New Zealand Legislation: Acts
Acts are laws made by Parliament
(1) Subject to this Act, the Fire Authority for the district in which any area of continuous forest land is wholly or principally situate may, on application by any eligible landholder in respect of that land, declare it to be a forest area for the purposes of this Act, on such conditions, including any appropriate provision for a fire safety margin, as may be prescribed by this Act or by the Fire Authority.
(2) Every Fire Authority shall keep in accordance with the requirements of the National Rural Fire Authority a Forest Area Register in which are registered all forest areas declared by that Fire Authority, including particulars of any prescribed fire safety margin and of any conditions imposed by the Fire Authority.
(3) Before declaring any land to be a forest area the Fire Authority shall be satisfied that—
(a) The land is sufficiently described and comprises not less than 20 hectares of forest; and
(b) The forest (including planting and felling intended during the period of 12 months following the date of application) on the land is in the nature of a fire hazard requiring continuous protection equivalent to a restricted season; and
(c) Any proposed fire safety margin is sufficiently described and is essential for fire control and does not at any point exceed a distance of 1 kilometre from the boundary of the forest area; and
(d) The applicant has arranged adequate fire protection; and
(e) Where an exterior fire exposure exists, no exotic trees are planted within 10 metres of the external boundary of the area, or within such greater distance as the Fire Authority may reasonably require; and
(f) All reasonable objections to the application or to any part thereof received by the date specified in the notices referred to in paragraphs (b) and (c) of subsection (4) of this section have been duly taken into account; and
(g) Suitable arrangements regarding fire control have been made with all other Fire Authorities and with the New Zealand Fire Service Commission, in respect of any part or parts of the proposed forest area or fire safety margin thereof that may be situate within their jurisdiction.
(4) Every application for registration as a forest area shall be in the prescribed form and shall be accompanied by—
(a) A plan sufficiently describing the proposed forest area and any proposed fire safety margin; and
(b) A declaration in the prescribed form that the applicant is an eligible landholder and that every other landholder (whether eligible or not) in respect of that area or of any part thereof whose written assent to the application does not form part of or accompany the application has been given written notice in the prescribed form of the intention to apply; and
(c) A copy of a notice in the prescribed form, advertised by the applicant twice at least (at intervals of not less than one week or more than 2 weeks) in a newspaper circulating in the locality in which the proposed forest area and any proposed fire safety margin are to be situated, during a period expiring not less than one month nor more than 2 months before the application is sent to the Fire Authority; and
(d) Any prescribed fee; and
(e) Any other prescribed requirements.
(5) The notices referred to in paragraphs (b) and (c) of subsection (4) of this section may be identical and shall—
(a) Sufficiently describe the proposed forest area and any proposed fire safety margin; and
(b) State where copies of the plan and intended application may be inspected; and
(c) Set out in the prescribed form the effect of declaring a forest area, including the requirements set out in subsection (7) of this section; and
(d) State that all objections to the application or to any part thereof must be received by the Fire Authority by a closing date not less than one month after the date on which the notice is first advertised, that closing date to be stated in each advertisement.
(6) Copies of the application, plan, and notice referred to in subsection (4) of this section shall, in accordance with the notice, be made available by the applicant for public inspection during reasonable hours at a convenient place.
(7) Every eligible landholder for the time being and from time to time who, being in control and occupation of all or any part of a forest area, intends that the rights and duties pertaining to that area and, where appropriate, to any adjacent fire safety margin, are to apply for the ensuing period of 12 months from the 31st day of August in any year, at his own expense and to the extent of that control or occupation shall—
(a) Be responsible for fire protection, subject to any directions by the Fire Authority; and
(b) Provide warning signs in respect of fire-lighting restrictions, to the approval of the Fire Authority; and
(c) During that month of August,—
(i) Cause a notice of his intention, in the prescribed form, containing information corresponding to that set out in paragraphs (a), (b), and (c) of subsection (5) of this section, to be advertised twice at least (at intervals of not less than one week) in a newspaper circulating in the locality; and
(ii) Cause a copy of the same notice to be sent or delivered to every landholder in occupation of land situated within that margin and to every other landholder in respect of the forest area or part thereof, and to the Fire Authority:
Provided that any eligible landholder in respect of the forest area or of any part thereof may on behalf of all or any other such eligible landholders fulfil the requirements of this subsection.
(8) In the event of the failure, without good cause approved or confirmed by the Fire Authority, of the eligible landholder or eligible landholders of a forest area to perform any of the duties or responsibilities required under subsection (7) of this section, the registration of that forest area shall be deemed suspended until such failure has been remedied to the satisfaction of the Fire Authority.
(9) A Fire Authority may at any time and from time to time for good and sufficient reason given—
(a) Suspend, amend, or cancel the registration or conditions of all or any part of any forest area or fire safety margin thereof, but shall not thereby be precluded from lifting or again imposing any suspension of, making any further amendment of, or renewing in the same or amended form, any such registration or conditions; or
(b) Waive, or allow rectification of, any procedural requirement provided for in this section, if it is reasonably satisfied that the interests of persons other than the person in default are not thereby prejudiced.
(10) Every registration of a forest shall lapse after a period of 5 years from the initial approval thereof, and at further intervals of 5 years, unless registration is renewed to the approval of the Fire Authority by the same procedures, or as nearly thereto as possible, as are required for the declaration of a forest area.
(11) Any dispute or difference in respect of any decision, condition, requirement, or obligation made or arising in respect of any forest area or of any proposed forest area shall be decided in the public interest by a Rural Fire Mediator
Subsection (2) was amended, as from 1 January 1991, by section 12(1) Forest and Rural Fires Amendment Act 1990 (1990 No 137) by substituting the words “accordance with the requirements of the National Rural Fire Authority”
for the words “the prescribed form”
.
Subsection (3)(c) was amended, as from 1 December 1989, by section 4 Forest and Rural Fires Amendment Act 1989 (1989 No 120) by substituting the expression “1 kilometre”
for the expression “1.5 kilometres”
.
Subsection (11) was amended, as from 1 April 1987, by section 2(1)(a) Forest and Rural Fires Amendment Act 1987 (1987 No 119) by inserting the words “of Forestry”
.
Subsection (11) was amended, as from 1 January 1991, by section 12(2) Forest and Rural Fires Amendment Act 1990 (1990 No 137) by omitting the words “appointed by the Minister of Forestry”
.