National Security (Copra Control) Regulations (Cth)

STATUTORY RULES.

1941. No. 133.

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REGULATIONS UNDER THE NATIONAL SECURITY ACT 1939-1940.*

I, THE GOVERNOR-GENERAL in and over the Commonwealth of Australia, acting with the advice of the Federal Executive Council, hereby make the following Regulations under the National Security Act 1939-1940.

Dated this Eleventh day of June, 1941.

Governor-General.

By His Excellency’s Command,

for and on behalf of the Minister of State for Defence Co-ordination.

 

National Security (Copra Control) Regulations.

Citation.

1. These Regulations may be cited as the National Security (Copra Control) Regulations.

Administration.

2. These Regulations shall be administered by the Prime Minister.

Commencement.

3. These Regulations shall come into operation on a date to be fixed by the Minister by notice published in the Commonwealth of Australia Gazette.

Definitions.

4. In these Regulations, unless the contrary intention appears—

“Board” means a Copra Control Board constituted under these Regulations;

“Gazette” when used in relation to the Territory of Papua means the Government Gazette of the Territory of Papua, and when used in relation to the Mandated Territory of New Guinea means the New Guinea Gazette;

“licensed receiver” means a person, firm, company or authority licensed by a Board under these Regulations to receive copra;

 

* Notified in the Commonwealth Gazette on  , 1941.

2436.—18/4.6.1941.—Price 5d.

“storage facilities” means any portion of any building, shed, or any other structure whatsoever in which, in the opinion of a Board, copra might be stored, and includes any plant, equipment or machinery which is in or adjacent to any building, shed or any other structure, and which is used or might conveniently be used in connexion with the loading, unloading, storage or preservation of copra;

“the Marketing Board” means—

(a) if the Commonwealth enters into an agreement with any other Government relating to the marketing of copra and provides for the establishment of a Copra Marketing Board—that Copra Marketing Board;

(b)unless and until the Commonwealth enters into such an agreement—any Copra Marketing Board or Authority constituted by order under regulation 5 of these Regulations.

Copra Marketing Board.

5. The Minister may, by order published in the Commonwealth of Australia Gazette, establish any Board, Committee or Authority for the purpose of marketing copra produced in the Territory of Papua and the Mandated Territory of New Guinea and may confer on such Board, Committee or Authority such powers and functions as he thinks fit.

Copra Control Boards.

6.—(1.) For the purpose of these Regulations there shall be a Copra Control Board for the Territory of Papua and a Copra Control Board for the Mandated Territory of New Guinea.

(2.) Each Board shall consist of three persons appointed by the Minister by notice published in the Gazette of the Territory for which the Board is appointed and who shall hold office during the pleasure of the Minister.

(3.) The Minister may appoint one of the members of each Board to be the Chairman.

(4.) In the absence of the Chairman of a Board the members present at any meeting may elect one of their number to be the Chairman of that meeting.

(5.) At all meetings of a Board—

(a) two members shall form a quorum;

(b) all questions before the Board shall be decided by a majority of votes;

(c) the Chairman shall have a deliberative vote only; and

(d)in the case of an equality of votes, the question shall be postponed until a meeting at which all members of the Board are present.

Deputy of members.

7.—(1.) The Minister may appoint a person to be a deputy member of the Board.

(2.) Any person so appointed shall, in the event of the illness or absence of any member of the Board, have all the powers of that member during his illness or absence.

(3.) No appointment of a deputy member and no acts done by him as such shall, in any proceedings, be questioned on the ground that the need for his appointment had not arisen or had ceased.

Incorporation.

8. Each Copra Control Board shall be a body corporate with perpetual succession and a common seal.

Indemnity.

9. A member of a Copra Control Board shall not be personally liable for any act of the Copra Control Board, or of any member acting on behalf of the Copra Control Board.

Appointment of officers.

10.—(1.) A Board may appoint such officers as are necessary to assist it in carrying out its functions under these Regulations.

