Australian Shipping Commission Amendment Act 1980 (Cth)

Australian Shipping Commission Amendment Act 1980

No. 39 of 1980

  

An Act to amend the Australian Shipping Commission Act 1956

[Assented to 23 May 1980]

BE IT ENACTED by the Queen, and the Senate and the House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Australia, as follows:

Short title, &c.

1. (1) This Act may be cited as the Australian Shipping Commission Amendment Act 1980.

(2) The Australian Shipping Commission Act 1956 is in this Act referred to as the Principal Act.

Commencement

2. This Act shall come into operation on the day on which it receives the Royal Assent.

Interpretation

3. Section 5 of the Principal Act is amended by adding at the end thereof the following definition and sub-section:

“‘securities’ includes stocks, debentures, debenture stocks, notes, bonds, promissory notes, bills of exchange and similar instruments or documents.

“(2) In this Act, a reference to dealing with securities shall be read as including a reference to—

(a) creating, executing, entering into, drawing, making, accepting, indorsing, issuing, discounting, selling, purchasing or reselling securities;

(b) creating, selling, purchasing or reselling rights or options in respect of securities; and

(c) entering into agreements or other arrangements relating to securities.”.

Notices with respect to rates of charges

4. Section 19 of the Principal Act is amended—

(a) by inserting after sub-section (2) the following sub-section:

“(2a) A notice under sub-section (2) in respect of a service, other than a prescribed service, may, if the Commission thinks it appropriate and the Minister agrees, set out only the proposed basis for charging for the service (whether or not a charge is presently fixed for the service) and nothing more.”;

(b) by adding at the end of sub-section (3)”, or, where the notice is in the form specified in sub-section (2a), approving or disapproving the proposed basis set out in the notice for charging for a service”;

(c) by omitting from paragraph (a) of sub-section (5) “or”;

 

(d) by inserting after paragraph (a) of sub-section (5) the following paragraph:

“(aa) the Minister has approved the basis for charging for the service and the rate of charge is to be fixed on that basis; or”;

(e) by omitting from paragraph (a) of sub-section (6) “or”;

(f) by inserting after paragraph (a) of sub-section (6) the following paragraph:

“(aa) the Minister has approved the basis for charging for the service and the variation is to be made on that basis; or”; and

(g) by adding at the end thereof the following sub-section:

“(7) In this section, ‘prescribed service’ means—

(a) a shipping service for the transport of passengers; or

(b) a shipping service for the transport of cargo (other than bulk cargo) that is available for use by any shipper who wishes to use it, not being a service—

(i) between a place in Australia and a place in another country; or

(ii) between a place in a Territory and a place in another country.”.

5. Section 30 of the Principal Act is repealed and the following sections are substituted:

Borrowing from Commonwealth

“30. (1) The Minister for Finance may, on behalf of the Commonwealth, out of moneys appropriated by the Parliament for the purpose, lend moneys to the Commission on such terms and conditions as the Minister for Finance determines.

“(2) The terms and conditions of a loan referred to in sub-section (1) shall be terms and conditions that are determined by the Minister for Finance to be equivalent to the terms and conditions that would be applicable to a loan made by a bank or other financial institution to a privately-owned shipping undertaking in Australia, being a shipping undertaking that provides shipping services comparable with those provided by the Commission.

Borrowing otherwise than from Commonwealth

“30a. (1) The Commission may, with the approval of the Treasurer but not otherwise, from time to time, borrow moneys (otherwise than from the Commonwealth) on such terms and conditions as the Treasurer approves.

“(2) Approvals for the purposes of sub-section (1) may be in respect of particular borrowings or in respect of borrowings included within specified classes of borrowings.

“(3) The Treasurer may, on behalf of the Commonwealth, guarantee the repayment by the Commission of amounts borrowed under this section and the payment of interest on amounts so borrowed.

Dealings with securities

“30b. (1) The Commission may, with the approval of the Treasurer but not otherwise, deal with securities.

“(2) Where the Commission borrows or otherwise raises moneys by dealing with securities, the Treasurer may determine that the repayment by the Commission of the amounts borrowed or raised, and the payment by the Commission of interest (if any) on those amounts, are, by force of this sub-section, guaranteed by the Commonwealth.

 

“(3) The power of the Treasurer to make a determination for the purposes of sub-section (2) extends to the making of a determination in respect of—

(a) securities included in a specified class, or specified classes, of securities; and

(b) transactions included in a specified class, or specified classes, of transactions.

Commission may give security

“30c. The Commission may give security over the whole or any part of its assets—

(a) for the repayment of moneys borrowed under section 30a and the payment of any moneys that the Commission is otherwise liable to pay in respect of those borrowings; and

(b) for the payment of any moneys that the Commission is liable to pay in respect of dealings with securities in accordance with section 30b,

including, but without limiting the generality of the foregoing, the payment of interest (if any) on moneys borrowed or otherwise raised by the Commission.

Borrowings not otherwise permitted

“30d. The Commission shall not borrow, or otherwise raise, moneys except in accordance with sections 30, 30a and 30b.

Borrowings not to form part of capital of Commission

“30e. The moneys that may be borrowed, or otherwise raised, by the Commission under section 30, 30a or 30b do not form part of the capital of the Commission under section 28.”.

Liability of Commission to taxation

6. Section 36 of the Principal Act is amended—

(a) by omitting from sub-section (1) “The” and substituting “Subject to sub-section (4), the”; and

(b) by adding at the end thereof the following sub-sections:

“(4) Where the Treasurer so determines by notice published in the Gazette, stamp duty, or any similar tax, is not payable by the Commission or any other person under a law of the Commonwealth or of a State or Territory in respect of—

(a) a security dealt with by the Commission;

(b) the issue, redemption, transfer, sale, purchase, resale, acquisition or discounting of such a security by the Commission or any other person, not including a transaction done without consideration or for an inadequate consideration;

(c) any other transaction done for the purposes of a borrowing or other raising of moneys by the Commission; or

(d) any other document executed by or on behalf of the Commission for the purposes of a borrowing or other raising of moneys by the Commission.

“(5) The power conferred on the Treasurer by sub-section (4) to make a determination extends to the making of a determination in respect of securities included in a specified class or specified classes of securities and in respect of documents or transactions included in a specified class or specified classes of documents or transactions.”.