EXPLANATORY STATEMENT
STATUTORY RULES 1985 NO. 275
NATIONAL PARKS AND WILDLIFE REGULATIONS (AMENDMENT)
(Issued under the authority of the Minister of State for Arts, Heritage and Environment)
The purpose of the National Parks and Wildlife Regulations (Amendment) is to generally provide a mechanism to control commercial activities in parks and reserves and in particular to regularize those commercial activities which would otherwise come to an end upon the surrender of certain commercial leases in land to be included in the Uluru (Ayers Rock - Mount Olga) National Park, pending the approval of a plan of management which provides for such commercial leases. The major provisions of the proposed amendments prohibit commercial activities in parks or reserves except in accordance with a permit.
Regulation 1
Formal. Provides for interpretation.
Regulation 2
Amends existing Regulation 7 by committing existing sub-regulations (1) and (3).
Regulation 3
Inserts a new Regulation 7AA entitled “permission for commercial activity”. The Regulation comprises the following proposed sub-regulations:
(a) sub-regulations (1) - (4) prohibit in a park or reserve a person from hiring or selling anything, producing anything for hire or sale in a park or reserve or otherwise, providing any service for reward, or carrying on any other commercial activity without the written permission of the Director. Penalties of $2,000, together with $200 for each day or part of a day during which the offence continues, are provided.
(b) sub-regulation (5) sets out the matters to which the Director must have regard when considering whether to grant a permission to carry on a commercial activity in a park or reserve.
(c) sub-regulation (6) provides that a permission to carry on a commercial activity shall contain specified information and may contain conditions.
(d) sub-regulation (7) enables the Director after issuing a permission to impose a condition or an additional condition upon the permission.
(e) sub-regulation (8) makes it an offence for a person to fail to comply with a condition subject to which a permission is granted. A penalty of $2,000, together with $200 for each day or part of a day during which the offence continues, is provided.
Regulation 4
Amends existing Regulation 20D to require the Director to provide to a person affected by a reviewable decision of the Director and who has requested reconsideration of the decision a notice advising him of the grounds for that decision and of his right to apply to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal.