The objects of this Act are—

Despite section 10, nothing in this Act derogates from the provisions of sections 176 to 182 of the Harbours Act 1950 or the Resource Management Act 1991.

Every soil conservation reserve shall be under the control and management of the Board within whose district it is situated, and the Board shall manage and control the reserve in such manner as in its opinion will best conserve the soil of the reserve and prevent injury to other land.

For the purposes of this section—

Every person is liable to a fine not exceeding $1,000 who, at any time while any land is a soil conservation reserve under this Act or at any time after the gazetting of any notice under section 23 of the Public Works Act 1981 describing any private land intended to be taken or acquired as a soil conservation reserve,—

In addition to any penalty imposed under the last preceding subsection, there may be imposed a penalty equal to the value of all damage done together with twice the full market value of any timber unlawfully cut and removed, and every such penalty shall be recoverable as a fine.

All unbranded cattle, horses, or other animals above the age of 6 months, or apparently above that age, which are at any time depasturing in a soil conservation reserve on land not subject to a licence granted under section 20, and which have no reputed owner, shall be deemed to be the property of the Board, and may be destroyed, sold, or otherwise disposed of as the Board thinks fit.

Any land taken or otherwise acquired under this section shall be taken or otherwise acquired as for a public work under the Public Works Act 1981, and the provisions of that Act shall apply accordingly:

provided that in determining the amount of compensation to be awarded in respect of any land taken under this section the Land Valuation Tribunal shall not take into account any effect on the value of the land caused by the operation of any bylaw made under section 150, or of any direction requirement, prohibition, condition, limitation, or restriction given or imposed under any such bylaw.

Except as hereinafter provided in this section, every soil conservation reserve under this Act shall be inalienable.

The Board may consent in writing to access onto or over land comprised in a soil conservation reserve for the purpose of exercising a mining permit issued under the Crown Minerals Act 1991.

The Board may from time to time upon or subject to such terms and conditions as it thinks fit grant licences to occupy any soil conservation reserve or any part thereof for pastoral purposes or for the purpose of cutting, felling, and removing timber or flax.

If the Board is of opinion that the whole or any part of any soil conservation reserve is no longer required for the purposes for which it is set aside, the Governor-General may, if he thinks fit, by Proclamation declare that the soil conservation reserve or part thereof shall thereafter be Crown lands within the meaning of the Land Act 1948, and any such lands may thereafter be dealt with or disposed of under that Act.

Any land taken or otherwise acquired under the last preceding section may be dealt with or disposed of under the Land Act 1948.

Such amounts as may be mutually agreed upon by the Board and the Minister of Lands in respect of any land which, pursuant to either of the last 2 preceding subsections, may be dealt with or disposed of as Crown land shall be transferred from a Crown Bank Account to such other account as the Minister of Finance shall determine.

The provisions of sections 110, 111, and 112 of the Public Works Act 1981 shall apply in respect of works which the Minister is authorised to undertake and to the carrying out of any of the Minister’s functions as if references in those sections to a Minister of the Crown were references to the Minister.

For the purposes of taking levels or making surveys or inspections, any person authorised under section 110 or section 111 of the Public Works Act 1981 (as applied by subsection (1)) may examine any dam, weir, sluice, flood gate, or stopbank, or any other work erected in or upon any watercourse, and open or raise any flood gate or sluice, and make any soundings, or bore the bed or channel of any part of any watercourse.

The last 3 preceding sections are in substitution for the River Boards Amendment Act 1917 and that Act is hereby repealed.

The Minister may make grants or loans to any person or body for all or any of the following purposes:

Any grant or loan made under this section shall be made upon or subject to such terms and conditions as the Minister thinks fit:

No grant or loan shall so be made by the Minister to the owner or occupier of any land except on terms or conditions which require him, within or during a specified period, to maintain or to construct and maintain works or do work on his land of value at least equal to the amount of the grant or loan or to apply specified farming practices to or on his land; and to repay the grant or loan or such proportion thereof as the Minister shall stipulate if he fails to comply with the terms or conditions.

Any grant or loan made under this section may be made directly by the Minister to the person or body; or by the Minister to a Catchment Board or local authority under an arrangement that the Catchment Board or local authority shall become at law the grantor or lender of the money to a person or body specified by the Minister, upon the terms and conditions required by this Act and by the Minister and, so far as they do not conflict with those terms and conditions, by the Board or local authority; and, except as expressly provided in this section, any such grant or loan may be made either without security or upon such security as the Minister thinks fit; and where security is required in respect of money to be expended in the improvement of land, it shall be by way of a land improvement agreement as hereinafter specified made between the person or body receiving the grant or loan and the Minister or Board or local authority from which it is received.

Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in any Act or rule of law, every local authority, Catchment Board, Drainage Board, and River Board shall have power to accept any loan made by the Minister and to agree with the Minister for the repayment of the amount thereof.

Any Catchment Board may repay any loan made under this section out of the proceeds of any separate rate levied under section 40 of the Rating Powers Act 1988, and the Board may make provision for repayment as aforesaid in any agreement made under the last preceding subsection.

Every land improvement agreement under subsection (3) of section 30 shall be in a form approved by the Minister, either for a specific transaction or generally for a particular class of transactions, specifying the obligations of the parties in respect of work and payment, and including a covenant by the owner or occupier binding himself and his successors in title to perform and observe the terms and conditions upon which the grant or loan was made.

Where in the opinion of the Minister such a course is appropriate, any land improvement agreement may relate portions of a grant to specified works, or to specified periods of maintenance, or to the application of particular farming practices during specified periods; and may provide for any sum repayable upon default to be diminished in proportion to the extent to which the agreement has been performed or observed.

Where the owner or occupier of any land has entered into a land improvement agreement, that agreement may be registered against the title of that owner or occupier to the whole or any part of the land to which the agreement relates. Registration of a land improvement agreement may be effected by depositing with the Registrar a duplicate of the agreement, certified under the hand of the authorised officer specified in subsection (14), together with an application for the registration of the agreement, which application shall be signed by the authorised officer and shall specify the land against which it is desired to register the agreement, and shall certify that the agreement is one that may be registered against the land under this section. On receipt of the duplicate agreement and application as aforesaid, and on payment of a fee of 50c, the Registrar shall enter a memorial of the agreement upon the register against the title to the land of the owner or occupier who is a party to the agreement specified in the application. The memorial may sufficiently describe the agreement as a land improvement agreement under the Soil Conservation and Rivers Control Act 1941.

Any land improvement agreement which varies or is in substitution for an earlier land improvement agreement (whether that agreement is registered or not) may be registered under this section.

On the expiration or termination, either in whole or in part, of a registered land improvement agreement the authorised officer shall sign a certificate to that effect and deposit it with the Registrar, who shall thereupon without fee enter a memorial of the expiration or termination on the register against the appropriate title.

While the land improvement agreement is registered against the title of any owner or occupier to any land, and until the expiry of the agreement by effluxion of time or (where the agreement is registered against the title of a lessee) the sooner determination of the lease and every renewal thereof by effluxion of time or otherwise, the agreement shall run at law with the land against the title to which it is registered, so as to confer and impose upon every person who at the date of registration of the agreement, or at any time thereafter, is for the time being the occupier of that land or of any part thereof, a right to enforce and an obligation to observe and perform the agreement during the period of his occupancy of the land or of any part thereof in the same manner as if the occupier had been a party to the agreement. Where there are 2 or more such occupiers, the obligation and liability so imposed on them shall be borne by them in such manner as the Minister and those occupiers may agree or in default of agreement shall be borne by those occupiers jointly.

Where the lessee for the time being under any lease of the land or of any part thereof surrenders his lease and obtains a new lease in exchange therefor, the land improvement agreement and the provisions of this Act shall continue to apply as if the new lease were a renewal of the surrendered lease.

Where the lessee for the time being under any lease of the land or any part thereof obtains a title in fee simple to the land or any part thereof, the land improvement agreement and the provisions of this Act shall continue to apply to the land to which the title in fee simple has been obtained as if the agreement, so far as it affects that land, had been made with the legal owner in fee simple of the land.

No land improvement agreement which runs with the land in accordance with this section shall confer any right or impose any obligation on any party to the agreement or any occupier of the land, except in respect of the period of his occupation of the land.

If at any time there is default in the observance or performance of any of the obligations in respect of the land which are specified in the land improvement agreement, the authorised officer may, on payment of a fee of 50c, deposit with the Registrar a certificate under his hand specifying the amount payable and unpaid under the agreement in respect of the default by any owner or occupier of the land and the registered estate or interest of that owner or occupier in any land against the title to which the agreement is registered, and the Registrar shall thereupon register the certificate in respect of the said estate or interest of that owner or occupier.

Upon registration of the certificate, the amount mentioned therein, and all money which after the signing of the certificate and before the release thereof accrues due by that owner or occupier under the land improvement agreement, shall, until payment thereof, be a charge on the said estate or interest in the land of that owner or occupier. Every charge in respect of which a certificate is registered under subsection (10) shall have priority in relation to all other transactions affecting the land as if it had been registered at the time when the land improvement agreement was registered under subsection (3).

