New Zealand Legislation: Acts

21 Prohibition of certain operations during periods of extreme fire hazard

• (1) When weather or other conditions arise that, in the opinion of a Fire Officer for any district, present an extreme fire hazard whereby life and property may be endangered by the outbreak or spreading of fires in, into, or from that district, his Principal Fire Officer or the Fire Officer (with the approval or confirmation of his Principal Fire Officer) may issue, or cause to be issued, by broadcast or other effective means, an order by way of fire control measure in respect of such area as may be specified in the order, whether within that district or not, in the public interest, and notwithstanding any other enactment—

  • (a) prohibiting the lighting of fires in the open air; and

  • (b) except in respect of essential services where adequate precautions against the outbreak or spread of fire are taken, prohibiting in whole or in part the carrying on or continuation of any pursuits, operations, occupations, or other activities, whether commercial, domestic, recreational, educational, or otherwise howsoever, that he considers may cause a fire to start in, or to spread in, into, or from the district, or directing that they may be carried on or continued only subject to such conditions and restrictions as the Principal Fire Officer may impose, approve or confirm; and

  • (c) where considered necessary by the Principal Fire Officer, directing that no person other than a person residing or working therein shall enter the whole or any specified part of the area except for the purposes or otherwise as determined by the order or in respect of essential services where adequate precautions against the outbreak or spread of fire are taken—

  and every person who, without the authority of a special permit issued pursuant to section 24, fails or refuses to comply with the requirements of any such order commits an offence against this Act.

  (2) Where there is no Fire Authority for the whole or any part of any area to be affected by an order under this section, during the period that an order so issued by a Principal Fire Officer or by a Fire Officer remains in force, the Fire Authority for the district to which that Fire Officer belongs shall be deemed the Fire Authority for that area or part and every Fire Officer for that district shall be deemed a Fire Officer for that area or part.

  (3) In any case where by reason of an order under this section persons are required to cease their usual work and their employers are unable to find other employment for them the Fire Authority may, if it thinks fit and subject to such conditions as it may impose, make a contribution towards the wages of those men. Where the Fire Authority is the Minister of Conservation, such contribution shall be paid out of money appropriated by Parliament for the purpose. In all cases the contribution may be by grant, subsidy, reimbursement, or otherwise, and may, as seems fitting to the Fire Authority, be paid to those persons or those employers.

  Compare: 1955 No 44 s 20

  Section 21(1)(c): amended, on 1 January 1991, by section 16 of the Forest and Rural Fires Amendment Act 1990 (1990 No 137).

  Section 21(3): amended, on 1 April 1987, by section 65(1) of the Conservation Act 1987 (1987 No 65).