National Security (Information) Regulations (Cth)

STATUTORY RULES.

1940. No. 137.

––––––

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 seventeenth day of July, 1940.

Governor-General.

By His Excellency’s Command,

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

 

National Security (Information) Regulations.

Citation.

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

Definitions.

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

“the Department” means the Department of Information;

“the Director-General” means the Director-General of Information;

“the Minister” means the Minister of State for Information.

Functions of Departments.

3. The Department shall deal with the following matters:—

(a)The publication of information with respect to the war and the war activities of the Commonwealth;

(b)The organization of bodies, for such purposes as the Minister approves, in the interests of the promotion of Australia’s war effort;

(c) The censorship of matters intended or proposed to be published in newspapers or periodicals or to be broadcast by wireless telegraphy, and of cinematograph films intended or proposed to be exhibited in public; and

(d)Any other matter specified by the Governor-General to be a matter to be dealt with by the Department.

Director-General of Information.

4.—(1.) There shall be a Director-General of Information who shall have such powers as are prescribed by these Regulations.

(2.) The Governor-General may appoint a person to act as Director-General during any illness or absence of the Director-General.

(3.) The Director-General shall not be subject to the Commonwealth Public Service Act 1922-1939.

 

* Notified in the Commonwealth Gazette on , 1940.

3838.—6/7.6.1940.—Price 3d.

Powers of Director-General.

5. Subject to any direction of the Minister, the Director-General shall have the direction and control of the following matters:—

(a) The publication of information with respect to the war and the war activities of the Commonwealth;

(b) The organization of bodies, for such purposes as the Minister approves, in the interests of the promotion of Australia’s war effort;

(c) The censorship of matters intended or proposed to be published in newspapers or periodicals or to be broadcast by wireless telegraphy, and of cinematograph films intended or proposed to be exhibited in public; and

(d) Such other functions as the Minister specifies.

Director-General may require matters to be broadcast.

6.—(1.) Subject to any direction of the Minister, the Director-General may, orally, by telegram or in writing, if he considers it necessary or expedient in the interests of the defence of the Commonwealth or the efficient prosecution of the war so to do, require the Australian Broadcasting Commission or any Broadcasting Station Licensee to broadcast, during a period on such day and between such times as are specified by the Director-General or a person thereto authorized by the Director-General, such matters as are so specified, and the Australian Broadcasting Commission or the Broadcasting Station Licensee, as the case may be, shall broadcast such matters accordingly.

(2.) Where the period, or any portion of the period, occupied in broadcasting matters on any day in accordance with any such requirement made of a Broadcasting Station Licensee is a period or portion of a period which was, prior to the making of the requirement, allotted to any person (in this regulation referred to as “the allottee”) by the Broadcasting Station Licensee, the Licensee may allot to, and that person shall accept, another period of equal value on the same day.

(3.) If the allottee is not satisfied that the period so allotted is of equal value to the period or portion of the period in lieu of which it is allotted, the Director-General or a person thereto authorized by the Director-General shall, on request to the Director-General by the allottee, determine whether the period is or is not of such equal value.

(4.) Where the Director-General or person so authorized determines that the period so allotted is of such equal value the allottee shall accept the period so allotted.

(5.) Where the Director-General or person so authorized determines that the period so allotted is not of such equal value, the allottee may either accept another period allotted by the licensee and approved by the Director-General or the person so authorized to be of such equal value or refuse to accept another period.

(6.) Where another period is allotted in pursuance of sub-regulation (2.) or sub-regulation (5.) of this regulation, the contract or agreement by which the period first-mentioned in sub-regulation (2.) of this regulation was so allotted shall be deemed to be varied accordingly, and no claim shall be brought and no action, suit or other

 

proceeding shall be maintainable in any court in respect of the variation of the contract or agreement by reason only of the allotment of such other period.

(7.) In the event of no allotment of another period being made, or of the allottee refusing, in pursuance of sub-regulation (5.) of this regulation, to accept another period, the contract or agreement referred to in the last preceding sub-regulation shall, to the extent to which the performance thereof could not be completed by reason of compliance with any such requirement, be, by force of this regulation, void and of no effect.

(8.) For the purposes of this regulation, “Broadcasting Station Licensee” means a person holding a Broadcasting Station Licence under the Wireless Telegraphy Regulations, and includes any person for the time being in charge of a Broadcasting Station within the meaning of those Regulations.

Press statements.

