Cattle Export Bounty Act 1924

Overview

The Cattle Export Bounty Act 1924 was enacted by the Parliament of Australia to address the need for incentivising the export of live cattle for slaughter, particularly in supporting pastoralists during a specific financial year. The Act was designed to provide a financial incentive, in the form of a bounty, for those involved in the export of cattle, thus promoting the growth of the cattle industry and supporting economic activity related to cattle exports. The primary policy objective of the Act was to encourage the export of cattle by providing a bounty of ten shillings per head to bona fide pastoralists who exported cattle for slaughter or sold them for export during the specified period. The Act also established mechanisms for the payment of the bounty, the enforcement of compliance, and the reporting of bounty payments to Parliament.

Scope and Application

The Cattle Export Bounty Act 1924 applies to individuals who are bona fide pastoralists and who export live cattle for slaughter from the Commonwealth during the specified period, or those who sell such cattle for export. The Act designates the Department of Trade and Customs as the entity responsible for administering the bounty and has a temporal scope from the first day of July 1924 to the thirtieth day of June 1925. The bounty is payable at a rate of Ten shillings per head of cattle and is restricted to exports for slaughter. The Act also allows the Department to request information from claimants to verify eligibility and to withhold bounty payments until satisfactory information is provided. The Act imposes penalties for offences such as obtaining a bounty that is not payable, making false statements, or presenting false documents, with penalties including fines of up to One hundred pounds or imprisonment for twelve months. The Act is subject to regulations made by the Governor-General under the provisions of the Act, which can include penalties for breaches of the regulations.

Key Provisions

The Cattle Export Bounty Act 1924 (sections 1-9) sets out the framework for the payment of a bounty on the export of live cattle for slaughter from Australia between 1 July 1924 and 30 June 1925. Section 4 specifies that the bounty is ten shillings per head. To qualify for the bounty, an individual must prove to the Department of Trade and Customs (referred to as "the Department" in section 2) that they are a bona fide pastoralist and have either exported the cattle themselves or sold them for export for slaughter (section 5). If the cattle were purchased from a bona fide pastoralist, the bounty may be paid to the purchaser instead of the pastoralist, provided the purchase price includes the bounty amount. Before a bounty is paid, the Department may request information regarding the ownership, sale, or export of the cattle and may withhold the bounty until satisfactory information is provided (section 6). Under the Act, certain actions are prohibited to ensure the integrity of the bounty program. Section 7 outlines offences, including obtaining a bounty that one is not entitled to, obtaining a bounty through false or misleading statements, and submitting false documents or statements to officers responsible for the Act. The penalty for these offences is a fine of up to one hundred pounds or imprisonment for up to twelve months. The Act mandates that a return detailing the names of all persons who received a bounty, the amounts paid, and other specified particulars, must be presented to Parliament within thirty days after the end of the financial year or at the next parliamentary session if the Parliament is not sitting (section 8). Additionally, the Governor-General is authorised to make regulations necessary to enforce the Act, including setting penalties for breaches of these regulations that do not exceed fifty pounds or imprisonment for up to three months (section 9).