Queensland Consolidated Acts

PUBLIC SAFETY PRESERVATION ACT 1986 - SECT 8

(1) Where during the period of and in the area specified in respect of an emergency situation the emergency commander is satisfied on reasonable grounds that it is necessary to effectively deal with that emergency situation he or she (and any other police officer acting on his or her instructions) may--

(a) direct the owner or the person for the time being in charge or in control of any resource to surrender it and place it under the emergency commander's or police officer's control (resource surrender direction);

(b) take control of any resource, whether it is in the charge or control of any person or not;

(c) in respect of any resource under the emergency commander's or police officer's control, direct any person who is capable of operating that resource to operate it as directed by him or her (resource operator direction);

(d) direct the evacuation and exclusion of any person or persons from any premises and for this purpose may remove or cause to be removed (using such force as is necessary for that purpose) any person who does not comply with a direction to evacuate or any person who enters, attempts to enter or is found in or on any premises in respect of which a direction for the exclusion of persons has been given;

(e) close or cause to be closed to traffic and pedestrians, any road, street, motorway, private road, private way, service lane, footway, right of way, access way or other way or close any place to which members of the public have access whether on payment of a fee or otherwise;

(f) enter or cause to be entered (using such force as is necessary for that purpose) any premises;

(g) search or cause to be searched (using such force as is necessary for that purpose) any premises and anything found therein or thereon;

(h) remove or cause to be removed from any premises (using such force as is necessary for that purpose) any animal or anything;

(i) direct any person to assist him or her in the manner specified by him or her (help direction).

(2) The emergency commander or police officer must not give a resource operator direction or a help direction to a person if giving the direction would expose the person to imminent danger.

(3) A person given a resource surrender direction, a resource operator direction or a help direction must comply with the direction, unless the person has a reasonable excuse.

Maximum penalty for subsection (3)--40 penalty units or 1 year's imprisonment.