Metropolitan Water, Sewerage, and Drainage (Amendment) Act 1954 (NSW)

METROPOLITAN WATER, SEWERAGE, AND

DRAINAGE (AMENDMENT) ACT.

Act No. 43, 1954.

An Act to amend the Metropolitan Water, Sewerage, and Drainage Act, 1924-1949, in certain respects; to validate certain matters; and for purposes connected therewith. [Assented to, 14th December, 1954.] 83921—10 B E

B E it enacted by the Queen 's Most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Legis­	lative Council and Legislat ive Assembly of New South
Wales in Pa r l i amen t assembled, and by the au thor i ty of the same, as follows:—

1. (1) This Act may be cited as the "Me t ropo l i t an

W a t e r , Sewerage, and Dra inage (Amendment) Act,

1954."

(2) The Metropol i tan W a t e r , Sewerage, and Drain­

age Act, 1924, as amended by subsequent Acts and by this Act, may be cited as the Metropol i tan Wate r , Sewer­ age, and Dra inage Act, 1924-1954.

2 . (1) The Metropol i tan Wate r , Sewerage, and

Dra inage Act, 1924-1949, is amended—

(a)

by omitting from subsection three of section

nineteen the words " t w o hundred and	s i x t y "
and by inser t ing in lieu thereof the words	" f o u r

hundred and t w e n t y " ;

(b)

by inserting next after section twenty-five the following new section:—

25A. (1) The board in such manner as it deems expedient m a y insure or m a y itself provide for the insurance of members of the board aga ins t personal injury, whether fa ta l or not, a r i s ing out of or in the course of the i r a t tendance a t any meet ing of the board or any

committee thereof, or making inspections on

behalf of the board, or fulfilling the dut ies of

the i r offices.

(2) The board may insure or m a y itself provide for the insurance of officers and work­ men of the board who a re not workers within the meaning of the W o r k e r s ' Compensat ion Act, 1926-1954, for the like benefits, in the like circumstances and in all o ther respects as though they were workers within the meaning of the said Act.

( 3 )

(3) I n respect of any such contract of

insurance the board shall be deemed to have an

insurable interest .

(4) Any sum appropr i a t ed by the board for the insurance of i ts members , officers and workmen or any sum received by the board under any such contract , af ter deducting theref rom any expenses incurred in the recovery thereof, shall be pa id by it to or to the personal represen ta t ives of the member, officer or workman in respect of whom the sum was app rop r i a t ed or received.

(c) by inserting next after section thirty-one the following new section:—

31A. (1) The board shall have power and shall be deemed always to have had power to enter into any agreement with the Electr ic i ty Commission of New South Wales , or any other au thor i ty const i tuted by or under any Act of the Pa r l i amen t of the Commonweal th or of the S ta te and having power in tha t behalf, for the construction, maintenance and operat ion of any hydro-electric works for the genera t ion of elec­ t r ic i ty ei ther in conjunction with the construc­ tion, maintenance and operat ion of any s torage dam or otherwise.

(2) Such construction, maintenance and
operat ion shall be a t the expense of the

Electr ic i ty Commission of New South Wales or other au thor i ty enter ing into any such

agreement .

(3) Such agreement shall contain such te rms and conditions (not inconsistent with any of the provis ions of this Act) as the board may think fit.

(4) Notwi ths tanding any other pro­

vision in this Act or the by-laws a charge may be imposed for any wa te r made available to

such

such h y d r o e l e c t r i c works and such charge may be in such amount as, from time to t ime, the board and the Electr ic i ty Commission of New South Wales or such other au thor i ty may agree upon.

Any fai lure to agree upon such charge shall be a dispute within section one hundred and forty-six of this Act and the provis ions of the said section shall apply, muta t i s mutandis , thereto .

(d) by omitting subsection four of section fifty-five and by inser t ing in lieu thereof the following subsection:—

(4) I t shall not be lawful—

(a) (i) to make any condit ional or other sales unde r the Crown Lands Con­ solidation Act, 1913, as amended by subsequent Acts , of any Crown lands within any catchment a rea other t han Crown lands within a city, town or vi l lage;

(ii)   to make any conditional or other sales under the said Act, as so amended, of any Crown lands within a city, town or village within any catchment area unless the board has approved thereof;

(b) except with the concurrence of the

boa rd and subject to such conditions

as the board may determine—

(i)   to grant any lease, license or permi t under the said Act, as so amended, of any Crown lands within any catchment a r e a ;

(ii)   to convert any lease within any catchment a rea into any other tenure under the said

Act,

Act, as so amended, or to exchange any such lease in

any m a n n e r ;

(iii)   to extend the term of any lease under the said Act, as so amended, within any catch­ ment a rea otherwise t han for such per iod as the holder of such lease has an absolute r igh t under the said Act, as so amended, to have its term extended.

S u b p a r a g r a p h (i) of p a r a g r a p h (b) of this

subsection shall not apply to the g ran t ing of any lease which upon the su r render of an ear l ier lease consequent upon the subdivision of the land is g ran ted or issued for a t e rm not extending beyond the t e rm of the earl ier lease and any fur ther per iod for which the holder thereof had an absolute r ight to have its te rm extended.

