EXPLANATORY STATEMENT
STATUTORY RULES 1988 NO. 134
Issued by the Authority of the Minister for Primary
Industries and Energy
AUSTRALIAN MEAT AND LIVE-STOCK CORPORATION ACT 1977
AUSTRALIAN MEAT AND LIVE-STOCK CORPORATION
(ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING OF THE INDUSTRY)
REGULATIONS (AMENDMENT)
Section 52 of the Australian Meat and Live-stock Corporation Act 1977 (the Act) provides that the Governor-General may make regulations, not inconsistent with the Act, prescribing all matters required or permitted by the Act to be prescribed.
At the present time, voting entitlements at the Annual General Meeting of the industry are based upon registers of shareholders compiled by the Australian Meat and Live-stock Corporation (AMLC) prior to each AGM.
These registers are used by the AMLC and the Australian Meat and Live-stock Research and Development Corporation to determine entitlement to vote at AGMs convened by each of these Corporations.
The proposed changes implement arrangements whereby the registers are recompiled every three years, instead of annually.
The existing system involving annual re-registration by producers and processors/exporters results in unnecessary inconvenience and expense to both registered voters and the AMLC.
The new arrangements will provide:
- for updating of shareholders’ registers every three years instead of every year as at present
- for shareholders to have their names entered on the appropriate register at any time (except the period between the closing of the register and the AGM)
- for existing shareholders who acquire additional livestock to have their voting entitlement adjusted at any time (up to the closing of the registers)
- for consequential amendments to certain forms prescribed in the regulations
- the adoption of triennial registration has the support of the AMLC and AMLRDC as well as major producer organisations.