CIVIL AVIATION AGREEMENT.
No. 86 of 1957.
An Act relating to a
proposed Agreement between the Commonwealth, the Australian National Airlines
Commission and certain Companies in connexion with Airline Services, and to
amend the Civil Aviation Agreement Act 1952.
[Assented to 12th December, 1957.]
BE it enacted by the Queen’s Most Excellent Majesty, the Senate, and the
House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Australia, as follows:—
Short title.
1. This Act may be cited as the Civil
Aviation Agreement Act 1957.
Commencement.
2. This Act shall come into
operation on the day on which it receives the Royal Assent.
Approval of execution of
agreement.
3. The execution on behalf of the
Commonwealth of an agreement in accordance with the form in the Schedule to
this Act is approved.
Australian National
Airlines Commission empowered to enter into agreement.
4. The Australian National Airlines
Commission is empowered to enter into an agreement in accordance with the form
in the Schedule to this Act and to carry out its obligations and avail itself
of its rights under the agreement.
Amendment of Civil
Aviation Agreement Act 1952.
5.—(1.) Section four of the Civil
Aviation Agreement Act 1952 is amended by adding at the end thereof the
following sub-section:—
“(2.) The last preceding sub-section
shall be deemed to authorize the giving of a guarantee of the payment by
Australian National Airways Proprietary Limited of amounts payable by that
Company under arrangements made in substitution for the original arrangements
with respect to a loan made before the commencement of this sub-section, being
a loan the repayment of which was guaranteed under that sub-section.”.
(2.) The Civil Aviation
Agreement Act 1952, as amended by this section, may be cited as the Civil
Aviation Agreement Act 1952–1957.
THE SCHEDULE. Sections 3 and 4.
THIS
AGREEMENT is made the day
of One thousand nine hundred and
BETWEEN THE COMMONWEALTH OF AUSTRALIA(in this agreement referred to as “the
Commonwealth”) of the first part, the AUSTRALIAN NATIONAL AIRLINES COMMISSION
constituted under the Australian National Airlines Act 1945–1956 of the
Commonwealth (in this agreement referred to as “the Commission”) of the second
part, AUSTRALIAN NATIONAL AIRWAYS PROPRIETARY LIMITED a company incorporated
under the laws of the State of Victoria relating to companies and whose
registered office is situated at 289 William Street Melbourne in the said State
(in this agreement referred to as “the Company”) of the third part, ANSETT
AIRWAYS PROPRIETARY LIMITED a company incorporated under the laws of the State
of Victoria relating to companies and whose registered office is situated at
Commonwealth Aerodrome Essendon in the said State of the fourth part, and
ANSETT TRANSPORT INDUSTRIES LIMITED a company incorporated under the laws of
the State of Victoria relating to companies and whose registered office is
situated at 465 Swanston Street Melbourne in the said State of the fifth part:
WHEREAS by an agreement (in
this agreement called “the Civil Aviation Agreement”) made the Twenty-fourth
day of October, One thousand nine hundred and fifty-two between the
Commonwealth and the Company and set forth in the schedule to the Civil
Aviation Agreement Act 1952, the Commonwealth and the Company agreed, inter
alia, to rationalize certain airline services operated by the Commission and
the Company:
AND WHEREAS by the Civil Aviation Agreement Act 1952, the
Parliament of the Commonwealth of Australia approved the Civil Aviation
Agreement and provided that the Commission should do all such things as the
Civil Aviation Agreement provided that the Commission would do:
AND WHEREAS Ansett Transport Industries Limited has purchased all the
issued shares in Australian National Airways Proprietary Limited and has the
controlling interest in Ansett Airways Proprietary Limited:
AND WHEREAS one of the
objects of the parties to this agreement is to secure and maintain a position
in which there are two, and not more than two, operators of trunk route airline
services, one being the Commission, each capable of effective competition with
the other, and the parties intend that this agreement shall be construed having
regard to that object:
The Schedule—continued.
AND
WHEREAS the parties to this agreement are desirous of extending certain of the
provisions of the Civil Aviation Agreement as to rationalization of services to
certain other routes:
AND
WHEREAS the parties to the Civil Aviation Agreement are desirous, as part of
the steps referred to in clause 7 of that agreement, to review and to keep
under review at all times during the continuance of the Civil Aviation
Agreement air routes, time tables, fares and freights and other related matters
in respect of certain routes, and for the purpose of this agreement, of
establishing a committee as set out in this agreement:
NOW THIS
AGREEMENT WITNESSETH that it is agreed by and between the parties to this
agreement as follows:
Extension of
rationalization.