(2.) Officers appointed in pursuance of these Regulations shall not be subject to the Commonwealth Public Service Act 1922-1941, the Public Service Ordinance of 1907 of the Territory of Papua or the Public Service Ordinance 1922-1940 of the Territory of New Guinea, and shall hold office during the pleasure of the Board.

(3.) Where an officer appointed by a Board in pursuance of this regulation, was, immediately prior to his appointment, an officer of the Public Service of the Commonwealth or of the Public Service of the Territory of Papua or the Mandated Territory of New Guinea, his service as an officer of a Board shall, for the purpose of determining his existing and accruing rights, be taken into account as if it were service in the Public Service of the Commonwealth or of the Territory of Papua or of the Mandated Territory of New Guinea, as the case may be, and, in the case of an officer of the Public Service of the Commonwealth, the Officers’ Rights Declaration Act 1928-1940 shall apply as if this regulation and these Regulations were respectively a section and an Act specified in the Schedule to that Act.

(4.) The salaries and allowances of officers appointed in pursuance of this regulation shall be as directed by the Minister.

Licensed receivers.

11.—(1.) A Board may license, subject to such conditions as are specified in the licence, any person, firm, company or authority to receive copra on its behalf, and may cancel or suspend any such licence.

(2.) There shall be payable to any licensed receiver as remuneration for his services and for any facilities made available by him for the storage, protection, treatment, handling, transfer and shipment of copra, and for any expenses properly incurred by him, such amounts as a Board, subject to any direction by the Minister, directs.

Returns.

12. A Board may, from time to time, by notice in writing addressed to any person, require that person, or, by notice published in a Gazette, require such persons or members of such class of persons as are specified in the notice, to forward to the Board a return, in such form (if any) as is specified in the notice, setting forth such particulars as are specified in the notice concerning—

(a) any copra which is or has been in the possession, control or disposal of any such person or member of any such class of persons;

(b) any copra which any such person or member expects to produce;

(c) the costs and expenses involved in the production of copra by any such person or member;

(d)the methods and arrangements whereby any such person or member is accustomed to obtain the use, control or delivery of all supplies and services essential to the production of any copra or to the maintenance of that person or member and his wife, children, employees, and native labourers, or any of them;

(e) any contract to which any such person or member is a party relating to the sale or disposal of any copra purchased by the Board which has not been completed by delivery;

(f) the extent to which any such person or member is dependent on the production or marketing of products other than copra; and

(g)any other matters appertaining to the economic structure of the copra industry of the Territory of Papua or the Mandated Territory of New Guinea,

and any such person or member of any such class of persons so required shall furnish a true and correct return accordingly.

Control of copra production.

13. A Board may make investigations and, where it thinks fit, recommendations to the Minister, with a view to restricting the production of copra.

Restriction of export and sale of copra.

14. After the commencement of these Regulations—

(a) a person, other than a Board or the Marketing Board, shall not export any copra from the Territory of Papua or the Mandated Territory of New Guinea;

(b)a Board shall not export any copra from the Territory of Papua or the Mandated Territory of New Guinea except to or in pursuance of a direction from the Marketing Board; and

(c) a person (not being a Board or the Marketing Board, or a person who is a native as defined in section 4 of the Ordinances Interpretation Ordinance 1934-1935, of the Mandated Territory of New Guinea) shall not, without the consent of a Board, sell or dispose of any interest, whether present, future or contingent, in copra produced or purchased by him in the Territory of Papua or the Mandated Territory of New Guinea, to any person other than a Board.

Delivery of copra to Board.

15.—(1.) Any person being the owner of any copra or having the control and disposal of any copra, may submit that copra—

(a) to a Board or a licensed receiver at any place declared by a Board to be an acceptance point for the purposes of these Regulations; or

(b) to a licensed receiver at such other places as the Board determines.

(2.) If the Board is satisfied that the copra is fit for export and that there has been no contravention of any law of the Territory of Papua or the Mandated Territory of New Guinea, as the case may be, relating to copra, it may, in its discretion, and subject to the provisions of these Regulations, purchase any copra so submitted.

Price to be paid by Board.

