(1) A person shall not
—
(a)
sell, exchange or otherwise dispose of;
(b)
take, or cause or permit to be taken, out of the State; or
(c)
wilfully damage, destroy, or conceal,
any object that is
classified as Aboriginal cultural material unless —
(d) he
is a person of Aboriginal descent acting in a manner sanctioned by relevant
Aboriginal custom; or
(e) he
has first, in writing, offered that object for sale to the Minister, and has
been advised, in writing, by the Minister that he does not wish to purchase
it; or
(f) the
object has previously been offered for sale to the Minister pursuant to this
subsection, and when it was so offered the Minister advised that he did not
wish to purchase it; or
(g) he
is expressly authorised by the Minister so to do.
(2) Where an object
that is classified as Aboriginal cultural material is offered for sale to the
Minister, the Minister may accept the offer and so purchase the object or may,
subject to subsection (3), decline the offer, in which event he shall as soon
as practicable, in writing, advise the person by whom it was offered to the
Minister that he does not wish to purchase it.
(3) Where the Minister
is of the opinion that the price at which an object of Aboriginal cultural
material has been offered to him for the purposes of subsection (1) is
excessive, the Minister may apply to the State Administrative Tribunal which
may determine a reasonable price for the object.
(4) Where the State
Administrative Tribunal, in determining a reasonable price for an object
pursuant to subsection (3), determines a price which is greater than the price
at which it was offered for sale to the Minister, the person by whom the
object was offered for sale to the Minister shall be deemed for all purposes
to have offered the object for sale to the Minister at the price so
determined, and within 14 days of the determination by the State
Administrative Tribunal the Minister shall —
(a)
accept the offer so deemed to have been made by the person and so purchase the
object; or
(b)
decline to purchase the object, in which event the Minister shall as soon as
practicable, in writing, advise the person that the Minister does not wish to
purchase it.
(5) Where the State
Administrative Tribunal, in determining the reasonable price for an object
pursuant to subsection (3), determines a price which is less than the price at
which it was offered for sale to the Minister, the person by whom the object
was offered for sale to the Minister shall not, for the purpose of subsection
(1), be deemed to have offered the object for sale to the Minister until he
offers the object for sale to the Minister at the price determined by the
State Administrative Tribunal.
[(6) deleted]
(7) A person who
contravenes the provisions of this section commits an offence.
[Section 43 amended: No. 24 of 1995 s. 37; No. 55
of 2004 s. 6 and 9.]