Government Railways Act Amendment Act 1933 (WA)

1933.] Government Railways. [No. 36.

GOVERNMENT RAILWAYS.

24 c	GEO. V., No. XXXVI.
No. 36 of 1933.

AN ACT to make provision in the Government Railways Act, 1904, for railway construction work by the Rail- way Department, and also to make provision in the said Act for contribution by certain employees to the Western Australian Government Railways and Tram- ways Employees' Death Benefit and Endowment Fund.

[Assented to 4th January, 1934.]

Council and Legislative Assembly of Western Australia, inB E it enacted by the King's Most Excellent Majesty, byand with the advice and consent of the Legislative

this present Parliament assembled, and by the authority. of

the same, as follows:—

This Act may be cited as the Government Railways Act Amendment Act, 1933, and shall be read as one with the Government Railways Act, 1904 (No. 23 of 1904), herein- after referred to as the principal. Act. Short title.

1.

This Act shall come into operation on a day to be fixed by proclamation.'	Operation of this
Act.

2.

3.    Section two of the principal Act is amended

(a) by inserting in the definition of "Railway" or "Gov- ernment railway," after the words "Government railway" in line one of the said definition, the words 'except as hereinafter provided";

"12th February, 1934; Gazette 9th Febtuaty, 1934.

No. 36.] Government Railways. [1933.

(b) by adding to the definition of "Railway" or "Gov-

ernment railway" a proviso, as follows:

Provided that, for the purposes of sections eighteen A and eighteen B of this Act, "railway" means a railway as defined in section ninety-five of the Public Works Act, 1902-1933, the con- struction whereof has been authorised in accord- ance with section ninety-six of such Act, but which has not become a railway or a Government rail- way as herein defined.

Amendment of

s. 17. 4.

Section seventeen of the principal Act is amended, as follows :—by deleting the words "for Works" in line four, and by substituting for the figures "1902" in line five, the figures "1902-1933."

Amendment of

s. 18. 5. Section eighteen of the principal Act is amended by

substituting for the figures "1902" in line two, the figures

"1902-1933."

New ellen. 6. Sections are inserted in the principal Act after section

eighteen, as follows:-

Powers of Minis-

ter under Public	18A. (1.) Where any railway is authorised hi accord- conferred upon him by the said Act, undertakes the con-
Works Act, 1902-
1933, delegated to	ance with section ninety-six of the Public Works Act,
Commissioner, and
Commissioner	1902-1933, and the Minister, in exercise of the powers
authorised to exer- cise such powers.
struction of such railway, then, notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained in the said Act, or in any other Act, the Minister shalt be deemed to have and shall by virtue of this section have authority to delegate to the Commissioner, and the Commissioner shall, subject to the approval of the Minister, have authority to exer- cise all and any of the said powers of the Minister, and to do, undertake, and carry out all works, acts, matters, and things necessary to be done or capable of being done in relation to the construction of the said railway, or in any manner incidental thereto, to the end that all that the Minister is authorised to do by the said Act in re- lation to such railway may be done to the same extent by the Commissioner on behalf of the Minister.
(2.) Tn the exercise of the powers aforesaid the Minis- ter or the Commissioner, as the case may be, may use and employ the whole or any portion of the employees and staff and property of the department, and may

19331 Government Railways. [No. 36.

employ such other servants, workmen, contractors, and agents, and obtain and use such other plant, machinery, and property as may be necessary for such purpose.

(3.) Nothing in this section shall be deemed to impose upon the Commissioner any liability whatsoever for any act or omission on his part or on the part of his servants, workmen, agents, or contractors in relation to the exer- cise by the Commissioner of any of the said powers under the authority of this section.

1813. Where a railway is in the course of construc- tion and, although the same has not been completed,	Railway under
construction may
ho used for traf-
fic in certain cir-
and, in accordance with section five of this Act, has not	cumstances.
been declared open -for traffic, the Minister is of the opinion that the said railway or a portion thereof may safely and conveniently be used to a limited extent for public traffic, it shall be lawful for the Commissioner, with the approval of the Minister, to use the said rail- way or portion thereof for traffic to the extent author- ised by the Minister, and to make available the same for the carriage of passengers and goods, upon such special conditions as may be either generally or in any particu- lar case declared by the Commissioner :
Provided that nothing in this section shall be deemed to make the Commissioner a common carrier or to impose upon him any of the obligations of a common carrier.