16. The price to be paid by a Board in respect of copra purchased by it shall be—

(a) during the period of six months immediately following the date of the commencement of these Regulations—

(i) for hot air-dried copra—Four pounds ten shillings per long ton;

(ii) for plantation sun-dried copra—Four pounds seven shillings and six pence per long ton; and

(iii) for smoke-dried copra—Four pounds per long ton; and

(b)during each period of six months thereafter—such price as the Minister, by notice published in the it Commonwealth of Australia Gazette, directs in respect of that period.

Deductions from purchase price.

17. Notwithstanding anything contained in the last preceding regulation, from the purchase price payable by it for copra, a Board may make deductions on account of

(a) advances made under regulation 21 of these Regulations;

(b)any overpayment made under the last preceding or the next succeeding regulation; and

(c) any amount which a Resident Magistrate of the Territory of Papua or a District Officer of the Mandated Territory of New Guinea certifies is payable by the person from whom the copra is purchased to the Administration of that Territory or Mandated Territory, as the case may be, in respect of any expense incurred by that Administration after the commencement of these Regulations on behalf of that person for wages, goods, maintenance, medical treatment, or any other matter or purpose, in respect of a native labourer, and any amount so deducted shall be paid by the Board to the Administration by whom the expense was incurred.

Freight and other charges.

18. In respect of any copra purchased by a Board the Board shall pay such freight, handling and other charges, which—

(a) are incurred after the commencement of these Regulations in the conveyance of the copra from the place of production to a place declared by a Board to be an acceptance point for the purposes of these Regulations; and

(b) accrue after the copra has been loaded on a vessel or vehicle at the place of production,

as are in accordance with any scale of charges determined from time to time by the Board or, if no such scale has been determined, as the Board thinks reasonable.

Boards to transfer copra to Marketing Board.

19.—(1.) Whenever so requested by the Marketing Board, a Board shall transfer to the Marketing Board, or to such other person as the Marketing Board directs, the ownership of such copra purchased by it as is specified by the Marketing Board.

(2.) All such transfers of ownership shall be effected without payment of any consideration by the Marketing Board other than a right of the Board to share in the distribution of the proceeds of sales made by the Marketing Board.

(3.) The Marketing Board, or the other person directed by the Marketing Board, as the case may be, is hereby indemnified against any loss which may arise from any claim by any person to any right or interest in any copra so transferred.

Distribution of profits by Boards.

20. If at any time a Board is satisfied that it holds any moneys which, after taking into account all the costs and expenses of administering these Regulations, other than payments made by the Board in pursuance of regulation 18 of these Regulations, represent a profit resulting from its transactions under these Regulations, the Board may distribute those moneys, or any part thereof, amongst such producers of copra, and in such proportion, as it thinks fit.

Advances on copra not purchased.

21.—(1.) A Board may, upon such conditions as it thinks fit, with respect to copra which is held at the place of production, make such advances, not exceeding Four pounds per long ton and Three hundred pounds in the aggregate to any one person, as it thinks fit.

(2.) A person to whom any such advance has been made shall hold the copra in respect of which the advance was made on behalf of the Board, and shall not part with the possession of that copra except to a Board or to a licensed receiver, and, while the copra is held by him, shall exercise proper care and take all reasonable precautions and do all things necessary to preserve and safeguard the copra and to keep it free from any damage or deterioration.

Loans.

22.—(1.) Subject to any direction by the Minister, a Board may, from time to time, and on such security and subject to such conditions as it thinks sufficient, where it is of opinion that a person other than a company will have a reasonable prospect of continuing and successfully carrying on his occupation of growing coco-nuts if granted assistance, advance any moneys to that person:

Provided that no such advance shall be made in respect of any areas planted with coco-nut palms after the date of the commencement of these Regulations.

(2.) Any advance made in pursuance of this regulation—

(a) shall bear interest at the rate of Four pounds per centum per annum; and

(b)shall be a debt due to the Crown and shall, notwithstanding any law to the contrary, be a first charge upon the real and personal property of the person to whom the advance was made.

(3.) A Board may, by notice in writing, require any person applying for a loan under this regulation to forward to it a return containing such information as is specified in the notice, and any person so required shall, within the time and in the manner specified in the notice, forward a true and correct return accordingly.

