Biodiversity Conservation Act 2016

The Minister may, by order in writing to a person, direct a person who is the owner of a biodiversity stewardship site to carry out at the person’s cost, within a period specified in the order, such work or other actions as the Minister considers necessary to rectify any breach of a biodiversity stewardship agreement.

If the requirements of the order are not complied with within the period specified in it, the Minister—

may enter the land and cause the work or actions specified in the order to be carried out, and

may, by proceedings brought in any court of competent jurisdiction, recover as a debt from the person to whom the order was given the reasonable cost of complying with those requirements.

A direction may be given to a person under this section only if before doing so the Minister—

gives notice to the person that the Minister intends to make the direction, and

specifies in that notice the reasons for the Minister’s intention to do so, and

gives the person a reasonable opportunity to make submissions in relation to the proposed direction, and

takes into consideration any such submissions by the person.

This section does not prevent the Minister from seeking an award of damages against the owner of a biodiversity stewardship site for a breach of a biodiversity stewardship agreement.