Where any occupier has an interest in the land as lessee under a lease, the charge shall extend to the interest (if any) of the lessee in any improvements to the land and in any money that may be payable by the lessor and by an incoming tenant and otherwise for any such improvements, whether during the term of the lease or thereafter.

For the purpose of enforcing any charge under this section, the High Court or a Judge thereof may make such order as he or it thinks fit, either for the sale of the estate or interest which is subject to a charge, or for the appointment of a receiver or otherwise; and any order for sale shall be carried into effect by the Sheriff in the same manner as in the case of a writ for sale, with any modifications that may be necessary or may be provided by rules of court in that behalf:

provided that, in the case of Maori freehold land within the meaning of the Maori Affairs Act 1953, the charge shall be enforceable only by the appointment of a receiver in accordance with section 33 of that Act and subsections (3) to (5) of that section shall apply to the receiver so appointed.

For the purposes of this section, unless the context otherwise requires,—

All money expended or advanced by the Minister under this Act shall be paid out of money appropriated by Parliament for the purpose.

All money received by the Minister under this Act shall be paid into a Crown Bank Account or such other account as may be approved by the Minister of Finance or the Secretary to the Treasury.

Where under this Act any matter is referred to the Minister for consideration, hearing, or decision, the Minister may consider or hear, and decide the matter according to such procedure as the Minister determines, or may appoint 1 or more persons to be a Tribunal to consider or hear and decide the matter. The decision of any such matter by a Tribunal so appointed shall have the same effect as a decision of the matter by the Minister.

For the purposes of inquiring into any matter, the Tribunal shall have the same powers as are conferred on Commissions of Inquiry by section 4 and sections 4B to 9 of the Commissions of Inquiry Act 1908.

Section 4 and sections 4B to 9 of the Commissions of Inquiry Act 1908 shall apply to all persons involved in any capacity in any such inquiry as if it were an inquiry conducted by a Commission under that Act.

The Tribunal shall have, in relation to any such inquiry, and any decision on any such matter, the same immunities and privileges as are possessed by a District Court Judge in the exercise of that Judge’s civil jurisdiction.

Where any party to any proceedings before—

is dissatisfied with any decision of the Minister or Tribunal or assessor as being erroneous in point of law, that party may appeal to the High Court on that question of law.

Subject to sections 33C to 33I, every appeal under this section shall be dealt with in accordance with the rules of court.

Every appeal under section 33B shall be instituted by the appellant lodging a notice of appeal within 1 month after the date of the decision with—

Either before or immediately after the lodging of the notice of appeal, the appellant shall serve a copy of the notice of appeal, either personally or by post, on every other party to the inquiry held by the Minister, Tribunal, or assessor.

Every notice of appeal shall specify—

The Minister or Secretary of the Board shall, as soon as is practicable after receiving a copy of the notice of appeal, send a copy of the whole of the decision appealed from to the Registrar of the High Court in Wellington.

Any party to the inquiry held by the Minister, Tribunal, or assessor who wishes to appear and be heard on the hearing of the appeal shall, within 10 days after the date of the service on him of a copy of the notice of appeal, give notice of that party’s intention to appear and be heard.

Any party who gives notice of intention to appear and be heard, and the appellant, shall be parties to the appeal and shall be entitled—

Subject to subsections (2) and (3), the High Court may, of its own motion or on the application of any party to the appeal, make all or any of the following orders:

An application under subsection (1) shall be made—

The High Court may make an order under subsection (1) only if it is satisfied that a proper determination of the point of law in issue so requires; and the order may be made subject to such conditions as the High Court thinks fit.

The High Court may dismiss any appeal under section 33B—

Where any party to an appeal under section 33B, other than the appellant, wishes to contend at the hearing of the appeal that the decision appealed from is erroneous on a point of law other than those set out in the notice of appeal he shall, within 1 month after the date of the service on him of a copy of the notice of appeal, lodge a notice to that effect with the Registrar of the High Court in Wellington. The provisions of sections 33B and 33C(2) and (3), 33E, 33F, 33H, and 33I shall, as far as they are applicable and with the necessary modifications, apply to any notice lodged under this section as if it were a notice of appeal.

The High Court or a Judge thereof may, in its or his discretion, on the application of the appellant or intending appellant or any other party, extend any time prescribed or allowed under any of the provisions of sections 33C to 33G for the lodging of any notice, application, or other document.

