Part 4Aquaculture policies

Part 4—Aquaculture policies 10—Interpretation In this Division— (a) a reference to a draft aquaculture policy includes a reference to a draft amendment or revocation of an aquaculture policy; and (b) a reference to an aquaculture policy includes a reference to an amendment or revocation of an aquaculture policy. 11—Nature and content of policies (1) The Minister may make aquaculture policies for any purpose directed towards securing the objects of this Act. (2) An aquaculture policy may do one or more of the following according to the terms of the policy: (a) identify a zone within State waters (an aquaculture zone) in which aquaculture or specified classes of aquaculture will be permitted (subject to this Act and other applicable Acts); (b) designate an aquaculture zone or part of an aquaculture zone as an area in which applications for leases may only be made in accordance with a public call for applications (a public call area); (c) identify a zone within State waters (an aquaculture exclusion zone) in which no aquaculture will be permitted; (e) prescribe matters to be taken into account in the determination of applications for licences or in the making of other decisions under this Act (prescribed criteria); (f) prescribe provisions that will be conditions of licences or leases (standard conditions); (g) prescribe provisions that will constitute offences under Division 2 (mandatory provisions); (h) make any other provision contemplated by this Act or necessary or expedient for the purpose of securing the objects of this Act. (3) The provisions of aquaculture policies may vary in their operation according to the zones or other areas, or the classes of aquaculture, or other circumstances, to which they are expressed to apply. (3a) Insofar as an aquaculture policy applies within a specially protected area or the Murray‑Darling Basin, the policy must seek to further the objects and objectives of the relevant Act and of any relevant policy or plan prepared under the relevant Act, and in particular, should contain prescribed criteria to this effect. (3b) If an aquaculture policy prescribes standard conditions, those conditions will, subject to the terms of the policy, apply to an aquaculture lease or aquaculture licence whether granted before or after the making of the policy and prevail over other conditions of such a lease or licence to the extent of any inconsistency. (4) An aquaculture policy may— (a) operate by making reference to a standard or other document published by a specified body, with or without specified modifications, and as in force at a specified time or from time to time; and (b) provide for a matter to be determined according to the discretion of the Minister. 12—Procedures for making policies (1) The Minister may prepare draft aquaculture policies. (3) The Minister must prepare a report in relation to a draft policy containing— (a) an explanation of the purpose and effect of the draft policy; and (b) a summary of any background and issues relevant to the draft policy and of the analysis and reasoning applied in formulating the policy; and (c) an assessment of the consistency of the draft policy with— (i) any relevant state planning policy or regional plan, and the Planning and Design Code, under the Planning, Development and Infrastructure Act 2016; and (ii) any relevant environment protection policy under the Environment Protection Act 1993; and (iii) any other instruments prescribed by regulation. (4) The Minister must, after preparation of the draft policy and related report, refer the policy and report— (a) to any body prescribed for the purposes of this section; and (b) to any public authority whose area of responsibility is, in the opinion of the Minister, likely to be affected by the policy. (5) The Minister must also, after preparation of the draft policy and related report, cause an advertisement to be published in accordance with subsection (5a)— (a) giving notice of places at which the draft policy and the report, or copies of the draft policy and the report, are to be available for inspection and, if copies are to be available for purchase, of places at which copies may be purchased; and (b) inviting interested persons to make written submissions in relation to the draft policy within a period specified in the advertisement (being not less than 2 months from the date of publication of the advertisement). (5a) The advertisement referred to in subsection (5) must be published— (a) in the Gazette; and (b) in 1 or both of the following forms (as the Minister considers appropriate in the circumstances): (i) in a newspaper circulating generally in the State; (ii) on a website determined by the Minister. (6) After considering all matters raised as a result of consultation under subsections (4) and (5), the Minister may— (a) by notice in the Gazette, approve the draft policy; or (b) alter the draft policy as the Minister thinks fit and, by notice in the Gazette, approve the draft policy as altered; or (c) decline to approve the draft policy. (7a) The Minister must not approve a draft policy that will apply within a specially protected area without the concurrence of the relevant Minister. (7b) If the Minister to whom this Act is committed and a relevant Minister cannot reach agreement in a case where subsection (7a) applies, the Ministers must take steps to refer the matter to the Governor and the Governor will determine the matter (and any decision taken by the Governor will be taken to be a decision of the Minister under this Act). (8) The Minister must, in a Gazette notice approving a draft policy, fix a day on which the policy will come into operation. 13—Parliamentary scrutiny (1) If the Minister approves an aquaculture policy under this Division, the Minister must, within 28 days, refer the policy to the Environment, Resources and Development Committee of the Parliament. (2) The Environment, Resources and Development Committee must, after receipt of an aquaculture policy under subsection (1)— (a) resolve that it does not object to the policy; or (b) resolve to suggest amendments to the policy; or (c) resolve to object to the policy. (3) If, at the expiration of 28 days from the day on which the policy was referred to the Environment, Resources and Development Committee, the Committee has not made a resolution under subsection (2), it will be conclusively presumed that the Committee does not object to the policy and does not itself propose to suggest any amendments to the policy. (3a) If the expiration of the 28 days referred to in subsection (3) falls during a prescribed period, the prescribed period is to be disregarded for the purposes of that subsection. (4) If an amendment is suggested under subsection (2)(b)— (a) the Minister may, by notice in the Gazette, proceed to make such an amendment to the policy; or (b) the Minister may report back to the Committee that the Minister is unwilling to make the amendment suggested by the Committee (and, in such a case, the Committee may resolve that it does not object to the policy as originally made, or may resolve to object to the policy). (5) If the Environment, Resources and Development Committee resolves to object to a policy, copies of the policy must be laid before both Houses of Parliament. (6) If either House of Parliament passes a resolution disallowing a policy laid before it under subsection (5), the policy ceases to have effect. (7) A resolution is not effective for the purposes of subsection (6) unless passed in pursuance of a notice of motion given within 14 sitting days (which need not fall within the same session of Parliament) after the day on which the policy was laid before the House. (8) If a resolution is passed under subsection (6), notice of the resolution must forthwith be published in the Gazette. (9) In this section— prescribed period means— (a) 15 December to the following 15 January (inclusive); or (b) the period commencing on the day on which the House of Assembly is dissolved for the purposes of a general election and ending on the day on which the Environment, Resources and Development Committee is reconstituted at the beginning of the first session of the new Parliament after that election. 14—Certain amendments may be made by Gazette notice only (1) The Minister may, by notice in the Gazette, amend an aquaculture policy— (a) in order to correct an error in the policy; or (b) in order to make a change of form (not involving a change of substance) in the policy; or (ba) in order to designate, or revoke the designation of, an aquaculture zone or part of an aquaculture zone as a public call area; or (bb) if the Minister considers it necessary to amend the policy in consequence of an amendment to the Act or the making, variation or revocation of the regulations or the making, amendment or revocation of another aquaculture policy; or (c) if the policy itself or the regulations provide that a change of a specified kind may be made to the policy by amendment under this section—in order to make a change of that kind. (2) An amendment under this section comes into operation on the day fixed in the notice of the amendment. 15—Availability and evidence of policies (1) Copies of each aquaculture policy and of each standard or other document referred to in an aquaculture policy must be kept available for inspection and purchase by the public during ordinary office hours at an office determined by the Minister. (2) In any legal proceedings, evidence of the contents of an aquaculture policy or of a standard or other document referred to in an aquaculture policy may be given by production of a document certified by the Minister as a true copy of the policy, standard or other document. (3) An apparently genuine document purporting to be a certificate of the Minister will be accepted as such a certificate in the absence of proof to the contrary.