7Parks and reserves established by Governor-General

##### 7 Parks and reserves established by Governor-General (1) In this section, area means: (a) an area of land owned or held under lease by the Commonwealth, including any such area that has been dedicated or reserved under a law of a Territory for the purposes of a national park, nature reserve, protected area or wildlife sanctuary or for similar purposes; (aa) an area of Aboriginal land held under lease by the Director; (b) an area of the Australian coastal sea in respect of the sea-bed and subsoil beneath which no interest is vested in a person other than the Commonwealth; (c) an area of sea over a part of the continental shelf of Australia in respect of which no interest is vested in a person other than the Commonwealth; or (d) an area of land or sea outside the Australian coastal sea in respect of which Australia has, under an agreement between Australia and any other country or countries, obligations relating to wildlife that may appropriately be carried out by the establishment and management of the areas as a park or reserve; or an area of any such land and any such sea. (2) Subject to this section, the Governor-General may: (a) by Proclamation \[see Note 2\], declare an area specified in the Proclamation to be a park or a reserve and assign a name to that park or reserve; and (b) by the same or by another Proclamation, declare the whole or a specified part of the park or reserve to be a wilderness zone. (3) A Proclamation declaring an area to be a reserve may specify the purpose or purposes for which it is so declared. (4) Where a plan of management is in force in relation to a park or reserve, a declaration shall not be made declaring the whole or a specified part of the park or reserve to be a wilderness zone except in accordance with the plan of management. (5) A park may be named as a national park or by such other designation as the Governor-General thinks fit. (6) Where an area is declared by Proclamation to be a park or reserve: (a) the subsoil beneath any land within the area, extending to such depth below the surface as is specified in the Proclamation; (b) the waters and sea-bed beneath any sea within the area; and (c) the subsoil beneath any such sea-bed, extending to such depth below the sea-bed as is specified in the Proclamation; shall be taken to be within that park or reserve. (7) Upon the declaration of a park or reserve, any interest held by the Commonwealth in respect of the land (including any sea-bed or any subsoil) within the park or reserve, but not in respect of any minerals, becomes, by force of this subsection, vested in the Director. (7A) Where the Commonwealth acquires any interest in respect of any land (including any sea-bed or any subsoil) within a park or reserve (otherwise than by reason of the surrender or transfer of an interest under subsection 9(3)), that interest becomes, by force of this subsection, vested in the Director, but not to the extent that it is an interest in respect of minerals. (8) Subject to this section, the Governor-General may, by Proclamation, revoke or amend a Proclamation made under this section. (9) A Proclamation under this section by virtue of which any land (including any subsoil) or sea, other than land or sea referred to in paragraph (1)(d), ceases to be land or sea within a park or reserve or within a wilderness zone shall not be made except in accordance with a resolution passed by each House of the Parliament in pursuance of a motion of which notice has been given not less than 15 sitting days of that House before the motion is moved. (10) If, by virtue of a Proclamation made under this section, any land (including any sea-bed or any subsoil), other than Aboriginal land, ceases to be land within a park or reserve, any interest held by the Director in respect of that land becomes, by force of this subsection, vested in the Commonwealth. (10A) If, by virtue of a Proclamation made under this section, any Aboriginal land (including any sea-bed or any subsoil) ceases to be land within a park or reserve, any leasehold interest held by the Director in respect of that land ceases, by force of this subsection, to exist. (10AB) Subsections (9), (10) and (10A) do not apply in relation to a Proclamation by virtue of which any land (including any Aboriginal land and any sea-bed or subsoil) or sea ceases to be land or sea within a park or reserve or within a wilderness zone and becomes land or sea within another park or reserve or another wilderness zone, as the case requires. (10B) Where a leasehold interest held by the Director in respect of any land in a park or reserve ceases to exist (otherwise than by reason of the Director surrendering the interest under subsection 9(2B), surrendering or transferring the interest under subsection 9(3) or acquiring ownership of the land or by reason of the operation of subsection 12(2A) of the Aboriginal Land Rights (Northern Territory) Act 1976), the land ceases, by force of this subsection, to be land within the park or reserve and the Governor-General shall accordingly, by Proclamation, amend or revoke, as the case requires, the Proclamation applying in relation to that land. (11) Subject to subsection (11A), the Governor-General shall not make a Proclamation under this section except after consideration by the Executive Council of a report by the Director in relation to the matter dealt with by the Proclamation. (11A) Subsection (11) does not apply in relation to the making of: (a) a Proclamation under subsection (2) in relation to land or sea within the Region; (b) a Proclamation under subsection (8) in relation to land or sea within the Region, other than a Proclamation, not being a Proclamation to which paragraph (c) applies, by virtue of which particular land (including any Aboriginal land or sea‑bed or subsoil) or sea ceases to be land or sea within a park or reserve or within a wilderness zone; or (c) a Proclamation by virtue of which any land (including any Aboriginal land or any sea-bed or subsoil) or sea ceases to be land or sea within a park or reserve or within a wilderness zone and becomes land or sea within another park or reserve or another wilderness zone, as the case requires. (12) Before submitting a report for the purposes of subsection (11), the Director shall: (a) by public notice: (i) state the nature of the report and of any recommendations proposed to be made in the report; (ii) invite interested persons to make representations in connexion with the report by such date, not being less than 60 days after the date of publication of the notice in the Gazette, as is specified in the notice; and (iii) specify an address to which such representations may be forwarded; and (b) give due consideration to any representations so made; and, when submitting the report, he or she shall attach to the report any representations so made, together with his or her comments on those representations. (13) Where any land is acquired by the Commonwealth for the purposes of this Part, the Minister shall, as soon as practicable after the acquisition, but subject to compliance with subsections (11) and (12) (where applicable), cause the carrying out of that purpose to be submitted for consideration by the Executive Council. (14) Subject to subsection (10B), where land is within a park or reserve, it does not cease to be within the park or reserve by reason only of a transfer, assignment, surrender or extinguishment of, or any other change of any description in, any interest in respect of that land.