When any party to the appeal notifies the Registrar of the High Court in Wellington—

the appeal shall be, in all respects, ready for hearing and the Registrar shall arrange a date for the hearing as soon as is practicable.

Subpart 8 of Part 6 of the Criminal Procedure Act 2011 applies as far as applicable with the necessary modifications to a determination of the High Court under section 33B as if the determination had been made under section 300 of that Act.

The Governor-General may, if on the recommendation of the Minister he thinks fit so to do, by Order in Council constitute and declare any part or parts of New Zealand a catchment district under this Act, with such name and from such date as may be specified in the order.

Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in—

any restrictions on the application of the provisions of this Act contained in any such Order in Council or notice shall cease to have any force or effect on and after the commencement of this section.

The Governor-General may, if on the recommendation of the Minister he thinks fit so to do, by Order in Council declare any 2 or more districts to be united, and to form 1 district, with such name as he thinks fit.

Every such united district shall be deemed to be a district constituted under this Act, and the provisions of this Act shall apply thereto accordingly.

Until the elective members of the Board elected at the first election for the united district come into office, the elective members of the several Boards of the districts so united shall be the elective members of the Board of the united district, notwithstanding that they may exceed in numbers the elective members prescribed for that Board under the provisions of this Act.

On the union of 2 or more districts as herein provided the Boards of the original districts shall be dissolved.

On the union of 2 or more districts as provided in the last preceding section, the following provisions shall have effect:

In the constitution, alteration, or abolition of a catchment district, proper regard shall be had to the direct and indirect benefit that will accrue or is likely to accrue to any area in that district from the carrying out in that district of any soil conservation, river control, flood prevention, or drainage work, and the absence in any such area of the need for any such work shall not of itself justify the exclusion of the area from that district.

Where the boundaries of any district are altered, whether by the inclusion of any area therein or the exclusion of any area therefrom, the Auditor-General, or such other person as the Governor-General may appoint for the purpose, shall hold an inquiry and make an award for the adjustment of property, debts, liabilities, and engagements between the district and any boroughs, counties, road districts, town districts, river districts, drainage districts, or other catchment districts affected, as the case may require.

Where a catchment district is abolished, the Auditor-General, or such other person as the Governor-General may appoint for the purpose, shall hold an inquiry and make an award apportioning the property of the Board, and the debts, liabilities, and engagements thereof, amongst the boroughs, counties, road districts, town districts, river districts, and drainage districts situated within, or partly within and partly outside, the catchment district so abolished.

Any such award may provide for all or any of the matters included in the subject for inquiry, and may declare in whom any property shall be vested and by whom any moneys shall be paid or other acts and things done, including the payment by any party of the whole or any part of the expenses of the inquiry; and the person making the award may make and give such directions generally as may be necessary for giving full effect to the objects of the inquiry.

Every such award shall be final, and shall from the date thereof have the operation of and be enforceable as and be held to be a judgment of the High Court.

Where, pursuant to any award under this section, any sum is payable by any Catchment Board, River Board, or Drainage Board, or by any local authority, the Board or local authority, as the case may be, may raise that sum or any part of that sum by way of loan, and may secure the repayment of the loan by a rate over the area included in or excluded from the catchment district, or formerly within the catchment district abolished, as the case may be.

Neither the Auditor-General nor any other person appointed under the foregoing provisions of this section to hold an inquiry and make an award shall be deemed to be an arbitrator within the meaning of the Arbitration Act 1908, and nothing in that Act shall apply to any such inquiry or award.

No action taken under the last preceding section shall in any way affect the rights or interests of any debenture holder or other creditor of the Board, or shall affect any special rate, and every such rate shall continue to be charged upon the whole of the area upon which it was charged before the action was taken and it shall not by reason thereof become a charge on any additional area.

In every catchment district there shall be a Board, which shall be a body corporate, having perpetual succession and a common seal, with power to make, alter, and renew the same, to purchase, take, hold, and transfer property, real and personal, to sue and be sued in any court, and to do and suffer all other acts and things which a body corporate may lawfully do and suffer.

Every such Board shall be known as The [name] Catchment Board.

Every Board shall consist of elective members or of both elective and non-elective members, as may be prescribed by the Governor-General by Order in Council:

provided that the number of elective members shall exceed the number of non-elective members.

The elective members shall consist of 1 or more representatives of each of the constituent districts within the catchment district.

The number of representatives of each constituent district shall be such as is determined from time to time in each case by the Governor-General by Order in Council on the recommendation of the Minister, having regard, in such manner as he thinks fit, to the relative populations of those districts, to the relative values of the rateable property therein, to the amount of rates levied or proposed or likely to be levied therein, and to all other relevant considerations.