(4.) Any advance made on behalf of the Commonwealth by the Administration of the Territory of Papua or the Mandated Territory of New Guinea since the first day of July, One thousand nine hundred and forty to any grower of coco-nuts shall, as from the date of the commencement of these Regulations, be deemed to have been made in accordance with this regulation.

(5.) For the purpose of the last preceding sub-regulation, the word “advance” (without limiting its ordinary meaning) shall be deemed to include any payments made by the Administration of the Territory of Papua or the Mandated Territory of New Guinea in respect of the supply of stores and services, the wages of native labourers, or any other matters connected with the activities of a grower of coco-nuts, and any amounts owing by any person to such Administration in respect of fees payable since the first day of July, One thousand nine hundred and forty under any law of the Territory of Papua or the Mandated Territory of New Guinea, as the case may be.

Suspension of certain provisions of contracts.

23. Any covenant, clause, provision, term or condition of any agreement, whether under seal or otherwise, whereby a party to the agreement agrees to sell or deliver to any other party to the agreement any copra the produce of land owned or occupied by him, or under his control, or any copra to be purchased by him from natives, is hereby suspended and shall have no force or effect while these Regulations are in force.

Inspection of stocks, books, &c.

24. For the purposes of these Regulations, any person thereto authorized in writing by a Board may, at all reasonable times, enter any premises and inspect any stocks of copra and any accounts, books, documents or writings relating to any copra or relating to any transaction between any person and the Board.

Requisition of storage facilities.

25.—(1.) For the purpose of storing any copra, the Board may, by notice served upon any person, who is the owner or has the use or control of any storage facilities, require that person to make the storage facilities or any portion thereof available to the Board for the storage of copra.

(2.) Any person, on whom a notice is served under the last preceding sub-regulation, shall, within such time as is specified in the notice, make the storage facilities or portion thereof, as the case may be, available accordingly.

(3.) There shall be payable to any person who makes any storage facilities available in pursuance of this regulation, such compensation as is agreed to by the Board and that person or, failing agreement, as the Minister directs.

Powers of Board.

26.—(1.) A Board—

(a) may, in the Territory of Papua or the Mandated Territory of New Guinea, as the case may be, sell any copra purchased by it;

(b)may manage and control all matters connected with the handling, storage, protection, treatment, transfer or shipment of any copra submitted to it under these Regulations, or purchased by it;

(c) where it has chartered any ship for the carriage of copra, may carry any other commodity or material at such rates of freight as it determines;

(d)shall do all things necessary to assist the Marketing Board in the marketing of copra;

(e)shall furnish to the Marketing Board such particulars in relation to copra as the Marketing Board requires;

(f) shall do all things necessary to secure any advance made under these Regulations and to manage and control any security, given in respect of any advance, which may become the property of the Commonwealth or of the Board; and

(g)may do all matters which it is required by these Regulations to do or which are necessary or convenient to do to give effect to these Regulations.

(2.) A Board shall exercise all its powers under these Regulations subject to any direction of the Minister.

Finance.

27.—(1.) Each Board shall open and maintain an account at the Commonwealth Bank of Australia, or at such other Bank as the Minister directs, into which it shall pay all moneys received in respect of the sale or disposal of any copra or otherwise, and any moneys appropriated by the Parliament or borrowed by the Minister for use by the Board.

(2.) Out of the moneys standing to the credit of the account a Board shall defray all costs and expenses of administering these Regulations and make all payments authorized to be made by these Regulations.

(3.) The accounts of a Board shall be subject to audit by the Auditor-General.

Arrangements with Commonwealth Bank for advances.

28.—The Minister may arrange with the Commonwealth Bank of Australia for the making by that Bank of advances to the Commonwealth for use by a Board for the purposes of these Regulations, and may guarantee to that Bank the repayment, out of moneys lawfully made available by the Parliament, of any advance made by the Bank in pursuance of any such arrangement.

 

By Authority: L.F. Johnston, Commonwealth Government Printer, Canberra.