1. The Commission, the Company and Ansett
Transport Industries Limited, and alt airline companies or firms in which
Ansett Transport Industries Limited has a controlling interest (all of which
Commission, companies and firms are in this agreement collectively referred to
as “the airline operators”) will take immediate steps to review and will keep
under review at all times during the continuance of this agreement air routes,
time tables, fares and freights and other related matters in respect of routes
(in addition to the routes specified in sub-clause (1.) of clause 7 of the
Civil Aviation Agreement) on which both the Commission and any one of the other
airline operators operate, or propose to operate, so as to avoid unnecessary
overlapping of services and wasteful competition, to provide the most effective
and economical services with due regard to the interests of the public and to
bring earnings into a proper relation to over-all costs.
Extended application of
certain provisions of Civil Aviation Agreement.
2. The provisions of sub-clauses (2.), (3.) and
(4.) of clause 7 and clause 14 of the Civil Aviation Agreement shall apply in
respect of clause 1 of this agreement in the same manner, mutatis mutandis, as
they apply in respect of sub-clause (1.) of clause 7 of the Civil Aviation
Agreement.
Establishment of
Rationalization Committee.
3. The parties will take immediate steps to establish
a Rationalization Committee (in this agreement referred to as “the Committee”)
which shall be constituted from time to time by—
(a)
a person nominated by the Minister who shall be known as the Co-ordinator;
(b)
a member nominated by the Commission; and
(c) a member nominated by the Company.
Functions of the Committee.
4.—(1.) If the airline operators concerned are
unable to agree on any matter arising under sub-clause (1.) of clause 7of
the Civil Aviation Agreement or clause 1 of this agreement, the matter in
dispute may be referred to the Committee by any one of those airline operators.
(2.) The Commonwealth
and the airline operators will each, upon being required so to do by the
Co-ordinator, furnish or produce to the Committee all information, documents,
books, papers and accounts which the Co-ordinator considers necessary to enable
the Committee to consider any matter referred to the Committee under this
clause.
(3.) The Committee will consider
the matter and, if the members nominated by the Commission and the Company are,
after such consideration, still unable to agree, the Co-ordinator shall decide
the matter and, subject to the next succeeding sub-clause, his decision shall
be final and binding on the airline operators.
(4.) Where the Co-ordinator
pursuant to this clause makes a decision on a matter referred to in this
clause—
(a)
the Commission or the Company, in the case of a matter arising under sub-clause
(I.) of clause 7 of the Civil Aviation Agreement; or
(b)
one of the airline operators, in the case of a matter arising under clause 1 of
this agreement,
may elect to have the matter decided in accordance with sub-clause (2.)
of clause 7 of the Civil Aviation Agreement, in its application by virtue of
that agreement or by virtue of clause 2 of this agreement, as the case may be.
(5.) The Co-ordinator shall give
reasons in writing for each of his decisions and, where a matter is to be
determined in accordance with sub-clause (2.) of clause 7 of the Civil Aviation
Agreement, whether applying by virtue of that agreement or by virtue of clause
2 of this agreement, the Co-ordinator shall furnish, those reasons to the
Chairman appointed in pursuance of clause 14 of the Civil Aviation Agreement.
The Schedule—continued.
Ansett Airways to cease
operation of airline services.
5. As soon as practicable, and in any case not
later than twenty-five months after, the date of this agreement, Ansett Airways
Proprietary Limited will cease to operate airline services and will not, during
the continuance of this agreement, resume the operation of an airline service
or services.
Compliance with agreement.
6. Ansett Transport Industries Limited will do
everything within its power to ensure that the airline companies or firms in
which it has a controlling interest will do all such acts and things as this
agreement provides that they will do and that those companies and firms will
not do anything inconsistent with the provisions or purposes of this agreement.
Past omissions of company.
7. For the purposes of the Civil Aviation
Agreement any act or omission on the part of the Company prior to the date of
this agreement shall be deemed not to constitute a breach of the Civil Aviation
Agreement or a default in the repayment of moneys secured by a guarantee or
guarantees given by the Commonwealth pursuant to the provisions of the Civil
Aviation Agreement.
Air Navigation Act.
8. Nothing in this agreement requires or permits
the airline operators to act in any manner inconsistent with the Air
Navigation Act 1920-1950 or with the regulations in force under that Act.
Period of agreement.
9.