12Directions to public authorities

12 Directions to public authorities

12 Directions to public authorities

(1) The Authority may (subject to subsection (2)) from time to time—

(a) direct any public authority to do anything within the powers of the public authority which will, in the opinion of the Authority, contribute to environment protection, or

(b) direct any public authority to cease doing anything which, in the opinion of the Authority, adversely affects environment protection.

(2) The Authority is required to consult with the public authority about any such direction.

(3) If a dispute arises about any such direction, the Minister and the Minister responsible for the public authority (or, in the case of a local government authority, the mayor concerned) are to be notified of the dispute and given an opportunity to resolve the dispute.

(4) If the dispute is not resolved, it may be referred by the Authority or the public authority to the Premier for settlement. The Premier must, before making any decision on the matter, appoint a person to make an assessment of or conduct a public inquiry into the matter. The report of that assessment or public inquiry is to be made available to the public by the Premier and, if the decision of the Premier on the dispute does not follow the recommendations in that report, the terms of the decision of the Premier are to be tabled by or on behalf of the Premier in each House of Parliament (within 14 sitting days of that House) and are to be included in the next available annual report of the Authority.

(5) The decision of the Premier on a dispute is to be given effect to by the Authority and the public authority concerned.

(6) If a public authority that is a local government authority fails to give effect to the decision of the Premier on a dispute, the Authority may give effect to the decision and may for that purpose carry out any work and give any directions as if it were the local government authority. The Authority is taken to be the local government authority when carrying out that work or giving those directions.

(7) Any costs or expenses incurred by the Authority in giving effect to a decision as referred to in subsection (6) may be recovered by the Authority from the local government authority as a debt in a court of competent jurisdiction.

(8) Any provision of any other Act for the settlement of disputes between public authorities by the Premier or a Minister does not apply to the settlement of a dispute to which this section applies.