STATUTORY
RULES
1942. No. 33.
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 twenty-ninth day of January,
1942.
GOWRIE
Governor-General.
By His Excellency’s Command,
W. J. SCULLY
for and on behalf of the Minister of State
for Defence Co-ordination.
National Security (Field Peas Acquisition) Regulations.
Citation.
1. These Regulations may be cited as the National Security
(Field Peas Acquisition) Regulations.
Administration.
2. These Regulations shall be administered by the
Minister of State for Commerce.
Definitions.
3. In these Regulations, unless the contrary intention
appears—
“field peas”
means the mature dried seeds of the field pea plant (Pisum arvense);
“licensed
receiver” means a person licensed by the Board under these Regulations to
receive field peas on behalf of the Commonwealth;
“the Board”
means the Field Peas Board constituted by these Regulations.
Field Peas Board.
4.—(1.) For the purposes of these Regulations there
shall be a Field Peas Board.
(2.) The
Board shall consist of—
(a) one
person representing the Commonwealth Government;
(b) two persons representing growers of field peas; and
(c) one
person representing merchants of field peas,
* Notified in
the Commonwealth Gazette on 29th January, 1942.
481.—Price 3d.
who shall be appointed by the Minister by notice
published in the Gazette and
who shall hold office during the pleasure of the Minister.
(3.) The
person appointed to represent the Commonwealth Government shall be the Chairman
of the Board.
(4.) In the
absence of the Chairman of the Board, the members present at any meeting may
choose one of their number to be the Chairman of that meeting.
Incorporation of Board.
5. The Board shall be a body corporate, with perpetual
succession and a common seal.
Deputies of members.
6.—(1.) The Minister may, in respect of each member of
the Board, appoint a person representative of the same interests as that member
to be the deputy of that member.
(2.) Any
person so appointed shall, in the event of the illness or absence of the member
of whom he is the deputy, have all the powers of that member during his illness
or absence, and any reference in these Regulations to a member of the Board
shall be deemed to include a reference to the deputy of a member.
(3.) Any such
appointment of a deputy, and any acts done by him as such, shall not, in any
proceedings, be questioned on the ground that the occasion for his appointment
or for the exercise of his powers had not arisen or had ceased.
Meetings of the Board.
7.—(1.) Meetings of the Board shall be held at such
times and places as the Board from time to time determines.
(2.) The
Chairman of the Board, or any two members thereof, may at any time call a
special meeting of the Board.
(3.) At all
meetings of the Board three members shall form a quorum.
(4.) At all
meetings of the Board the Chairman shall have a deliberative vote and, in the
event of an equality of voting, also a casting vote.
(5.) All
questions before the Board shall be decided by a majority of votes.
(6.) The
Board shall keep a record of its proceedings.
Indemnity.
8. A member of the Board shall not be personally liable
for any act of the Board or for any act done by him as a member of the Board.
Fees and expenses.
9. There shall be payable to any member of the Board
such salaries, fees and expenses as the Governor-General directs.
Appointment of officers.
10. —(1.) The Board may appoint such officers as are
necessary to assist the Board 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 and shall hold office during the pleasure of the Board.
(3.) Where an
officer appointed in pursuance of this regulation was, immediately prior to his
appointment, an officer of the Public Service of the Commonwealth, his service
as an officer of the 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, and the Officers’ Rights Declaration Act 1922-1940
shall apply as if this regulation and these Regulations were a section and an
Act specified in the Schedule to that Act.
Licensed receivers.
11.—(1.) The Board may licence, subject to such
conditions as are specified in the licence, any person, firm, company or State authority
to receive field peas on behalf of the Commonwealth, 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, and for any expenses properly
incurred by him, such fees as are provided in the licence, or as the Minister
determines.
Acquisition of field peas.
12. The Minister may, from time to time, by order
published in the Gazette,make
provision for the acquisition by the Commonwealth of any field peas described
in the order, whether by reference to any contingency or otherwise, and those
field peas shall, by force of and in accordance with the provisions of the
order, become the absolute property of the Commonwealth, freed from all
mortgages, charges, liens, pledges, interests and trusts affecting those field
peas, and the rights and interests of every person in those field peas
(including any rights or interests arising in respect of any moneys advanced in
respect of the field peas) shall thereupon be converted into claims for compensation.
Returns.
13. Any person having any field peas acquired by the
Commonwealth in his possession, control or disposal on the date of the
acquisition of those field peas by the Commonwealth shall, within ten days of
that acquisition, notify the Board that he has those field peas in his
possession, control or disposal.
Delivery of field peas.
14.—(1.) Any person having in his possession, control or
disposal any field peas acquired by the Commonwealth, shall, on receipt of a
notice in writing from the Board requiring him to deliver or consign those
field peas to the Board, a licensed receiver, or any other person or place,
specified in the notice, deliver or consign, as the case may be, those field
peas accordingly within the time and in the manner specified in
the notice.
(2.) A notice
under the last preceding sub-regulation may be served on any person
notwithstanding that the field peas have not been acquired by the Commonwealth,
or have not, when the notice is served, come into the possession, control or
disposal of the person on whom the notice is served, in which case the notice
shall take effect as from the date when the field peas are so acquired or come
into the possession, control or disposal of that person, as the case may be.
No person to deliver field
peas except as provided.