The local authority of any constituent district may at any time, by written notice, require the Board to investigate whether, having regard to the matters set out in subsection (3), the number of representatives of any constituent district should be changed.

On receiving a notice under subsection (3A) the Board shall conduct the required investigation and forward a report of its findings and its recommendation to the Minister within 6 months after the date of receipt of the notice or within such longer period as the Minister may allow. A copy of the report and recommendation shall be forwarded to the local authority of every constituent district at the same time as they are forwarded to the Minister.

After considering the report and recommendation, and after giving the local authority of every constituent district an opportunity to comment on them, and after having regard to the matters set out in subsection (3), the Minister may in the Minister’s discretion decide whether or not to accept the Board’s recommendation with or without modification. If the Minister considers that a change in the number of representatives of any constituent district is appropriate, the Minister may recommend to the Governor-General that an Order in Council be issued under subsection (3) to give effect to the change.

The total number of members of any Catchment Board shall in no case be less than 8 or more than 16.

In any case in which by reason of the number of constituent districts in any catchment district, or by reason of the smallness of the population of any such constituent district, or of the value of the rateable property in that district, it is, in the opinion of the Governor-General in Council, impracticable or inexpedient to give full effect to the intent of the last preceding section, the Governor-General may by Order in Council combine into 1 or more combined districts any number of the constituent districts (whether of the same or of different kinds) in the catchment district for the purpose of the election of representatives on the Board of the catchment district:

provided that no borough or town district shall be combined with a county or road district unless the Council of each of them, by resolution, consents to the proposed combination and agrees with the others of them upon a formula which has regard to the matters prescribed in subsection (2), and provides an equitable basis for the election of the representative or representatives of the combined district. Every such agreement shall have effect according to the tenor thereof, except that no change in the formula shall become effective between the closing of nominations in respect of any election and the closing of the polling booths for that election.

In any such case the Governor-General shall, by the same or by any other Order in Council, from time to time prescribe the number of members to be elected in common as the representative or representatives of any such combined district, having regard, in such manner as he thinks fit, to the relative populations, to the relative values of the rateable property, and to the amount of rates levied or proposed or likely to be levied in the combined district and in every other combined district or separate constituent district within the catchment district, and to all other relevant considerations.

In any such case the Governor-General shall, by the same or any other Order in Council, from time to time select and appoint one of the local authorities of the combined district to be the principal local authority of that combined district within the meaning and for the purposes of this Act.

For all the purposes of this Act other than the election or appointment of representatives each of the constituent districts in a combined district shall be deemed to be a separate constituent district.

If having regard to community of interest, contiguity, or other relevant considerations, it appears expedient to the Governor-General to do so, the Governor-General may from time to time, by Order in Council, declare that any ward or any group of wards in a district of a territorial authority, being a ward or wards situated within a catchment district, shall be a separate constituent district for the purposes of this Act, and, on the publication of any such Order in Council in the Gazette, it shall have effect according to its tenor.

Where part only of a ward is situated within a particular catchment district, the provisions of this section shall apply to that part in all respects as if that part were a complete ward.

For the purposes of this section, ward means a ward within the meaning of the Local Electoral Act 2001.

The creation, abolition, merger, union, division, or other alteration of any constituent district within a catchment district shall not of itself have any operation so as to affect the then existing membership of the Catchment Board of that district.

The Governor-General may from time to time, whenever in his opinion it becomes necessary or expedient so to do by reason of the creation, abolition, merger, union, division, or other alteration of any constituent district, or by reason of any other circumstances, revoke or amend any provisions made by him with respect to the representation of the constituent districts in a catchment district or with respect to the creation or representation of any combined district in a catchment district; and may by Order in Council make, with respect to any of those matters, any other provisions which he thinks fit and which are not inconsistent with this Act.

If by any such Order in Council representation is given to any constituent district or combined district which is not already represented on the Board, or increased representation is given to any constituent district or combined district which is already represented on the Board, the Governor-General shall, by the same or any other Order in Council, fix the date of the first election of the representatives or additional representatives, as the case may be, of that district and make all other provisions which are deemed necessary for that election.

If by any Order in Council under this section representation on a Board is taken away from any constituent district or combined district, the representatives of that district shall retire from office on the day appointed in that behalf by the Order in Council.

