61Gas infrastructure licensee may acquire land, &c.

61 Gas infrastructure licensee may acquire land, &c.

(1)  In this section –

telecommunications carrier means the holder of a carrier licence under the Telecommunications Act 1997 of the Commonwealth;

telecommunications infrastructure means infrastructure that is necessary or convenient for the purposes of a telecommunications network within the meaning of the Telecommunications Act 1997 of the Commonwealth.

(2)  A gas infrastructure licensee is an acquiring authority under the Land Acquisition Act 1993 and may acquire land under that Act for the purposes of the activities that the licensee is authorised to carry out under its gas infrastructure licence.

(3)  Without limiting subsection (2) , the gas infrastructure licensee is taken to be a public authority for the purposes of section 90A(1) of the Conveyancing and Law of Property Act 1884 and, accordingly, may acquire by compulsory process under the Land Acquisition Act 1993 an easement in gross within the meaning of section 90A(1) of the Conveyancing and Law of Property Act 1884 .

(4)  Despite subsections (2) and (3)  –

(a) a gas infrastructure licensee may acquire land by compulsory process under the Land Acquisition Act 1993 only if the acquisition is authorised under subsection (6) ; and

(b) a gas infrastructure licensee may install and maintain telecommunications infrastructure on land that it has acquired under the Land Acquisition Act 1993 or allow a telecommunications carrier to install and maintain such infrastructure on such land.

(5)  Regulations may be made under modifying the in its application to the acquisition of land by a licensee under that Act, but not so as to affect the monetary entitlements of persons from whom land is acquired.