7.—(1.) Subject to any direction of the Minister, the Director-General may, orally, by telegram or in writing, if he considers it necessary or expedient in the interests of the defence of the Commonwealth or the efficient prosecution of the war so to do, require the proprietor, editor or publisher of any newspaper or periodical to cause to be published in the newspaper or periodical—

(a)at the option of the Director-General, as a statement or as an advertisement;

(b)in such issue of the newspaper or periodical as the Director-General determines; and

(c) in such part of, or space in, the newspaper or periodical and in such manner and form as the Director-General determines,

any statement or matter supplied to the proprietor, editor or publisher by or on behalf of the Director-General, and the proprietor, editor or publisher, as so required, shall cause the statement or matter to be published accordingly.

(2.) Where the part or portion of the part of, or the space or portion of the space in, the issue of the newspaper or periodical in which any statement or matter is published in accordance with any such requirement, is a part or portion of a part of, or the space or portion of the space in, that issue which was, prior to the making of the requirement, allotted to any person (in this regulation referred to as “the allottee”), the proprietor, editor or publisher of the newspaper or periodical may allot to that person other space in that issue.

(3.) If the allottee is not satisfied that the space so allotted is of equal value tothe space or portion of the space in lieu of which it is allotted, the Director-General or a person thereto authorized by the Director-General shall, on request to the Director-General by the allottee, determine whether the space is or is not of such equal value.

(4.) Where the Director-General or person so authorized determines that the space so allotted is of such equal value the allottee shall accept the space so allotted.

(5.) Where the Director-General or person so authorised determines that the space so allotted is not of such equal value, the allottee may either accept other space allotted by the proprietor, editor or publisher of the newspaper or periodical and approved by the Director-General or the person so authorized to be of such equal value or refuse to accept other space.

(6.) Where other space is allotted in pursuance of sub-regulation (2.) or sub-regulation (5.) of this regulation, the contract or agreement by which the space first-mentioned in sub-regulation (2.) of this regulation was so allotted shall be deemed to be varied accordingly, and no claim shall be brought and no action, suit or other proceeding shall be maintainable in any court in respect of the variation of the contract or agreement by reason only of the allotment of such other space.

(7.) In the event of no allotment of other space being made, or of the allottee refusing, in pursuance of sub-regulation (5.) of this regulation, to accept other space, the contract or agreement referred to in the last preceding sub-regulation shall, to the extent to which the performance thereof could not be completed by reason of compliance with any such requirement, be, by force of this regulation, void and of no effect.

(8.) For the purposes of this regulation, “editor”, in relation to any newspaper or periodical, includes any person for the time being in charge of the editing of the newspaper or periodical.

Cinematograph films.

8.—(1.) Subject to any direction of the Minister, the Director-General may, orally, by telegram or in writing, if he considers it necessary or expedient in the interests of the defence of the Commonwealth or the efficient prosecution of the war so to do, require any cinematograph film exhibitor to exhibit, at the place at which he usually exhibits cinematograph films to the public, on such day and between such times (being days and times on and at which he usually so exhibits) as are specified by the Director-General, or a person thereto authorized by the Director-General, such cinematograph films as are so specified, and the exhibitor shall exhibit such films accordingly.

(2.) Where the Director-General is satisfied that, by reason of compliance with any such requirement, the cinematograph film exhibitor is prevented from exhibiting any cinematograph film which has been supplied to him by any other person for exhibition, and has thereby suffered pecuniary loss, the Director-General may declare that the contract or agreement under which that cinematograph film was supplied shall, to the extent to which it relates to that cinematograph film, be cancelled, and the contract or agreement shall thereupon to that extent be void and of no effect.

(3.) For the purposes of this Regulation, “cinematograph film exhibitor” means a person who carries on the business of exhibiting cinematograph films for gain.

Averments.

9. In any prosecution in respect of any contravention of any of the last three preceding regulations—

(a)the averment of the prosecutor contained in the information or indictment that the Requirement was made of the person accused, shall be prima facie evidence that the request or requirement was so made in accordance with the provisions of these Regulations; and

 

(b)the averment of the prosecutor contained in the information or indictment that the Director-General considered it necessary or expedient in the interests of the defence of the Commonwealth or the efficient prosecution of the war to make the requirement, shall be prima facie evidence that it was so necessary or expedient.

Delegation by Director-General.

10.—(1.) The Director-General may, by writing under his hand, delegate all or any of his powers and functions under these Regulations (except this power of delegation and the power conferred by paragraph (c) of sub-regulation (1.) of regulation 7 of these Regulations) so that the delegated powers and functions may be exercised by the delegate.

(2.) Every delegation under this regulation shall be revocable at will, and no delegation shall prevent the exercise of any power or function by the Director-General.

 

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