If by any Order in Council under this section a reduction is made in the number of representatives to which any constituent district or combined district is entitled, a sufficient number of those representatives shall retire from office on the day appointed in that behalf by the Order in Council so that the representation of that district may conform to the Order in Council. The representatives so to retire from office shall, in default of agreement among all the representatives of the constituent district or combined district, be determined by lot in manner determined by the Board.

Every non-elective member of a Board shall be appointed by the Governor-General for such term, not exceeding 3 years, as the Governor-General may think fit, but may from time to time be reappointed.

Every non-elective member of a Board shall, unless he sooner vacates office otherwise than by effluxion of time, continue in office until his successor comes into office, notwithstanding that the term for which he was appointed may have expired.

The representatives on a Catchment Board of any constituent district shall be elected by the electors of that district.

Every such election shall be held in the same manner, with all necessary modifications, as the elections of members of the local authority of the constituent district; and all the provisions of the Local Electoral Act 2001 and of all other Acts affecting the mode of election of members of that local authority (including the penal provisions thereof and the provisions relating to disputed elections), shall, so far as applicable and so far as consistent with this Act, apply accordingly.

In the application of the Local Electoral Act 2001 as aforesaid every reference therein to the local authority shall be construed as a reference to the local authority of the constituent district.

The electoral officer of the local authority of the constituent district must be the electoral officer for the purposes of elections of representatives of that constituent district under this Act.

The representatives on a Catchment Board of a combined district shall be elected by the electors of each of the constituent districts included in the combined district.

Every elector in a combined district shall have 1 vote only, notwithstanding that he may be an elector of more than 1 of the constituent districts included in the combined district.

Every such election shall be held in manner provided by regulations made by the Governor-General in Council, either generally or in respect of any specified combined district or districts.

By such regulations the Governor-General in Council may apply to any such election, with such modifications, exemptions, and additions as he thinks fit, the provisions of the Local Electoral Act 2001 and of any other Act affecting the election of members of the local authority of any of the constituent districts included in a combined district.

The first election of the representatives of any constituent district or combined district shall be held on such day as the Governor-General by Order in Council appoints, and by the same or any subsequent Order in Council the Governor-General may make all such provisions as are deemed necessary for the purposes of that election.

If any constituent district or combined district fails, at the first or any subsequent election, to elect the required number of representatives, the Governor-General may appoint such qualified persons as he thinks fit to be the representatives of that district in lieu of those who ought to have been elected; and the persons so elected shall hold office in all respects as if they had been duly elected in conformity with this Act.

Subject to section 57A of the Local Electoral Act 2001 and section 54 of this Act, every person who is a parliamentary elector shall be capable of being elected or appointed as a member of any Board.

The following persons shall not be capable of being elected or appointed as a member of any Catchment Board:

The office of a member shall become vacant, and the vacancy shall be an extraordinary vacancy, if the member—

In any case to which subsection (1)(d) applies—

If any person does any act as a member after the person’s office has become vacant under this section (other than under subsection (1)(c)) or while on leave of absence under subsection (2), the person commits an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $100.

For the purposes of subsection (1)—

In the event of an extraordinary vacancy in the office of a representative of any constituent district on the Board, the local authority of that district shall forthwith appoint some person in his place as a representative of that district.

In the event of an extraordinary vacancy in the office of a representative of a combined district on the Board, the local authorities of the several constituent districts included in the combined district shall forthwith, by agreement among themselves, jointly appoint some qualified person in his place as a representative of that district.

If no appointment is made under the foregoing provisions of this section within 2 months after the happening of the vacancy, the Governor-General may make the required appointment.

Any member appointed under this section shall hold office only for the unexpired portion of the term of office of his predecessor.

Notwithstanding anything in subsections (1) to (4), if any such extraordinary vacancy occurs within 6 months before the date fixed for the next triennial election of members of Catchment Boards, the Board, with the written consent of—

as the case may require, may by resolution determine that the vacancy shall not be filled; and in any such case, the provisions of the said subsections shall not apply in respect of the vacancy.

Upon proof in the first instance by affidavit or otherwise that any member of the Board is or has become incapable under this Act or any other Act of holding his office, any office of the District Court in the district, or, if there is no such court, then the office of the District Court nearest to the public office of the Board, may grant a summons calling upon the person holding such office to show cause why he should not be adjudged to be ousted of the same.

If on the return of the summons it appears to the court, on affidavit or oral evidence on oath, that the person is incapable under this Act or under any other Act of holding the said office, the court may adjudge him to be ousted of the same, and he shall be ousted of such office accordingly.

In any proceedings under this section the District Court may exercise all the powers and authorities which it may exercise in its ordinary jurisdiction in civil cases; and the procedure of the court shall, so far as applicable, apply generally to proceedings under this section.

