Forest Practices Amendment (Private Timber Reserves) Act 1998

Forest Practices Amendment (Private Timber Reserves) Act 1998

An Act to amend the Forest Practices Act 1985

Be it enacted by His Excellency the Governor of Tasmania, by and with the advice and consent of the Legislative Council and House of Assembly, in Parliament assembled, as follows:

1.   Short title

This Act may be cited as the Forest Practices Amendment (Private Timber Reserves) Act 1998 .

2.   Commencement

This Act commences on the day on which this Act receives the Royal Assent.

3.   Principal Act

In this Act, the Forest Practices Act 1985 is referred to as the Principal Act.

4.    Section 7 amended (Objections to declaration of land as private timber reserve)

Section 7 of the Principal Act is amended as follows:

(a) by omitting from subsection (1) "on any grounds on which the application may be refused under section 8 (2) ." and substituting "on –";

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

(a) in the case of a person referred to in paragraph (d) of the definition of prescribed person in subsection (4) , the ground specified in paragraph (f) of section 8(2) as it applies to that person; and

(b) in any other case, a ground specified in paragraph (a) , (b) , (c) , (d) or (e) of section 8(2) .

(c) by inserting the following paragraph after paragraph (a) in subsection (2) :

(ab) in the case of an objection by a person referred to in paragraph (d) of the definition of prescribed person in subsection (4) , the ground for the objection is limited to the ground specified in paragraph (f) of section 8(2) as it applies to that person; and

(d) by omitting paragraph (b) from subsection (2) and substituting the following paragraph:

(b) in any other case, the ground for the objection is a ground specified in paragraph (a) , (b) , (c) , (d) or (e) of section 8(2) ; and

(e) by omitting "land;" from paragraph (a) of the definition of prescribed person in subsection (4) and substituting "land; or";

(f) by omitting "relates;" from paragraph (c) of the definition of prescribed person in subsection (4) and substituting "relates; or";

(g) by inserting the following paragraph after paragraph (c) in the definition of prescribed person in subsection (4) :

(d) a person who is the owner of land that adjoins, or is within 100 metres of, the boundary of the proposed private timber reserve including, in the case of general law land subject to mortgage, the person having the equity of redemption in that land;

5.    Section 8 amended (Grant or refusal of application for declaration of land as private timber reserve)

Section 8 of the Principal Act is amended as follows:

(a) by omitting from subsection (2)(e) "application." and substituting "application; or";

(b) by inserting the following paragraph after paragraph (e) in subsection (2) :

(f) an owner of land referred to in paragraph (d) of the definition of prescribed person in section 7(4) would be directly and materially disadvantaged if the application was granted.

(c) by inserting the following subsection after subsection (2) :

(2A)  For the purposes of subsection (2)(d) , where a planning scheme or special planning order within the meaning or for the purposes of the Land Use Planning and Approvals Act 1993 requires the owner of any land to obtain a permit or other form of approval from a municipal council in order to establish forests or grow or harvest timber on that land, that requirement is not to be taken as being a prohibition of those activities on that land.

6.   Validation

(1)  In this section –

commencement day means the day on which this Act commences;

planning scheme means –

(a) in respect of the period that commenced on 2 November 1987 and ended at midnight on 31 December 1993, a planning scheme or interim order under Part XVIII of the Local Government Act 1962; and

(b) on and after 1 January 1994, a planning scheme or special planning order within the meaning or for the purposes of the Land Use Planning and Approvals Act 1993 .

(2)  Where before the commencement day –

(a) an application to have any land declared as a private timber reserve was granted under the Principal Act; and

(b) the land was subsequently declared as a private timber reserve under the Principal Act; and

(c) at the time the application was granted there was a requirement under a planning scheme for the owner of the land to obtain a permit or other form of approval from a municipal council in order to establish forests or grow or harvest timber on the land but that requirement had not been met –

then –

(d) that requirement is not to be taken to have ever been a statutory prohibition on the owner of the land establishing forests, or growing or harvesting timber, on the land for the purposes of section 8(2)(d) of the Principal Act; and

(e) the application for the declaration is not to be taken to have been invalidly made or invalidly granted by reason only that that requirement was not met; and

(f) the declaration by which the land was declared as a private timber reserve is not to be taken to be invalid by reason only that that requirement was not met.

[Second reading presentation speech made in:

House of Assembly on 2 DECEMBER 1998

Legislative Council on 3 DECEMBER 1998]