64Minister may vary conditions unilaterally

64 Minister may vary conditions unilaterally

(1) The Minister may vary any condition imposed on an authority.

(2) To vary a condition, the Minister must—

(a) notify the holder of the authority in writing of the variation the Minister proposes to make and invite the holder to make any submissions in respect of the proposal within the time specified by the Minister; and

(b) consider any submissions made by the holder of the authority.

(3) The Minister must allow a period of at least 28 days for the holder to make submissions.

(4) If, after complying with subsection (2), the Minister decides to vary the condition, he or she must give the holder of the authority notice in writing of the decision.

(5) The Minister may only vary a condition on a retention lease or an extraction licence if at least 5 years have elapsed since the condition was imposed or last varied (whichever is the later event) under this section.

(6) For the purposes of subsection (5), a condition is not imposed or varied if the holder of the authority, in response to a notice under subsection (2)(a), does not object to the imposition or variation of the condition.