Interpretation
3 Interpretation
In this Act, unless the contrary intention appears:
aircraft means a machine or apparatus that can derive support in the atmosphere from the reactions of the air or from buoyancy, but does not include a hovercraft.
animal includes:
a native bird, a native invertebrate and a native seal; and
an egg, part of an egg and an eggshell; and
a dead animal and part of a dead animal (but not something manufactured from a dead animal or from part of a dead animal).
another Contracting Party means a Contracting Party to the Treaty other than Australia.
Antarctic means the area south of 60° south latitude, including all ice shelves in the area.
Antarctic specially managed area means an area declared to be an Antarctic specially managed area under section 8.
Antarctic specially protected area means an area declared to be an Antarctic specially protected area under section 8.
article includes a substance or a mixture of substances.
Australia includes all the Territories.
Australian expedition means an expedition organized by one or more of any of the following:
an Australian organization;
an Australian citizen;
a person resident or domiciled in Australia.
Australian national means:
an Australian citizen; and
a body corporate that is incorporated in Australia or carries on its activities mainly in Australia.
Australian organization means:
a corporation that is incorporated in Australia or whose activities are carried on principally in Australia; or
an unincorporated body or association the majority of whose members are Australian citizens or domiciled in Australia.
Australian property means property that:
in the case of an aircraft or vessel—is in Australian control or is registered under regulations made under the Civil Aviation Act 1988 or, as the case may be, registered in Australia under an Act or Imperial Act relating to the registration of ships that is applicable throughout the whole of Australia (not being an Act or Imperial Act relating to the registration of ships for a particular purpose or purposes only); or
in any other case—is in Australian control.
basic environmental principles means the environmental principles set out in Article 3 of the Madrid Protocol.
CAMLR Convention means the Convention on the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources, a copy of the English text of which is set out in the Schedule to the Antarctic Marine Living Resources Conservation Act 1981.
CEMP site means a monitoring site:
established for the purposes of the Ecosystem Monitoring Program conducted by the Parties to the CAMLR Convention; and
the management plan for which has been adopted by the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources in accordance with Conservation Measure 18/IX adopted by the Commission, which became binding on Australia on 7 May 1991.
civil penalty order has the meaning given by subsection 22(4).
civil penalty provision: a provision of this Act is a civil penalty provision if:
the provision sets out at its foot a pecuniary penalty, or penalties, indicated by the words “Civil penalty”; and
the provision is a subsection, or a section that is not divided into subsections.
collect, in relation to a native plant, includes severing, or applying any substance harmful to, the plant.
contravention, in relation to a provision, includes a failure to comply with that provision.
corresponding law means a law of another Contracting Party, as in force for the time being, giving effect to the Treaty or the Madrid Protocol.
Court means:
the Federal Court of Australia; or
the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia (Division 2); or
the Supreme Court of a State or Territory; or
a District, County or Local Court of a State or Territory; or
a Magistrates Court of a State or Territory.
disturb an animal means cause a change in the animal’s behaviour otherwise than by physical contact with the animal.
drive, in relation to an aircraft, means to cause the aircraft to travel on land or water.
evidential burden, in relation to a matter, means the burden of adducing or pointing to evidence that suggests a reasonable possibility that the matter exists or does not exist.
foreign means of or pertaining to a country other than Australia.
historic monument means a monument declared to be an historic monument under section 8A.
historic site means a site declared to be an historic site under section 8A.
ice includes snow.
in Australian control means in the control or possession of one or more of any of the following:
the Commonwealth (including an arm of the Defence Force) or a State or Territory;
a corporation established for a public purpose by or under a law of the Commonwealth or of a State or Territory;
a company or other body corporate incorporated under a law of a State or Territory, being a company or other body corporate in which the Commonwealth has a controlling interest;
a person who, or persons each of whom, is a person to whom this Act applies by virtue of paragraph 4(1)(b).
indigenous to the Antarctic includes occurring in the Antarctic through natural agencies of dispersal.
inspector means:
a person appointed as an inspector under section 13; or
a person referred to in section 14.
interfere has a meaning affected by subsection (7).
land:
when used as a verb in relation to an aircraft, includes to cause the aircraft to alight on water; and
when used as a noun, includes ice.
