EXPLANATORY STATEMENT
STATUTORY RULES 1988 No. 232
NATIONAL PARKS AND WILDLIFE REGULATIONS (AMENDMENT)
(Issued under the authority of the Minister of State for the Arts, Sport, the Environment, Tourism and Territories)
Subsections 14C(1) and 14C(2) of the National Parks and Wildlife Conservation Act 1975 (the Act) provide as follows:
“14C(1) Where -
(a) an area of Aboriginal land is situated wholly or partly within a prescribed park or reserve; and
(b) the Minister and the relevant Land Council in relation to the land -
(i) agree that a Board should be established for that park or reserve; and
(ii) agree on the matters to be specified, in accordance with subsection (2), in the notice in respect of the Board,
the Minister shall, by notice published in the Gazette, establish a Board for that park or reserve.
(2) A notice under subsection (1) establishing a Board shall -
(a) specify the park or reserve for which the Board is established;
(b) specify the name by which the Board is to be known;
(c) specify the number of persons who are to constitute the Board; and
(d) subject to subsection (5), specify in relation to each office of member of the Board, the preconditions that a person must satisfy in order to be eligible for appointment to that office.”
“Prescribed park or reserve” is defined in subsection 3(1) of the Act as follows:
“‘prescribed park or reserve’ means -
(a) the Uluru (Ayers Rock-Mt Olga) National Park; and
(b) any other park or reserve declared by the regulations to be a prescribed park or reserve for the purposes of this definition.”
The object of the proposed amendment to the National Parks and Wildlife Regulations was to make Kakadu National Park (the Park) a prescribed park to enable the establishment of a Board for the Park. The Park contains Aboriginal land, so otherwise meets the requirements of clause 14C(1)(a) of the Act.