refuse to issue a licence to a person who has been convicted of an offence
against this Act.
(7) In considering an
application under subsection (3) the Minister shall have regard to the
principles set out in Schedule 5 to the
Environmental Protection Act 1986 and shall not issue a licence if the
taking of the protected flora to which the licence would relate would be
seriously at variance with those principles.
(8)
Subsection (7) does not apply if the taking of the protected flora to
which the licence would relate is authorised by a clearing permit granted and
in force under Part V Division 2 of the Environmental
Protection Act 1986 .
[Section 23D inserted by No. 86 of 1976
s. 15 (as amended by No. 28 of 1979 s. 6); amended by
No. 53 of 1980 s. 3; No. 57 of 1997 s. 132(14), (15)
and (23); No. 54 of 2003 s. 120(3) and (4).]