57Powers in respect of nature reserves

1. The Minister or the administering body of any nature reserve authorised by the Minister may issue permits granting access to a nature reserve subject to any conditions that are specified in any such permit.

2. The Minister or the administering body of any nature reserve authorised by the Minister may, by notice in the Gazette, declare that access to all or part of any nature reserve in the North Island, South Island, Stewart Island, or Chatham Island (but not any other island of the Chatham group) is permitted without a permit during such times or periods as are specified in the notice, and subject to any other conditions that are specified in the notice.

3. The Minister or the administering body of any nature reserve authorised by the Minister may, where he or she considers it necessary for the purposes specified in section 20(1), by notice in the Gazette, prohibit the anchoring or mooring of boats within a specified area not more than half a nautical mile of the shore of any island that is wholly or principally a nature reserve, otherwise than in accordance with a permit granted under subsection (7).

4. No notice given under subsection (3) shall specify any area that is within a marine reserve constituted under the Marine Reserves Act 1971.

5. The Minister or the administering body, as the case may be, shall not give any notice under subsection (3) without the consent of the Minister of Fisheries given after consultation with an organisation considered by the Minister of Fisheries to be representative of the classes of persons having an interest in the giving of the notice, the consent of the Minister of Transport, and, where the area proposed to be specified in the notice is within the limits of any harbour, the consent of the appropriate harbour board.

6. Nothing in any notice given under subsection (3) shall affect any right of navigation or apply in an emergency.

7. Where any notice has been given under subsection (3), the Minister or the administering body, as the case may be, may issue permits allowing any person to anchor or moor a specified vessel or any vessel within any area to which the notice relates subject to any conditions that are specified in the permit.

8. Where the giving of any notice under subsection (2) or subsection (3) is not in conformity with and contemplated by the approved conservation management strategy, conservation management plan, or management plan for the reserve, the Minister or the administering body, as the case may be, shall give public notice in accordance with section 119 of the proposal to give the notice, and shall give full consideration to all objections and submissions received pursuant to section 120 in relation to the proposal.

9. The administering body of a nature reserve may from time to time, in the exercise of its functions under section 40 and to the extent necessary to give effect to the principles set out in section 20,—

10. subject to subsection (10), set apart and use any part or parts of the reserve as sites for residences for officers or servants of the administering body or for rangers, and for other buildings and structures necessary for the proper and beneficial management, administration, and control of the reserve and for the protection, preservation, and well-being of the indigenous flora and fauna and other features in the reserve:
11. appoint officers, servants, and rangers, whether paid or unpaid:
12. do such other things as may be considered necessary for the proper and beneficial management, administration, and control of the reserve and for the protection, preservation, and well-being of the indigenous flora and fauna and other features in the reserve.

13. The powers conferred on administering bodies by paragraph (a) of subsection (9) shall not be exercised without the consent of the Minister, which shall not be given unless the Minister is satisfied that the residences, buildings, or structures are necessary for the purposes specified in that paragraph, and cannot readily be provided outside and in close proximity to the reserve.

14. A notice under subsection (2) that is made by the Minister is secondary legislation (see Part 3 of the Legislation Act 2019 for publication requirements).

15. A notice under subsection (2) that is made by an administering body is secondary legislation for the purposes of the Legislation Act 2019, but section 161A of the Local Government Act 2002 applies as if the notice were made by a local authority.