Mowanjum Community By-laws 2005

These are the Mowanjum Community By-laws 2005.

These by-laws have been made by the Governing Council of the association called Mowanjum Aboriginal Corporation and approved by the Lieutenant-Governor and Administrator.

The Mowanjum Aboriginal Corporation is an Aboriginal community to which the Aboriginal Communities Act 1979 applies.

As that Act says, these by-laws apply to you if you are on the community lands of that Aboriginal community and it does not matter if you are a member of the community or not.

Under that Act the Lieutenant-Governor and Administrator has said which lands are the community lands of the community.

You are a member of the community if you are a member of the Corporation under its constitution.

These by-laws are in addition to the laws of Western Australia.

When it is making a decision under these by-laws the Governing Council will consider the welfare of the community as the most important consideration.

The Governing Council does not have to give reasons for any of its decisions under these by-laws.

The Governing Council can tell you about a decision it has made under these by-laws by speaking or writing to you or by putting up a notice of it in a public place on the community lands.

The Governing Council can permit a member of the Council or any other person to make decisions on its behalf about giving, refusing or taking away permission under these by-laws and if it does it must do so in writing.

If you want the Governing Council’s permission under these by‑laws to do something, you must ask the Council, or a person who the Council has permitted to make decisions on its behalf about giving or refusing permission.

If these by-laws allow the Governing Council to give permission to do something, it can give permission to any person or to any class of persons and also can at any time —

If these by-laws allow the Governing Council to give permission to do something, it can refuse to give permission.

If you are a member of the community you can be on the community lands at any time except when you are removed by a member of the Police Force under by-law 13(3).

If you are not a member of the community, you can only be on the community lands if you have got permission from the Governing Council.

In order to ask for permission to be on the community lands you may enter the community lands, as long as you go straight to the Administration Office.

If you get permission to be on the community lands before you enter them, you must tell a member of the Governing Council of your arrival as soon as you do arrive.

If you get permission from the Governing Council to be on the community lands, you must obey any conditions imposed by the Council on you when you are on the lands.

If you do not obey those conditions when you are on the community lands, the Governing Council can order you to leave the lands and, if it does, you must leave immediately.

The Governing Council can decide that some places on the community lands are out of bounds to all people, or to some people, at all times or at some times.

The Governing Council can decide that some places on the community lands are out of bounds to all vehicles, or some vehicles, at all times or at some times.

You must not enter a place that the Governing Council has said is out of bounds to you.

The Governing Council can put up signs to say which places are out of bounds and which people can and cannot enter them.

When you are driving you must drive carefully and not cause danger to your passengers or other people.

The Governing Council can put up signs telling drivers where they can drive, how fast they can drive and how they must drive.

When you are driving you must obey those signs.

The Governing Council can decide where fires cannot be lit on the community lands.

You must not light or use a fire on the community lands at a place where fires cannot be lit.

This by‑law does not stop you lighting or using a fire in or near a house for cooking or heating.

This by‑law does not let you break the law in the Bush Fires Act 1954.

You must not enter another person’s house without their permission.

You must leave another person’s house if they ask you to leave.

For this by-law —

Unless you have the Governing Council’s permission to do so you must not —

You must not —

If you are affected by alcohol or any drug or harmful substance you must go to your house and stay in it until you stop being affected.

This by-law does not stop you taking any medicine in the way it is meant to be taken or any drug that has been prescribed for you by a doctor or nurse.

You must not behave in an indecent or disorderly way such as by using bad, threatening or abusive language, fighting or being rowdy.

You must not interrupt any meeting of the Governing Council or the Community or any customary meeting by being noisy or by any other disorderly or offensive behaviour.

For this by-law a “gun” is any shotgun, rifle, pistol or other weapon that is a firearm under the Firearms Act 2024.

You must tell the person in charge of the Administration Office about every gun that you own.

You must tell the person in charge of the Administration Office about every gun that you bring on to the community lands, even if it is not your gun.

The person in charge of the Administration Office must keep a list of all the community members that have a gun.