Debt Conversion Agreement Act (No. 2) 1931 (WA)

19311 Debt Conrersion Agreement (No. 2). [No. 46.

DEBT CONVERSION AGREEMENT

(No. 2).

22° Gm. V., No. XLVT.

No. 4.6 of 1931.

AN ACT to approve a further Agreement between the Com- monwealth of Australia of the first part, and the States of New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, South Australia, Western Australia, and Tasmania of the second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh parts respectively, relating to the Conversion of the Internal Public Debts of the Commonwealth and the States.

[Assented to 9th December, 1931.1

HEREA S by Section one hundred and five A of the

WConstitution it is provided that the Commonwealth

may make agreements with the States with respect to the public debts of the States, including (inter alia) the con- solidation, renewal, co nversion and redemption of those debts : And whereas it is further provided by the said sec- tion that the Parliament may make laws for the carrying out by the parties thereto of any such agreement: Be it there- fore enacted by the King's Most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Legislative Council and the Legislative Assembly of Western Australia, in this pre- sent Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows :—

This Act may be cited as the Debt Conversion Agree- ment Act (No. 2), 1931, and shall come into operation on a	Short title and
commencement.
day to be fixed by proclamation."

1.

2.

This Act shall be read as supplementary to the Debt Conversion Agreement Act, 1931 (No. 6 of 1931).	Tide Act to be read ea rupplementhry
to No. 6 of 1931.

3. The agreement, a copy of which is set forth in the Approval of Agree- ment.

schedule to this Act, is approved.

*12th January, 1932: See Gazette of that date.

N0. 46.] Debt Conversion Agreement (No. 2). [1931.

THE SCHEDULE.

Agreement made the twenty-second day of October, one thousand nine hundred and thirty-one, between the Commonwealth of Australia (in this agreement called "the Commonwealth"), of the first part, the State of New South Wales of the second part, the State of Victoria of the third part, the State of Queensland of the fourth part, the State of South Australia of the fifth part, the State of Western Australia of the sixth part, and the State of Tasmania of the seventh part (the expression "the States" in this agreement meaning where the context so permits or requires all of the par- ties of the second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth, and seventh parts) :

Whereas by Section 105 A of the Constitution it is provided that the Commonwealth may make agreements with the States with respect to the public debts of the States, including (inter alia) the consolidation, renewal, conversion, and redemption of such debts:

And whereas by an agreement made the twenty-first day of July, one thousand nine hundred and thirty-one, between the parties hereto, the Com- monwealth was authorised to arrange and effect a conversion, on the basis of a 221/2 per cent. reduction of interest, in accordance with the terms and conditions now contained in Sections 3, 8, and 10 to 22 inclusive, of the Commonwealth Debt Conversion Act, 1931 (hereinafter called "the said Act"), of all public debts of the States, the liability for which has been assumed by the Commonwealth under the Financial Agreement between the parties hereto, dated the twelfth day of December, one thousand nine hun- dred and twenty-seven, and the principal and interest of which are pay- able in Australia, and of all public debts of the Commonwealth (including borrowings by the Commonwealth for or on behalf of a State under the said Financial Agreement), the interest and principal of which are payable in 1.ustralia:

And whereas by the said Act provision has been made for the conversion into new securities of existing securities, comprised in the said public debts, the holders of which did not, within the time and in the manner prescribed, signify dissent from the conversion:

And whereas approximately ninety-seven per centum of existing secur- ities have been converted under the said Act, and it is expedient that the remainder of the existing securities should be converted on the same terms and conditions:

Now this agreement witnesseth:

This agreement shall have full force and effect, and be binding on

all the parties, when it is approved by the Parliaments of the Common-

wealth and of the States.

1.

In this agreement the terms "existing securities" and "new secur- ities" have the same meaning as in the said Act.

2.

Notwithstanding anything in the above-recited Debt Conversion Agreement, or in the said Act contained, every holder of existing securities which have not been converted into new securities in accordance with the provisions of the said Act shall, notwithstanding that any holder of those existing securities may have signified or may signify dissent, be deemed to have made an application in accordance with Section 9 of the said Act for their conversion into new securities, and they shall be deemed to be so converted accordingly:

3.

Debt Conversion Agreement (Km 2). [No. 46.

Provided that nothing in this clause shall apply to Commonwealth Treasury Bills issued to a Bank in Australia with the approval of the Aus- tralian Loan Council or to securities issued with the like approval to such a Bank in exchange for such Bills.

4.     The Government of the Commonwealth will take the necessary action

to submit to the Federal Parliament any legislation necessary to carry out

and give effect to this agreement.

5.     So far as this agreement may not be in accordance with the pro-

visions of the said Financial Agreement, the provisions of this agreement

shall prevail.

6.

Subject to the last preceding clause, the provisions of the said Financial Agreement and the undertakings and obligations of the Common- wealth and of the States therein contained shall apply to the public debts after conversion in pursuance of clause three of this agreement in the same manner as they applied before such conversion.

Signed by the Prime Minister of the Common- 1

wealth of Australia for and on behalf of the

said Commonwealth in the presence of— J. H. SCULLIN.

F. Strahan. 3

Signed by the Premier of the State of New South Wales for and on behalf of the said State in the presence of— JOHN T. LANG.

C. Chapman.

Signed by the Premier of the State of Victoria l"

for and on behalf of the said State in the

presence of— R J. HOGAN.

C. C. Gale.

Signed by the Premier of the State of Queens- land for and on behalf of the said State in the presence of— A. E. MOORE.

G. W. Watson.

Signed by the Premier of the State of South -)

Australia for and on behalf of the said State

in the presence of— LIONEL L. HILL.

M. A. F. Pearce.

Signed by the Premier of the State of Western 1	Australia for and on behalf of the said State
in the presence of— JAMES MITCHELL.

L. E. Shapeott, J.P.

Signed by the Premier of the State of Tasmania for and on behalf of the said State in the presence of J. C. McPHEE.

E. Parkes.