Western Australian Current Acts Western Australian Current Acts (1) The functions of
the Commission are as follows —
(a) to
have vested in it the following —
(i)
State forest and timber reserves;
(ia)
marine reserves, either solely or jointly with an Aboriginal body corporate;
(ii)
unless section 8B(2)(f) applies, national parks,
conservation parks and nature reserves, either solely or jointly with an
Aboriginal body corporate;
(iii)
relevant land referred to in section 5(1)(g);
(ba) to
have the joint function provided for by section 7(4);
(b) to
have the care, control and management of relevant land referred to in
section 5(1)(h) placed with it, either solely or jointly with another person
or body;
(c) to
advise the Minister on the development of policies —
(i)
for the preservation of the natural environment of the
State and the provision of facilities for the enjoyment of that environment by
the community; and
(ii)
for promoting the appreciation of flora and fauna and the
natural environment; and
(iii)
to achieve or promote the objectives referred to in
section 56(1)(a) to (e) and (2);
(d) to
advise the Minister on the development of policies for the conservation,
protection and management of biodiversity and biodiversity components
throughout the State;
(e) in
accordance with section 17, to consider any cancellation or change of purpose,
or boundary alteration, of land vested in or under the care, control and
management of the Commission, whether solely or jointly with a joint
responsible body;
(fa) to
advise the Minister in relation to proposals for reservations for the purposes
of section 14;
(f) in
accordance with Part V, to prepare and deal with proposed management plans for
land and waters vested in or under the care, control and management of the
Commission, whether solely or jointly with a joint responsible body;
(g) in
relation to management plans for land and waters vested in or under the care,
control and management of the Commission, whether solely or jointly with a
joint responsible body —
(i)
to develop guidelines for monitoring; and
(ii)
to set performance criteria for evaluating; and
(iii)
to conduct periodic assessments of,
the implementation of
the management plans by those responsible for implementing them, including the
CEO and, if the land is State forest or a timber reserve, the Forest Products
Commission;
(haa) to
participate in the preparation of the following documents under the
Biodiversity Conservation Act 2016 Parts 5 and 6 when consulted in accordance
with those Parts —
(i)
draft biodiversity management programmes;
(ii)
draft recovery plans;
(iii)
interim recovery plans;
(ha) if
a section 8A agreement requires the Commission to assess the implementation of
the management plan for the section 8A land concerned, to do so in accordance
with the agreement;
(h) to
advise the Minister on the application of the principles of ecologically
sustainable forest management in the management of —
(i)
State forest and timber reserves; and
(ii)
forest produce throughout the State;
(i)
to advise the Minister on the production and harvesting,
on a sustained yield basis, of forest produce throughout the State;
(j) to
inquire into and, subject to subsection (6), to advise the Minister on any
matter on which the Minister requests advice;
(k) upon
request, to provide advice on matters relating to land and waters vested in or
under the care, control and management of the Commission, whether solely or
jointly with a joint responsible body, to any body or person, if to do so is
in the public interest and it is practicable for the Commission to provide it;
(l) with
the approval of the Minister, to cause study or research to be undertaken for
the purposes of paragraph (c).
(2) For the purposes
of subsection (1)(h) the principles of ecologically sustainable forest
management are —
(a) that
the decision-making process should effectively integrate both long-term and
short-term economic, environmental, social and equitable considerations; and
(b) that
if there are threats of serious or irreversible environmental damage, the lack
of full scientific certainty should not be used as a reason for postponing
measures to prevent environmental degradation; and
(c) that
the present generation should ensure that the health, diversity and
productivity of the environment is maintained or enhanced for the benefit of
future generations; and
(d) that
the conservation of biological diversity and ecological integrity should be a
fundamental consideration in decision-making; and
(e) that
improved valuation, pricing and incentive mechanisms should be promoted.
(3) It is declared
that the vesting in the Commission of State forest, timber reserves, national
parks, conservation parks, nature reserves and marine reserves is only for the
purposes of subsection (1)(c), (d), (e), (fa), (f), (g), (h), (i), (k) and (l)
and does not otherwise limit the functions of the CEO under section 33.
(4) Despite the
Land Act 1933 1 , land to which section 5(1)(g) applies that is vested in the
Commission, including the land referred to in section 155, is only vested
within the meaning in subsection (3).
(5) Despite the
Land Administration Act 1997 , the placing of the care, control and management
of land to which section 5(1)(h) applies with the Commission is only for the
purposes referred to in subsection (3).
(6) The Commission
shall not advise the Minister on any matter to which this subsection applies
unless, before the advice is tendered, it has —
(a)
informed each local government in whose district land or waters directly
affected by the advice are situated of the general nature of its proposed
advice; and
(b)
afforded the local government a reasonable opportunity to make submissions on
its proposed advice.
(7) Subsection (6)
applies to —
(a) any
proposal to establish a new State forest, timber reserve, national park,
conservation park or nature reserve; and
(ba) any
proposal to enter into a section 8A agreement under which land will be managed
as if it were a State forest, timber reserve, national park, conservation park
or nature reserve; and
(b) any
matter to which the Minister, by written direction to the Commission, applies
that subsection.
(8) Where a matter
before the Commission is relevant to the functions of the Forest Products
Commission, the Commission shall refer that matter to the Forest Products
Commission for its comments and advice.
(9) The Commission
must not advise the Minister on any matter which relates to marine archaeology
unless before the advice is tendered it has informed The Western Australian
Museum of the general nature of its proposed advice and given it a reasonable
opportunity to make submissions.
(10) Where —
(a) the
Commission has provided advice to the Minister which the Minister has
requested under subsection (1)(j), or is required by this Act to consider or
take into account; and
(b) the
advice recommends that the Minister take or refrain from taking specified
action; and
(c) the
Minister decides to act otherwise than in accordance with the recommendation,
the Minister is to
cause a copy of the advice and the decision to be laid before each House of
Parliament within 14 sitting days of that House after the making of the
decision.
[Section 19 inserted: No. 35 of 2000 s. 10;
amended: No. 74 of 2003 s. 39(6)-(8); No. 28 of 2006 s. 208; No. 36 of 2011 s.
12; No. 28 of 2015 s. 23, 69 and 71; No. 24 of 2016 s. 291; No. 27 of 2022
s. 10.]