South Australian Repealed Acts

This legislation has been repealed.

NATURAL RESOURCES MANAGEMENT ACT 2004 - SECT 9

9—General statutory duties

        (1)         A person must act reasonably in relation to the management of natural resources within the State.

        (2)         In determining what is reasonable for the purposes of subsection (1) , regard must be had, amongst other things, to the objects of this Act, and to—

            (a)         the need to act responsibly in relation to the management of natural resources, and the potential impact of a failure to comply with the relevant duty; and

            (b)         any environmental, social, economic or practical implications, including any relevant assessment of costs and benefits associated with a particular course of action, the financial implications of various measures or options, and the current state of technical and scientific knowledge; and

            (c)         any degrees of risk that may be involved; and

            (d)         the nature, extent and duration of any harm; and

            (e)         the extent to which a person is responsible for the management of the natural resources; and

            (f)         the significance of the natural resources, including in relation to the environment and to the economy of the State (if relevant); and

            (g)         the extent to which an act or activity may have a cumulative effect on any natural resources; and

            (h)         any pre-existing circumstance, and the state or condition of the natural resources.

        (3)         A person will be taken not to be in breach of subsection (1) if the person is acting—

            (a)         in pursuance of a requirement under this or any other Act; or

            (b)         in a manner consistent with the relevant regional NRM plan; or

            (c)         in circumstances prescribed by the regulations.

        (4)         Subject to subsections (5) and (6), a person who breaches subsection (1) is not, on account of the breach alone, liable to any civil or criminal action.

        (5)         If a person breaches subsection (1) —

            (a)         the person may be required to prepare and implement an action plan in the circumstances contemplated by Chapter 6 ; and

            (b)         compliance with the subsection may be enforced by the issuing of a protection order under Chapter 9 Part 1 ; and

            (c)         a reparation order or reparation authorisation may be issued under Chapter 9 Part 1 ; and

            (d)         an order may be made by the ERD Court under Chapter 9 Part 2 in respect of the non-compliance.

        (6)         Subsection (4) does not limit or derogate from any other provision of this Act.

        (7)         In addition, if a person can demonstrate that he or she has acted in a manner consistent with any best practice methods or standards in the relevant industry or sphere of activity that are recognised as being acceptable for the purposes of subsection (1) by the relevant regional NRM board, then, to the extent of the consistency, no action can be taken against the person in connection with the operation of this section.

        (8)         To avoid doubt, a person cannot, in relation to the operation of this section, be held responsible for any condition or circumstance existing before the commencement of this section.

Chapter 3—Administration