PINE CREEK TO KATHERINE RIVER RAILWAY.
No. 21 of 1913.
An
Act to provide for the Construction of a Railway in. the Northern Territory
from Pine Creek to the Katherine River, the Appointment of Officers, the Making
of Charges, and the Appropriation of Money in connexion with such Railway.
[Assented to 19th December, 1913.]
BE
it enacted by the King’s Most Excellent Majesty, the Senate, and the House of
Representatives of the Commonwealth of Australia, as follows:—
Short title.
1.This Act may
be cited as the Pine Creek to Katherine River Railway Act 1913.
Definitions.
2. In this Act, unless the contrary intention
appears—
“the
Minister” means the Minister of State for External Affairs;
“the
Railway” means the Railway authorized by this Act.
Power to construct the Railway.
3.The Minister may, subject to this Act, construct a Railway
in the Northern Territory from Pine Creek to the Katherine River.
Route of the Railway.
4.The route of the Railway shall be as surveyed and marked on
the ground, but the Minister may make such deviations as are reasonable for the
better construction and working of the Railway.
Gauge of line.
5.The gauge of the Railway shall be three feet six inches, but
provision shall be made in the construction of the permanent way and works for
subsequent alteration to a gauge of not less than four feet eight and one half
inches.
Railway need not be fenced.
6. The
Minister shall not be required to fence any portion of the Railway, but he may
erect; and maintain such fences in connexion therewith as he thinks proper.
Engines to be used.
7.The Minister may utilize in the construction and working of
the Railway line engines worked by steam or other mechanical power.
Provision for incidental matters.
8. The
Minister may provide all things necessary or convenient for the efficient
construction and working of the Railway.
Incidental buildings and works.
9.The Minister may erect or make all such stations, buildings,
approaches, bridges, culverts, apparatus, dams, tanks, plant, works,
conveniences, and structures as he considers necessary or desirable in
connexion with the efficient construction and working of the Railway.
Special powers in connexion with
construction.
10.—(1.) For the purposes of the construction of the
Railway all the powers and authorities of the Commissioner of Railways under
the Railway Clauses Act 1876 of the State of South Australia, or of any
Act amending the same, shall, in relation to the Northern Territory, be vested
in and exercisable by the Minister.
(2.) The Minister may, by writing under his hand,
delegate any of the powers and authorities vested in him by sub-section (1.) of
this section.
(3.) Every delegation under this section shall be
revocable in writing at will, and no delegation shall prevent the exercise of
any power or authority by the Minister.
By-laws.
11.—(1.) The Minister may make by-laws for the
regulation, government, protection, and working of the Railway.
(2.) All by-laws made in pursuance of this section
shall be deemed to be regulations within the meaning of section ten of the Acts
Interpretation Act 1904.
Use of railway before it is open for
traffic.
12.The Minister may permit any part of the Railway to be used
for the carriage of passengers and goods before it has been declared open for
traffic, but in that case all passengers shall be carried at their own risk and
all goods shall be carried at the risk of the owners thereof, and the Minister
shall incur no responsibility for any injury or damage to any such passengers
or goods.
Fares and rates.
13.—(1.) The Minister may charge or in the case of a
contractor operating any portion of the line before it has been declared open
for traffic may permit the charging of such fares and rates for the carriage of
passengers and goods on the Railway and make such incidental charges in
connexion with the Railway as he thinks reasonable.
(2.) All schedules of
fares and rates made by the Minister shall be laid before the Senate and the
House of Representatives within thirty days after the making thereof if the
Parliament is then sitting, and, if the Parliament is not then sitting, within
thirty days after the next meeting of the Parliament.
Appointment of officers.
14.The Minister may appoint, for any period not extending six
months beyond the date on which the line shall be declared open for traffic,
all such officers as he thinks necessary for the purposes of the construction
or working of the Railway, and may authorize the employment of any persons for
those purposes.
Wages and conditions of employment.
15.—(1.)In any contract relating to the
construction of the Railway provision shall be made for the payment by the
contractor of not less than the prescribed minimum rates of wages and for the
observance of the prescribed conditions of employment and also for the recovery
of penalties for non-payment of the prescribed rates of wages or for
non-compliance with the prescribed conditions of employment.
(2.) The minimum rates of wages and the conditions
of employment shall be prescribed by the Minister and shall be set forth in a
schedule to the contract.
Receipts to go to Consolidated
Revenue Fund.
16.All moneys received in respect of the Railway shall be paid
to and form part of the Consolidated Revenue Fund of the Commonwealth.
Appropriation of moneys.
17.All moneys necessary for the payment of the cost of
construction of the Railway up to and including the time of the opening of the
Railway for traffic shall be payable out of the Consolidated Revenue Fund or
out of any moneys standing to the credit of the Loan Fund, according to
appropriations made by Parliament for that purpose.