No matter in relation to a disputed election shall be heard by the District Court under this section.

No question which may be tried under this section shall be tried in the High Court; and no proceedings in the District Court hereunder shall be removable into the High Court by certiorari or otherwise.

In every district the Board shall at its first meeting after the constitution of the district, and thereafter at its annual meeting, elect one of its members to be Chairman of the Board.

At every meeting for the election of a Chairman the Secretary shall preside, and in any case of an equality of votes shall determine the election by lot in such manner as the Board directs.

The Chairman shall come into office on his election, and shall hold office until the election of his successor or he ceases to be a member of the Board, whichever first occurs.

The Chairman may resign his office by writing under his hand delivered to the Secretary; and in such case, or in the case of his ceasing from any cause to be a member of the Board, his office shall become vacant, and the Secretary shall forthwith convene a meeting of the Board for the election of another Chairman.

The Board may if it thinks fit at any time appoint one of its members to be Deputy Chairman, to carry out the duties of the Chairman in the absence of the Chairman, and may at any time revoke any such appointment. The Deputy Chairman shall, so long as he continues to be a member of the Board, hold that office until the revocation of his appointment or the appointment of his successor.

All acts of any Board, and all questions coming or arising before any Board, may be done and decided by the majority of such members of the Board as are present and vote at a meeting held in pursuance of this Act.

No business shall be transacted at any meeting of the Board unless at least a quorum of members is present thereat, whether voting or not, during the whole time while the business is transacted.

A quorum of the Board shall consist of half the total number of the members of the Board (irrespective of any casual vacancies) when the number is even, or a majority of such members when the number is odd.

The Chairman shall have a deliberative vote, and, in the case of an equality of votes, shall also have a casting vote.

Every question coming before the Board shall be decided by open voting.

The Chairman shall preside at every meeting of the Board at which he is present.

If at any meeting of the Board the Chairman for the time being is not present or there is no Chairman, the Deputy Chairman shall preside at the meeting; and in any such case, if the Deputy Chairman is not present at the meeting or there is no Deputy Chairman, the members present shall choose one of their number to be the Chairman of that meeting. The Deputy Chairman or person so chosen shall have and may exercise in any such case all the powers and functions of the Chairman for the purposes of the meeting.

The first meeting of any Board after the constitution of the catchment district shall be held at such time and place as the Minister by notice in the Gazette appoints.

Every Board shall hold an annual meeting at the office of the Board or such other place as the Board may appoint on a day to be fixed by the Board, being not later than 60 days after the day on which a triennial election of members is held, or, in any year in which no such election is held, not later than 60 days after the anniversary of the last triennial election of Catchment Boards.

Every Board shall hold such ordinary meetings at such stated times and at such place as it from time to time appoints.

The Chairman or the Secretary shall give notice in writing to each of the members of the time and place appointed from time to time for holding ordinary meetings, and the members shall attend those meetings without further notice of each meeting.

The Chairman or Secretary shall give public notice of the date, time, and place of the annual meeting.

A Board may at any time hold a special meeting, to be called either on a resolution of the Board or on a requisition in writing delivered to the Secretary and signed by the Chairman or by any 3 members.

No special meeting shall be held unless at least 3 days’ notice in writing thereof and of the business to be transacted thereat has been given to members, and no business shall be transacted at a special meeting unless notice thereof has been so given.

Any meeting of a Board may be adjourned to another day not later than 7 days thereafter, and notice of the adjourned meeting shall be given to each member.

If a quorum is not present within half an hour of the time appointed for any meeting, the Chairman or members, or member if there is only 1 present, or the Secretary if no member is present, shall postpone the meeting either to a later hour on the same day or to the next day at the usual hour of meeting. No notice of any such postponement need be given.

A postponed meeting may be adjourned, but not further postponed.

The ordinary meetings of a Board shall be held for transacting the ordinary business of the Board, for appointing and removing the officers of the Board and superintending their conduct, for regulating the duties, duration and conditions of service, and salaries or other remuneration of officers and servants of the Board, for inquiring into the conduct of contractors or other persons employed by the Board to execute works, and into the state and progress of such works, for ordering the expenditure of the Board, and generally for doing all things necessary to carry this Act into effect.

No extraordinary business shall be transacted at any ordinary meeting unless due notice thereof has been given at a prior meeting, or forwarded to the Chairman or Secretary 10 days at least before the meeting at which it is to be brought forward, and at least 7 days’ notice in writing of the business has been sent to each member.

The Chairman shall determine what business shall be deemed to be extraordinary within the meaning of this section.

