| (1) | Before making or amending any regulations in terms of this Act, the Minister must— |
| (a) | publish a notice in the Gazette— |
| (i) | setting out the draft regulations; and |
| (ii) | inviting written comments to be submitted on the proposed regulations within a specified period; |
| (b) | consider all comments received; and |
| (i) | the National Forests Advisory Council established in terms of section 33 of the National Forests Act, 1998; |
| (ii) | the Fire Brigade Board established in terms of section 2 of the Fire Brigade Services Act, 1987 (Act No. 99 of 1987). |
| (a) | After complying with subsection 1, the Minister may— |
| (i) | amend the draft regulations, and |
| (ii) | subject to subsections (3) to (8), publish the regulations in final form in the Gazette. |
| (b) | The regulations are effective from the date the Minister publishes them in the Gazette in terms of paragraph (a). |
| (3) | The Minister must table the regulations in Parliament together with any written comments and advice received on them pursuant to subsection (1)— |
| (a) | within 30 days after publishing them in terms of subsection (2); or |
| (b) | if Parliament is not then in session, within 30 days after the next session starts. |
| (4) | Parliament may reject the regulations within 60 days after they have been tabled. |
| (5) | If Parliament rejects any regulations, the Minister must— |
| (b) | table amended regulations in draft form in Parliament, |
within 60 days of the rejection or if Parliament is not then in session, within 60 days after the next session starts, failing which the regulations become invalid.
| (6) | If the Minister elects to amend regulations which have been rejected, he or she— |
| (a) | need not follow the procedure set out in subsection (1); |
| (b) | must consult the chairpersons of the Council and of the Board referred to in subsection (1)(c), |
before the amended regulations are tabled.
| (a) | accepts the amended regulations, the Minister must publish them within 30 days of Parliament's acceptance; |
| (b) | rejects the amended regulations, subsections (5), (6) and this subsection apply. |
| (8) | If the Minister complies with subsection (5)(b), the regulations as originally published continue to apply until amended regulations are accepted by Parliament and published by the Minister in terms of subsection (2). |
