What it does
The National Park Estate (Southern Region Reservations) Act 2000 (NSW) is a land-transfer statute that operates to convert specified State forest and Crown land into the New South Wales national park estate. It revokes the dedication of certain lands as State forest under the Forestry Act 1916 and simultaneously reserves or dedicates those lands under the National Parks and Wildlife Act 1974 as national parks, nature reserves or state recreation areas. This mechanism is set out in sections 4, 5 and 6. The Act also sets apart certain areas within remaining State forests as flora reserves under the Forestry Act 1916 (section 7) and provides for the dedication of other former State forest and Crown land as dedicated Crown land managed by the National Parks and Wildlife Reserve Trust under the Crown Land Management Act 2016, subject to special modifications (section 8). Additionally, it vests certain former State forests and other land in the Minister administering the National Parks and Wildlife Act 1974 in fee simple, freed from all prior trusts, reservations and easements (section 9). The Act contains a flexible boundary-adjustment power (section 10) that allows the Director-General of National Parks and Wildlife, with ministerial approval, to alter land descriptions to align boundaries with distinctive features, provide access or rationalise boundaries, subject to a certification that the adjustment will not result in a significant reduction in the size or value of national park estate or State forest land. Section 11 makes changes within the existing national park estate, including revoking the reservation of Burrinjuck State Recreation Area and dedicating part of it as Burrinjuck Nature Reserve, with the balance becoming Crown land for public recreation. Schedule 7 contains detailed ancillary provisions covering the preservation of existing freehold and leasehold interests, the status of land vested in the NPW Minister, the continuation of certain leases under the Forestry Act 1916, the administration of existing interests, special provisions for access roads, and the mechanism for the compulsory acquisition of small areas for sewage treatment facilities and road widening. The Act also provides for the exclusion of Crown lands that were the subject of pending Aboriginal land rights claims made before 14 April 2000 (Schedule 7, clause 16).