National Parks and Wildlife Conservation Amendment Act 1987

No. 15 of 1987

An Act to amend the National Parks and Wildlife Conservation Act 1975, and for related purposes

[Assented to 18 May 1987]

BE IT ENACTED by the Queen, and the Senate and the House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Australia, as follows:

Short title, etc.

1. (1) This Act may be cited as the National Parks and Wildlife Conservation Amendment Act 1987.

(2) The National Parks and Wildlife Conservation Act 19751 is in this Act referred to as the Principal Act.

Commencement

2. This Act shall come into operation on the day on which it receives the Royal Assent.

Interpretation

3. Section 3 of the Principal Act is amended:

(a) by inserting after the definition of “interest” in subsection (1) the following definition:

“ ‘Kakadu National Park’ means the area for the time being declared under section 7 to be the park of that name;”; and

(b) by omitting from subsection (1) the definition of “operations for the recovery of minerals”

4. After section 3 of the Principal Act the following section is inserted:

Operations for the recovery of minerals

“3a. (1) In this Act, subject to subsection (2), ‘operations for the recovery of minerals’ means any operations or activities for or in connection with, or incidental to, the mining (whether by underground or surface working) or recovery of minerals or the production of material from minerals and, in particular, without limiting the generality of the foregoing, includes:

(a) prospecting and exploration for minerals, the milling, refining, treatment and processing of minerals and the handling, transportation, storage and disposal of minerals and of material produced from minerals; and

(b) the construction and use of towns, camps, dams, pipelines, power lines or other structures, and the performance of any other work, for the purposes of any such operations or activities.

“(2) In this Act, ‘operations for the recovery of minerals’ does not include:

(a) anything done for the purposes of building or construction, or the supply of water, in a park or reserve, unless those purposes are connected with, or incidental to, operations for the recovery of minerals;

(b) the transportation of anything in the Kakadu National Park along routes (including air routes) prescribed for the purposes of this paragraph;

(c) the construction and use of pipelines and power lines in Kakadu National Park along routes prescribed for the purposes of this paragraph; or

(d) prescribed activities carried on in Kakadu National Park in connection with, or incidental to, operations for the recovery of minerals carried on outside Kakadu National Park.”.

Existing interests, etc., in parks, reserves and conservation zones

5. Section 8b of the Principal Act is amended by adding at the end the following subsection:

“(4) This section does not apply in relation to—

(a) any interest in respect of any minerals on, in or beneath land within Kakadu National Park; or

(b) any other interest in so far as it relates to operations for the recovery of any such minerals.”.

Mining, works, forestry, etc., in parks, reserves and wilderness zones

6. Section 10 of the Principal Act is amended—

(a) by omitting from subsection (1) “sub-section 8b (1) and section” and substituting “sections 8b and”;

(b) by inserting after subsection (1) the following subsections:

“(1a) No operations for the recovery of minerals shall be carried on in Kakadu National Park.

“(1b) Subsection (1a) shall not be taken to prevent the use, development or re-construction of the township known as Jabiru.”; and

(c) by inserting in subsection (2) “(not being Kakadu National Park)” after “reserve” (first occurring).

No compensation payable

7. Notwithstanding any law of the Commonwealth or of the Northern Territory, the Commonwealth is not liable to pay compensation to any person by reason of the enactment of this Act.

NOTE

1. No. 12, 1975. For previous amendments, see No. 37, 1976; Nos. 29 and 36, 1978; Nos. 42 and 155, 1979; No. 70, 1980; No. 111, 1982; Nos. 10, 63 and 72, 1984; No. 94, 1985; and No. 76, 1986.

[Minister’s second reading speech made in—

House of Representatives on 27 November 1986

Senate on 28 April 1987]