Victorian Numbered Acts

TRADITIONAL OWNER SETTLEMENT AMENDMENT ACT 2016 (NO. 67 OF 2016) - SECT 21

After section 80 of the Principal Act insert —

        " 80A     Consent of Ministers to natural resource agreements

    (1)     The Minister must not enter into a natural resource agreement unless the Minister has first obtained the consent of—

        (a)     any relevant Minister—

              (i)     for any land that is the subject of the agreement; and

              (ii)     for any natural resource that is the subject of the agreement; and

        (b)     any other Minister whom the Minister considers relevant.

    (2)     Before a Minister consents under subsection (1), the Minister must have regard to the principles of sustainability that are proposed for the agreement.

    (3)     If a natural resource agreement provides for camping in relation to—

        (a)     land that is managed by a committee of management, the relevant Minister for that land must not consent to the agreement without first consulting the committee of management; or

        (b)     land that is in an alpine resort, the relevant Minister for that land must not consent to the agreement without first consulting the Alpine Resort Management Board for the land.

        80B     Binding effect of natural resource agreements and other agreements under this Part

    (1)     An agreement under this Part binds all persons who are members of the traditional owner group represented by the traditional owner group entity that enters into the agreement.

    (2)     In this section—

"agreement under this Part" means the following—

        (a)     a natural resource agreement;

        (b)     an agreement under section 80C;

        (c)     an agreement under section 81A;

        (d)     an agreement under section 81B.

        80C     Subsidiary decision making powers under natural resource agreements

    (1)     A natural resource agreement may contain a provision that gives discretionary authority to a representative of the traditional owner group entity and a representative of a relevant Minister in relation to a natural resource, from time to time, to enter into further agreements on matters dealt with in the natural resource agreement.

    (2)     For the purpose of the entering into further agreements under subsection (1)—

        (a)     any representative of the traditional owner group entity must be a person authorised by the traditional owner group entity in a manner determined by the entity; and

        (b)     the natural resource agreement may set out—

              (i)     any terms and conditions on which the power to enter into any further agreement is exercised; and

              (ii)     any terms and conditions that must be or may be included in any further agreement.

    (3)     An agreement under this section must be published in the Government Gazette.

    (4)     An agreement under this section has effect on whichever is the later of—

        (a)     the day it is published in the Government Gazette; or

        (b)     the day specified in the agreement.

    (5)     An agreement under this section—

        (a)     may be revoked, amended or varied as agreed in the agreement; and

        (b)     remains in force until—

              (i)     it is revoked as agreed in the agreement; or

              (ii)     it lapses or ceases to have effect according to the terms of the agreement.

        80D     Temporary suspension of part of natural resource agreement

    (1)     A relevant Minister may suspend the operation of the provisions of a natural resource agreement dealing with a particular natural resource for a period of no longer than 6 months if the relevant Minister reasonably believes that there is an urgent need to do so because the natural resource is suffering a significant detrimental impact.

Example

An example of the circumstances in which provisions of a natural resource agreement might be suspended is when there is a sudden unforeseen and material decline of a particular species or ecosystem in the area covered by the agreement because of a significant event such as an outbreak of disease.

    (2)     A suspension under subsection (1) must—

        (a)     be made in writing; and

        (b)     specify—

              (i)     the period for which the suspension lasts; and

              (ii)     the provisions of the natural resource agreement to which it applies; and

              (iii)     the day on which the suspension comes into effect; and

        (c)     be published in the Government Gazette.

    (3)     A suspension under subsection (1) comes into effect—

        (a)     on the day that it is published in the Government Gazette; or

        (b)     if a later day is specified in the suspension, that day.

    (4)     A copy of a suspension under subsection (1) must be given to the traditional owner group entity before the day on which the suspension comes into effect together with reasons why the suspension has been made.

        80E     Steps to be taken before making suspension

Before making a suspension under section 80D(1)—

        (a)     if time permits, the Minister must take reasonable steps to seek agreement with the traditional owner group entity; and

        (b)     the Minister must give written notice of the proposal to make the suspension to the traditional owner group entity.

        80F     Delegation

A relevant Minister, by instrument, may delegate any of the relevant Minister's powers and duties under section 80D
or 80E to a person who is employed under the Public Administration Act 2004 in the Department of the relevant Minister.".