The concurrence of the board shall not be given under p a r a g r a p h (b) of this subsection unless the board considers t ha t such concur­ rence may be given without any danger of pollution of the catchment a r ea or the wa te r supply.

(e) by inser t ing next after section fifty-six the

following new sect ion:—

56A. (1) The Governor may by proclamation published in the Gazette declare that , for the purposes of the provis ions of section fifty-six, subsection one of section one hundred and twenty-five ( p a r a g r a p h s (,j) to (ac) inclusive excepted) and any by-laws thereunder , sub­ section two of section one hundred and twenty-five and sections one hundred and thir ty-eight and one hundred and thir ty-nine of this Act, or such of those provisions as

as m a y be specified, in such proclamat ion, the ca tchment a r e a specified in such proc lamat ion shall include lands, no t being lands within a catchment dis t r ic t for the t ime being proclaimed as such unde r section four hund red and one of the Local Government Act, 1919, as amended by subsequent Acts , s i tua ted within the boundar ies defined in such proc lamat ion in lieu of the boundar ies proclaimed under section fifty-five of this Act in respect of such catchment area .

(2) The Governor may, by like proc­ lamation, a t any t ime amend, v a r y or revoke any proclamat ion under this section.

( 3 ) A reference in any of the provis ions

re fer red to in subsection one of th is section and to which any such proc lamat ion re la tes to a catchment a r e a shall in i ts appl icat ion to a pa r t i cu la r catchment a rea be deemed to refer to the lands declared by such proclamat ion to be included in such catchment area .

(f)	by omitting from subsection one of section seventy the words " a t the t ime prescr ibed by the regulat ions , to the T r e a s u r e r " and by inser t ­
ing in lieu thereof the words " t o the T r e a s u r e r

when so required by h i m " ;

(g)	by inserting in subsection six of section seventy-
six af ter the word " s h a l l " the words " b o t h as

r ega rds the issue and any t r ans fe r thereof for

full considerat ion in money or money ' s	w o r t h " ;
(h)	by omitting subsection five of section seventy- nine and by inse r t ing in lieu thereof the follow­ ing subsection:—

(5) In case of the loss, theft, destruct ion, muti la t ion or defacement of any in teres t coupon originally annexed to a debenture and whether separa ted therefrom or not, payment by the board may be made of the in teres t payable in

respect

respect of the coupon without p resen ta t ion of the same upon proof to the sat isfact ion of the boa rd of such loss, theft, or destruct ion, or upon su r r ende r of the mut i la ted or defaced in teres t coupon and upon the board receiving security or indemnity sa t is fac tory to it aga ins t any double payment if the miss ing in teres t coupon be a t any t ime thereaf te r presented for payment .

( i)	(i)	by inserting after paragraph (i) of sub­ section one of section eighty-eight the
following new p a r a g r a p h : —

(ia) land which is a d ra inage reserve vested in the council of any muni­ cipali ty or shire and which has been acquired or is held by it specifically for d ra inage p u r p o s e s ;

(ii)   by inserting next after the same subsection the following new subsect ion:—

(1A) P a r a g r a p h (c) of subsection one of

this section shall not opera te to exempt from ra t ing by the board any land which is within a public reserve or pa rk and upon which any person by v i r tue of a lease license or other au thor i ty from the Crown or the public body or the t rus tees in whom the public reserve or pa rk is vested car r ies on any

t r a d e or business.

( j ) by inser t ing in p a r a g r a p h (b) of section eighty-

nine af ter the word " a n y " the words " c a n a l ,

conduit	o r " ;
(k)	by omitting subsection seven of section ninety- six and by inser t ing in lieu thereof the following subsection:—

( 7 ) In levying any ra t e i t shall be lawful for the board to levy—

(a)	in respect of any ratable land minimum amounts for wa te r ra tes , sewerage rates
and s to rmwate r d ra inage r a t e s ; and (b)

(b) if it thinks fit in respect of occupied lands and unoccupied lands or of any different classes whatever of ra tab le lands , different minimum amounts of any such ra tes .

(l) by omitting subsection three of section one hundred and twelve and by inser t ing in lieu thereof the following subsection:—

(3) (a) Towards defraying the cost and expenses of the audit , the board shall p a y to the T r e a s u r e r by four even quar te r ly payments an amount of one thousand pounds annual ly or such other annual sum as may from time to t ime

be determined by the T rea su re r .

(b) This subsection shall be deemed

to have commenced upon the first day of Ju ly ,

one thousand nine hundred and forty-eight.

(m)	by omitting from section one hundred and
twenty- three the words " T r e a s u r y Insurance
B o a r d " and by inser t ing in lieu thereof the
words " G o v e r n m e n t Insurance Office of New
South W a l e s " ;
(n)	by inserting next after clause eleven of the Fou r th Schedule the following new clause:—
11A. Where land which was ra tab le has become non-ratable the r a t e payable thereon shall be p ropor t iona te to the por t ion of the twelve

months dur ing which the land was ra table and	any amount pa id in excess of such ra te shall
be refunded by the board.

(2) The amendment made by p a r a g r a p h (a) of

subsection one of this section shall be deemed to have commenced upon the first day of Apri l , one thousand nine hundred and fifty-three.

N O X I O U S