22Prohibition of use of lake area or parts of lake

22 Prohibition of use of lake area or parts of lake (1) The Minister may declare one or both of the following: (a) that entry to a lake area is prohibited; (b) that an area of a lake is a prohibited area. (2) A declaration under subsection (1) is a notifiable instrument. (3) The Minister must give additional public notice of a declaration. Note Public notice means notice on an ACT government website or in a daily newspaper circulating in the ACT (see Legislation Act, dict, pt 1). The requirement in s (3) is in addition to the requirement for notification on the legislation register as a notifiable instrument. (4) The Minister must not prohibit entry to a lake or declare an area of a lake to be a prohibited area unless— (a) the condition of the waters of a lake or that area, as the case may be, is such as to constitute a threat to the health of a person entering those waters; or

(b) the prohibition or declaration is reasonably necessary in connection with the maintenance or preservation of a lake or the maintenance, preservation or testing of an associated work; or (c) the chief police officer has given to the Minister a certificate in writing stating that the prohibition or declaration, as the case may be, is reasonably necessary to enable police officers to carry out their duties in a lake or in a lake area; or (d) by reason of an emergency in a lake or a lake area, it is necessary or desirable to do so; or (e) to do so is otherwise in the public interest. (5) The Minister may cause a boundary of a prohibited area to be defined by such means as the Minister thinks necessary. (6) A person commits an offence if— (a) the person enters, or remains in, a lake area; and (b) entry to the area is prohibited under subsection (1); and (c) an inspector has told the person that entry to the area is prohibited. (7) A person commits an offence if— (a) the person enters, or remains in, a prohibited area of a lake; and (b) an inspector has told the person that— (i) the area is a prohibited area; and (ii) the person must not enter, or remain in, the area. (8) An offence against this section is a strict liability offence.