Part 3Administration

Part 3—Administration Division 1—The Minister 10—Power of Minister to delegate (1) The Minister may delegate any of the Minister's powers or functions under this Act (except for this Part)— (a) to the Board; or (b) to any particular person or body; or (c) to the person for the time being occupying a particular office or position. (2) A delegation under this section— (a) must be by instrument in writing; and (b) may be absolute or conditional; and (c) does not derogate from the power of the Minister to act in any matter; and (d) is revocable at will by the Minister. 11—Appointment of authorised officers (1) The Minister may appoint such persons to be authorised officers for the purposes of this Act as the Minister thinks fit. (2) An appointment under this section— (a) will be for a period stated in the instrument of appointment; and (b) may be made subject to conditions limiting the area within which, or the purposes for which, the appointee may exercise the powers of an authorised officer. (3) A person appointed as an authorised officer must be issued with an identity card in a form approved by the Minister. Division 2—The Board 12—Establishment of Pastoral Board (1) The Pastoral Board is established. (2) The Board consists of 6 members appointed by the Minister, of whom— (a) one, being a person who has, in the opinion of the Minister, wide experience in administration of pastoral leases; and (b) one, being a person who has, in the opinion of the Minister responsible for the administration of the Native Vegetation Act 1991, a wide knowledge of the ecology, and experience in the management, of the pastoral land of this State, will be appointed on the nomination of that Minister; and (c) one, being a person who, in the opinion of the Minister responsible for the administration of the Livestock Act 1997, has had wide experience in the field of land and soil conservation of pastoral land, will be appointed on the nomination of that Minister; and (d) one will be selected by the Minister from a list of 3 persons who produce beef cattle on pastoral land outside the dog fence, submitted by Livestock SA Incorporated; and (e) one will be selected by the Minister from a list of 3 persons who produce sheep on pastoral land inside the dog fence, submitted by Primary Producers SA Incorporated; and (f) one will be selected by the Minister from a list of 3 persons submitted by the Conservation Council of South Australia Inc (the Conservation Council), being persons who, in the opinion of the Conservation Council, have knowledge of, and experience in, the conservation of the rangelands environment. (3) At least one member must be a woman and one a man. (4) The Minister will appoint a member of the Board to preside at meetings of the Board. (5) The Minister must appoint a deputy to each member of the Board. (6) A person who is to be the deputy of a member appointed under subsection (2)(d), (e) or (f) must be appointed in the same manner as the member was appointed to the Board. (7) Where the appointments of a member under subsection (2)(d), (e) or (f) and of that member's deputy are being made at the same time, both must be selected from the one panel of names. (8) A deputy may, in the absence of the member, act as a member of the Board. 13—Conditions of office (1) A member of the Board will be appointed for a term not exceeding three years and will, on the expiration of a term of office, be eligible for reappointment. (2) The Minister may remove a member of the Board from office— (a) for misconduct; or (b) for neglect of duty; or (c) for incompetence; or (d) for mental or physical incapacity to carry out the duties of office satisfactorily. (3) The office of a member becomes vacant if the member— (a) dies; or (b) completes a term of office and is not reappointed; or (c) resigns by written notice addressed to the Minister; or (d) is removed from office by the Minister under subsection (2). (4) Upon the office of a member becoming vacant, a person must be appointed in accordance with this Act to the vacant office. 14—Allowances and expenses A member of the Board is entitled to such allowances and expenses as the Minister may determine. 15—Procedure at meetings (1) A meeting of the Board will be chaired by the member appointed to preside at meetings or, in the absence of that person, by a member chosen by the members present from amongst their own number. (2) Subject to subsection (3), the Board may act despite there being vacancies in its membership. (3) Four members constitute a quorum of the Board and no business may be transacted at a meeting of the Board unless a quorum is present. (4) Each member present at a meeting of the Board has one vote on any question arising for decision and, if the votes are equal, the member presiding at the meeting may exercise a casting vote. (5) A decision carried by a majority of the votes cast by the members present at a meeting is a decision of the Board. (5a) A conference by telephone or other electronic means between members of the Board will, for the purposes of this section, be taken to be a meeting of the Board at which the participating members are present if— (a) notice of the conference is given to all members in the manner determined by the Board for that purpose; and (b) each participating member is capable of communicating with every other participating member during the conference. (5b) A proposed resolution of the Board becomes a valid decision of the Board despite the fact that it is not voted on at a meeting of the Board if— (a) a notice of the proposed resolution is given to all members in accordance with procedures determined by the Board; and (b) a majority of the members expresses concurrence in the proposed resolution by letter, telex, facsimile transmission or other written communication setting out the terms of the proposed resolution. (5c) The Board must cause accurate minutes of its meetings to be kept. (6) Subject to this Act, the proceedings of the Board may be conducted as it thinks fit. 16—Conflict of interest under Public Sector (Honesty and Accountability) Act A member of the Board will not be taken to have a direct or indirect interest in a matter for the purposes of the Public Sector (Honesty and Accountability) Act 1995 by reason only of the fact that the member has an interest in a matter that is shared in common with pastoralists generally, or a substantial section of pastoralists. 17—Functions of Board (1) The Board is responsible to the Minister for the administration of this Act and, in carrying out that function, is subject to the control and direction of the Minister. (2) The other functions of the Board are as follows: (a) to advise the Minister on the policies that should govern the administration of pastoral land; (b) to advise the Minister on any other matter referred to the Board by the Minister; (c) to perform the other functions assigned to the Board by or under this Act or another Act or by the Minister. 18—Delegation by Board (1) The Board may, with the consent of the Minister, delegate any of its powers or functions (other than the function of advising the Minister on the policies that should govern the administration of pastoral land)— (a) to a member of the Board; or (b) to any particular person or body; or (c) to the person for the time being occupying a particular office or position. (2) A delegation under this section— (a) must be by instrument in writing; and (b) may be absolute or conditional; and (c) does not derogate from the power of the Board to act in any matter; and (d) is revocable at will by the Board. 18A—Annual report (1) The Board must, no later than 30 September in each year, furnish the Minister with a report of its operations during the preceding financial year. (2) The Minister must, within 12 sitting days of receiving a report, have copies of it laid before both Houses of Parliament.