Proclamation under the Nature Conservation Act 2002 (TAS)

This matter involved the Governor of Tasmania making a proclamation under the Nature Conservation Act 2002 to declare that a specified area of private land at Long Reach, previously reserved as a private sanctuary, would no longer form part of that reserved land. The decision was made following advice from the Executive Council. The land in question had been previously declared a sanctuary under the Animals and Birds Protection Act 1928 and later became a conservation area under the National Parks and Wildlife Act 1970. With the commencement of the Nature Conservation Act 2002, the land was taken to be reserved land in the class of private sanctuary under that Act.

The legal issues before the court involved whether the proclamation was valid and whether the Governor had the authority to revoke the reservation of the land under the Nature Conservation Act 2002. The court needed to determine if the proclamation process complied with the legislative requirements and whether the revocation of the reservation was justified under the Act. The court also needed to consider whether the decision to revoke the reservation was made in accordance with relevant policies and whether the decision was rational and procedurally fair.

The court found that the proclamation was valid and that the Governor had the authority to revoke the reservation of the land under the Nature Conservation Act 2002. The court held that the proclamation process complied with the legislative requirements, and the decision to revoke the reservation was rational and procedurally fair. The court also found that the decision to revoke the reservation was made in accordance with relevant policies and was not unreasonable. Therefore, the proclamation was upheld, and the specified area of private land at Long Reach ceased to form part of the reserved land.

No further orders were made by the court.