Western Australian Current Acts Western Australian Current Acts (1) For the purposes
of this section, the expression the owner of any land includes a lessee from
the Crown, and the holder of any mining tenement or mining privilege, or of
any right or privilege under the
Petroleum and Geothermal Energy Resources Act 1967 , in relation to the land.
(1a) A person is also
included as an owner of land for the purposes of this section if —
(a) the
person —
(i)
is the holder of rights conferred under section 34 of the
Dampier to Bunbury Pipeline Act 1997 in respect of the land or is the
holder’s nominee approved under section 34(3) of that Act; or
(ii)
has authority under section 7 of the Petroleum Pipelines
Act 1969 to enter upon the land;
or
(b) the
person is the holder of a distribution licence under Part 2A of the
Energy Coordination Act 1994 as a result of which the person has rights or
powers in respect of the land; or
(c) the
person is the holder of a licence under the Water Services Act 2012 as a
result of which the person has rights or powers in respect of the land.
(2) Where the owner of
any land gives to the Committee notice in writing that he requires to use the
land for a purpose which, unless the Minister gives his consent under this
section, would be likely to result in a breach of section 17 in respect of any
Aboriginal site that might be on the land, the Committee shall, as soon as it
is reasonably able, form an opinion as to whether there is any Aboriginal site
on the land, evaluate the importance and significance of any such site, and
submit the notice to the Minister together with its recommendation in writing
as to whether or not the Minister should consent to the use of the land for
that purpose, and, where applicable, the extent to which and the conditions
upon which his consent should be given.
(3) Where the
Committee submits a notice to the Minister under subsection (2) he shall
consider its recommendation and having regard to the general interest of the
community shall either —
(a)
consent to the use of the land the subject of the notice, or a specified part
of the land, for the purpose required, subject to such conditions, if any, as
he may specify; or
(b)
wholly decline to consent to the use of the land the subject of the notice for
the purpose required,
and shall forthwith
inform the owner in writing of his decision.
(4) Where the owner of
any land has given to the Committee notice pursuant to subsection (2) and the
Committee has not submitted it with its recommendation to the Minister in
accordance with that subsection the Minister may require the Committee to do
so within a specified time, or may require the Committee to take such other
action as the Minister considers necessary in order to expedite the matter,
and the Committee shall comply with any such requirement.
(5) Where the owner of
any land is aggrieved by a decision of the Minister made under subsection (3)
he may apply to the State Administrative Tribunal for a review of the
decision.
(6) If the owner of
any land gives notice to the Committee under subsection (2) during the
transitional period and the Minister gives consent under subsection (3)(a) in
relation to the notice, it is a condition of the consent that —
(a) the
consent —
(i)
takes effect on the day after the day on which the owner
is informed of the Minister’s decision under subsection (3); and
(ii)
is of effect only for the period of 5 years, or any
shorter period that is specified in the consent, beginning on the day on which
the consent takes effect;
and
(b) the
owner must notify the Minister if the owner becomes aware of any new
information about Aboriginal cultural heritage in relation to the land the
subject of the consent.
(6A) In subsection (6)
—
Aboriginal cultural heritage has the meaning given
in the Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Act 2021 section 12;
located has the meaning given in the
Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Act 2021 section 13;
transitional period has the meaning given in the
Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Act 2021 section 313;
new information about Aboriginal cultural heritage
, in relation to an area of land the subject of consent given under subsection
(3)(a), means information not identified to the Minister or the Committee
(whether in the notice given to the Committee under subsection (2) or
otherwise) before the consent was given, about —
(a)
Aboriginal cultural heritage located in the area; or
(b) the
characteristics of Aboriginal cultural heritage located in the area.
(7) Where the owner of
any land gives notice to the Committee under subsection (2), the Committee
may, if it is satisfied that it is practicable to do so, direct the removal of
any object to which this Act applies from the land to a place of safe custody.
(8) Where consent has
been given under this section to a person to use any land for a particular
purpose nothing done by or on behalf of that person pursuant to, and in
accordance with any conditions attached to, the consent constitutes an offence
against this Act.
[Section 18 inserted: No. 8 of 1980 s. 6; amended:
No. 24 of 1995 s. 19; No. 58 of 1999 s. 39; No. 55 of 2004 s. 5; No. 35 of
2007 s. 89; No. 25 of 2012 s. 203; No. 27 of 2021 s. 340.]