7. Section thirty-seven of the principal Act is amended Amendment of s. 37.

by inserting at the beginning of subsection (3) the words

"Subject to section eighteen B of this Act."

8. A section is inserted in the principal Act after section New section.

sixty-eight, as follows:-

68A. (1.) Notwithstanding anything in this Act Certain employeesto contribute to

or in any industrial award or industrial agreement

Western Austra- lian Government

to the contrary, every officer or servant of the depart-

Railways and

Tramways Em-

ment appointed or whose employment commences after

ployees' Death

Benefit and

the commencement of this section, shall be deemed to be

Endowment Fund.

appointed or employed as such officer or servant upon the express condition that he will become and continue a member of or contributor to the Western Australian Government Railways and Tramways Employees' Death

No. 36.] Government Railways. [1933.

Benefit and Endowment Fund established under para- graph 26 (a) of section twenty-three of this Act, under and in accordance with the by-laws now and from time to time made by the Commissioner under this Act in re- lation to the said Fund.

(2.) Every officer and servant referred to in subsec- tion (1) of this section shall become liable for payment of his membership contributions to the said Fund as from and commencing on a. day one month after the date of his appointment or the commencement of his em- ployment, as the ease may be, and thereafter shall con- tinue liable for payment of such membership contribu- tions under and in accordance with the by-laws aforesaid relating to the Fund; and the amount of such member- ship contributions as and when they become due and payable shall be a debt owing by such officer or servant to the committee of management of the said Fund, and shall be recoverable at the suit of such committee in any court of competent jurisdiction.

(3.) In the ease of every officer or servant to whom this section applies, it shall be lawful for the Commis- sioner, or his paying officer, or any other officer of the department charged with the duty of paying salary or wages to such officer or servant, to deduct from such salary or wages, whenever payment of the same is being made, the amount of the membership contributions pay- able by such officer or servant to the said Fund, and to pay the amount so deducted to the committee of man- agement of the said Fund, without being required to give any notice of his intention so to do to, or obtain any order or authority so to do from, such officer or servant.

(4.) Provided that subsections (1), (2), and (3) of this section shall not in any way affect or apply to

(a) any officer or servant employed in the departmen.t at the commencement of this section, unless he shall subsequently cease to be so employed, and thereafter shall again be appointed as an officer or servant in the department, in which case he shall, for the purposes of this section, be deemed to be an officer or servant appointed or employed to or in the department after the commencement of this section; and

1933.] Government Railways. [No. 36.

(b) any officer or servant appointed, or whose employ. ment commences after the commencement of this section, who proves to the satisfaction of the Commissioner that he holds for his own benefit and is maintaining a life insurance policy in an insurance company in 'Western Australia approved by the Commissioner for an amount which, together with bonuses or other benefits accrued or to accrue hereafter will, upon the maturity of the policy during the life of the assured, entitle the assured or his legal repre- sentative to payment of an amount equal to the amount which the officer or servant would be entitled to receive from the said Fund as a member thereof, upon his right to such payment as a member accruing under the by-laws re- lating to the said Fund:

Provided, that the exemption provided by this paragraph shall cease to operate as from the date when any officer or servant aforesaid ceases to maintain such life policy aforesaid, and sub- sections (1), (2), and (3) of this section shall apply to such officer or servant as from the said date as if he had been appointed to or had com- menced his employment in the department on such date;

(c) any officer or servant employed in the department whose rate of pay is lower than the minimum rate prescribed for the lowest paid male adult worker (other than an apprentice) engaged on full time in the department, or whose employ- ment is of a temporary nature.

(5.)

Provided also, that nothing in this section or in subsection (4) hereof shall prevent an officer or servant employed in the department at the commencement of this section, or any officer or servant exempted by para- graph (b) or (c) of subsection (4) hereof, from contri- buting voluntarily to the said Fund as a member thereof whilst lie continues to be so employed.

(6.)

The Commissioner may by by-laws made under the authority of this Act and relating to the said Fund, prescribe special conditions for the benefit of officers or servants in the department to whom subsections (1), (2),

No. 36.] Government Railways. [1933.

and (3) of this section apply, and who prove to the satis- faction of the Commissioner that they hold and are main- taining a life policy in an insurance company approved by the Commissioner, the amount of which is not suffi- cient to entitle such officers or servants to the exemption provided in paragraph (b) of subsection (4) of this sec- tion.

Citation of	9. The principal Act, as amended by this Act and by all
principal Act

as amended.

prior Acts amending the principal Act, may be cited as the

Government Railways Act, 1904-1933.