Any resolution of a meeting of a Board may (save as to anything theretofore lawfully done thereunder) be revoked or altered at the same meeting by the unanimous vote of the members present when it was passed, or at a subsequent meeting by the vote of a majority of the members present thereat:

provided that at least 7 days’ notice of the subsequent meeting and of the proposal to revoke or alter the resolution shall be given to each member.

Any Board may from time to time appoint committees, including standing committees, for the regulation and management of, or for inquiring into and reporting upon, such matters as it thinks fit, and may fix and alter the quorum and appoint and remove the chairman of any such committee, and may discharge any such committee.

The Board may from time to time similarly appoint executive committees for such special purposes as it thinks fit, and may regulate the action of any such committee and prescribe its functions, and may discharge any such committee.

Every such committee may meet at such times and places as it thinks fit, and may adjourn any meeting, and in the absence of the chairman may appoint some member present to be chairman of any meeting.

No business shall be transacted by a committee at any meeting unless a quorum is present thereat, whether voting or not, during the whole time while the business is transacted.

All questions shall be decided by the majority of such members of the committee as are present and vote. The chairman of the committee shall have a deliberative vote, and, in the case of an equality of votes, shall also have a casting vote.

Any person may be appointed to be a member of a committee under this section notwithstanding that he is not a member of the Board.

No act or proceeding of any Board, or of any committee, or of any person acting as a member of the Board, shall be invalidated in consequence of there being a vacancy in the number of the Board at the time of the act or proceeding, or of the subsequent discovery that there was some defect with regard to the election or appointment of any member of the Board or of any person so acting or that he was or had become disqualified.

Subject to the provisions of this Act, any Board may from time to time by resolution regulate the meetings, proceedings, debates, and general conduct of the business of the Board.

The Secretary to each Board shall keep minutes of the proceedings of the Board in which he shall enter, subject to the direction of the Board, the names of the members attending each meeting, and the names of the members voting on each question on which there is a division, and every resolution, order, or other proceeding of the Board, and any other matter directed by the Board to be entered upon the minutes.

The minutes of the proceedings of every meeting shall be submitted to the next succeeding ordinary meeting, and, if approved by the Board, or when amended as directed by the Board, shall be signed by the Chairman of that succeeding meeting.

The minutes of proceedings of the Board so kept, or an extract thereof certified as correct by the Chairman or Secretary, shall be received as evidence of such proceedings, and the validity of all such proceedings shall be presumed unless the contrary is proved.

The minute book shall be kept in the office of the Board.

The power given by this or any other Act to a Board to do anything by “special order” shall be exercised only as follows:

A document purporting to be a copy of any special order, sealed with the common seal of the Board, shall be received as evidence for all purposes that the special order of which the document purports to be a copy has been duly made in accordance with this Act unless the contrary is proved.

No special order shall be quashed by proceedings in any court or otherwise unless such proceedings are commenced within 6 months from the making of the special order.

Any Board may from time to time provide and maintain public offices within the district, or, if more convenient, outside the district, for holding meetings and for the use of its officers, and for transacting public business relating to the district; and for that purpose may purchase or take on lease land or buildings, or may cause new buildings to be erected on any land belonging to or leased to the Board, or any such building to be added to or improved.

The Secretary or some other person appointed by the Board shall attend at the offices of the Board during office hours for the purpose of receiving notices and transacting the ordinary business of the Board, and public notice shall be given in the district of the situation of the offices of the Board and the office hours observed thereat.

A Board may from time to time appoint a Secretary, Treasurer, Engineer, valuers, collectors, and such other officers to assist in the execution of this Act as it thinks necessary; and may from time to time remove any of such officers and appoint others in the place of such as are so removed, or as may die, resign, or discontinue their offices; and may out of its funds pay such salaries and allowances to the said officers respectively as it thinks reasonable.

One person may hold 2 or more such offices.

Subsection (1) shall be deemed to authorise and from its commencement to have authorised the payment to any officer of the Board of such salaries and allowances as the Board thinks reasonable in respect of his attendance at any conference, meeting, or course of study or training that in the opinion of the Board will render him better fitted to carry out his duties for the Board.

During the absence from duty of any officer of the Board by reason of illness, leave of absence, or other cause, the duties and powers of such officer may be performed and exercised by an acting officer appointed by resolution of the Board; and any such appointment may be either general or for some occasion only.

Before any officer entrusted by the Board with the custody or control of moneys by virtue of his office enters on the duties of his office, the Board shall take sufficient security from him for the faithful execution thereof.