Madrid Protocol means the Protocol on Environmental Protection to the Antarctic Treaty, a copy of the English text of which (apart from Annex IV to it) is set out in Schedule 3, being the Protocol done, and opened for signature, at Madrid on 4 October 1991 to which, in accordance with Recommendation XVI‑10 adopted by the XVIth Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting at Bonn on 18 October 1991, the Annex attached to that Recommendation has been added as Annex V to the Protocol.
mineral means any non‑living, non‑renewable natural resource.
mining activity means an activity carried on for, or in connection with, the recovery or exploitation of minerals (including prospecting and exploring for minerals), but does not include an activity that is necessary for scientific investigation or scientific research within the meaning of the Treaty.
native bird means:
a member, at any stage of its life cycle (including an egg, part of an egg and an eggshell), of any species of bird that is indigenous to the Antarctic; or
a dead bird, or any part of a dead bird, of any species referred to in paragraph (a).
native invertebrate means any terrestrial or fresh water invertebrate, at any stage of its life cycle, indigenous to the Antarctic.
native plant means any kind of vegetation, at any stage of its life cycle (including seeds), indigenous to the Antarctic.
native seal means:
a member, at any stage of its life cycle, of any species of seal that is indigenous to the Antarctic; or
a dead seal, or any part of a dead seal, of a species mentioned in paragraph (a).
organism includes:
a living organism at any stage of its life cycle; and
an organism that was once alive, but is now dead; and
a reproductive propagule of a living organism; and
an article containing or infected by a virus or bacterium.
permit means a permit in force under Part 2 of this Act.
plant includes a native plant.
property means property of any description and, without limiting the generality of the foregoing, includes aircraft and vessels.
recognised foreign authority means a permit, authority or arrangement that:
authorises the carrying on of an activity in the Antarctic; and
either:
has been issued, given or made by a Party (other than Australia) to the Madrid Protocol that has accepted under that Protocol the same obligations as Australia in relation to the carrying on of that activity in the Antarctic; or
has been issued, given or made by a Party (other than Australia) to the Seals Convention that has accepted under that Convention the same obligations as Australia in relation to the carrying on of that activity in the Antarctic.
Seals Convention means the Convention for the Conservation of Antarctic Seals (a copy of the English text of which is set out in Schedule 1) as affected by the amendments to the Annex to the Convention that:
were recommended by the representatives of the Contracting Parties to the Convention at their 1988 Meeting to Review the Operation of the Convention; and
were included in paragraphs 21, 31 and 36 of their Report of that meeting, a copy of the English text of which is set out in Schedule 2; and
became effective on 27 March 1990.
specially protected species means a specially protected species of native seal, native bird, native invertebrate or native plant declared under section 7C.
take:
in relation to a native bird or native seal—includes catch or capture; and
in relation to native plants—means to remove or damage such quantities of the plants that their local distribution or abundance would be significantly affected; and
in relation to native invertebrates—means to remove or damage such quantities of the invertebrates that their local distribution or abundance would be significantly affected.
Territory means the Australian Antarctic Territory.
this Act includes the regulations.
Treaty means the Antarctic Treaty set out in the Schedule to the Antarctic Treaty Act 1960, including any modification or amendment of that Treaty made after the commencement of this section and for the time being in force as to Australia.
vehicle includes a hovercraft.
vessel means a vessel or boat of any description and includes any floating structure, but does not include a hovercraft.
A reference in this Act to an offence shall be read as including a reference to an offence against section 6 of the Crimes Act 1914, or against section 11.1, 11.4 or 11.5 of the Criminal Code, in relation to this Act.
A reference in this Act to a member of the Australian Federal Police or to a member of a police force shall be read as including a reference to a special member of the Australian Federal Police.
Except so far as the contrary intention appears, an expression that is used in both this Act and either the Treaty or the Madrid Protocol (whether or not a particular meaning is assigned to it by the Treaty or the Protocol) has, in this Act, the same meaning as in the Treaty or the Protocol, as the case may be.
Except so far as the contrary intention appears, an expression that is used in both this Act and in the Seals Convention (whether or not a particular meaning is assigned to it by that Convention) has, in this Act, the same meaning as in the Convention.
A reference in this Act to otherwise interfering with, or causing other interference with, an animal does not include a reference to disturbing the animal.
Disturb is defined in subsection (1).
This provision refers to the regulations (the regulations
). Made under this Act:
This Act’s bill:Second reading speech
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