15. Except as provided in the last preceding regulation,
or with the consent of the Board, a person shall not—
(a) part
with the possession of any field peas acquired by the Commonwealth which are
held in his possession;
(b) take
into his possession any field peas which are the property of the Commonwealth;
or
(c) purport
to sell or to offer for sale, or purport to buy or to offer to buy, except from
the Commonwealth, any field peas which are the property of the Commonwealth.
Licensed receiver to hold
field peas.
16. A licensed receiver shall hold all field peas
acquired by the Commonwealth, which are at any time in his possession, on
behalf of the Commonwealth, and shall not part with the possession of any such
field peas except in accordance with instructions from the Board.
Compensation.
17.—(1.) Upon delivery or consignment of any field peas
in accordance with regulation 14 of these Regulations, every person having any
right or interest in those field peas may forward to the Board a claim for
compensation, and shall be entitled to be paid such amount of compensation as
the Minister, on the recommendation of the Board, determines.
(2.) It shall
not be necessary for the Minister to make a determination in pursuance of
sub-regulation (1.) of this regulation until, in his opinion, a sufficient
quantity of any field peas acquired by the Commonwealth has been disposed of to
enable the Board to make a just recommendation, but the Minister may, in his
absolute discretion, make any payment on account of any claim notwithstanding
that no determination in respect of that claim has been made.
(3.) Neither
the Commonwealth nor the Board shall be bound to recognize any assignment of
any amount of compensation payable under this regulation, and any payment in
respect of compensation made by or on behalf of the Commonwealth to the person
in respect of whose right or interest in the field peas the claim for
compensation arose shall be a good and sufficient discharge of the
Commonwealth’s liability in respect of that claim.
Contracts for sale of field
peas.
18.—(1.) Every contract relating to the sale of any field
peas acquired by the Commonwealth, entered into before the acquisition of those
field peas, is hereby declared to be void and of no effect insofar as: that
contract has not been completed by delivery.
(2.) Any
transaction or contract with respect to any field peas which are the subject
matter of any contract or part of a contract which is hereby declared to be
void shall also be void and of no effect, and any money paid in respect of any
contract hereby made void or of any such transaction shall be repaid.
(3.) No action for the enforcement or for damages for
breach of any contract of the kind specified
in sub-regulation (1.) or (2.) of this regulation, whether the contract was
entered into or is to be performed in Australia or elsewhere, shall, insofar as
that contract has not been completed prior to the acquisition of the field
peas, be brought in any Federal or State Court or Court of a Territory under
the authority of the Commonwealth.
Power to enter and search for
field peas.
19. Any constable authorized so to do by the Board may,
at any time in the day or night, enter and search any premises, vessel or
vehicle, or part thereof, where any field peas acquired by the Commonwealth are
or are suspected to be and, if necessary for that purpose, may break into and
use force to enter such premises, vessel, vehicle or part.
Inspection of stocks, books,
&c.
20. For the purposes of these Regulations any person
thereto authorized by the Board may, at all reasonable times, enter any
premises and inspect any stocks of field peas and any accounts, books and
documents relating to any field peas.
Proper care of field, peas to
be taken.
21. Any person having any field peas the property of the Commonwealth
in his possession or under his care shall exercise proper care and take all
proper and reasonable precautions and do all things necessary to preserve and
safeguard those field peas and to keep them free from any damage or
deterioration whatsoever.
Powers of Board.
22. On behalf of the Commonwealth, and subject to any
directions of the Minister, the Board may—
(a) purchase
any field peas;
(b) sell
or dispose of any field peas acquired or purchased by the Commonwealth or the
Board;
(c) manage
and control all matters connected with the handling, storage, protection,
treatment, transfer or shipment of any field peas acquired, sold or disposed of
by the Commonwealth or by the Board; and
(d) do
all matters which it is required by these Regulations to do or which are
necessary or convenient for giving effect to these Regulations.
Finance.
23.—(1.) The Board shall open and maintain an account
with the Commonwealth Bank of Australia into which it shall pay all moneys
received in respect of sales of field peas or otherwise, and any moneys
appropriated by the Parliament or borrowed by the Minister for use by the Board
on behalf of the Commonwealth.
(2.) Out of
the moneys standing to the credit of the account the Board shall defray all
costs and expenses of administering these Regulations and make all payments in
respect of compensation and any other payments authorized to be made by these
Regulations.
(3.) The
accounts of the Board shall be subject to audit by the Auditor-General.
Arrangements with Commonwealth
Bank for advances.
24. The Minister may arrange with the Commonwealth Bank
of Australia for the making by that Bank of advances to the Commonwealth for
use on its behalf by the Board for the purposes of these Regulations, and may
guarantee to that Bank repayment, out of moneys lawfully made available by the
Parliament, of any advance made by the Bank in pursuance of the arrangement.
Averment of prosecution.
25. In any prosecution arising out of these Regulations,
the averment of the prosecution that, at the date on which the offence is
alleged to have been committed, any field peas had been acquired by and were
the property of the Commonwealth, shall be prima
facie evidence of the matters so averred.
Receipt of notice sent by
post.
26. Where any notice is, for the purposes of these
Regulations, sent to any person by prepaid letter post, that person shall,
unless the contrary is proved, be deemed to have received that notice at the
time when, in the ordinary course of the post, it would have arrived at the
place to which it was addressed.
By Authority: L. F. Johnston, Commonwealth
Government Printer, Canberra.
481.—2