STATUTORY RULES.
1942. No. 176.
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 fifteenth
day of April , 1942.
Governor-General.
By His Excellency’s Command,
for and on behalf of the Minister of State
for Defence.
National Security (Vegetable Seeds) Regulations.
Citation.
1. These Regulations may be cited as the National Security (Vegetable Seeds) Regulations.
Administration.
2. These Regulations shall be administered by the Minister of State for Commerce.
Objects.
3. The objects of these Regulations are to secure, as far as possible, an adequate supply of vegetable seeds in Australia during the present war, and to ensure the trueness to type and satisfactory purity and germination of those seeds.
Definitions.
4. In these Regulations, unless the contrary intention appears—
“prescribed vegetable” means any vegetable which the Committee, by order published in the Gazette, declares to be a prescribed vegetable for the purposes of these Regulations;
“the Committee” means the Vegetable Seeds Committee constituted by these Regulations;
“vegetable” means any herbaceous plant (other than a cereal) of a kind which, or any part of which, is ordinarily used for human consumption;
“vegetable seed” means any seed which is capable of producing a prescribed vegetable.
Vegetable Seeds Committee.
5.—(1.) For the purposes of these Regulations there shall be a Vegetable Seeds Committee.
(2.) The Committee shall consist of—
(a) two persons representing the Commonwealth Government, one of whom shall be an officer of the Department of Supply and Development;
* Notified in the Commonwealth Gazette on , 1942.
2066.—Price 3d. 25/13.4.1942.
(b) two persons representing that body which is commonly known as the Standing Committee on Agriculture;
(c) two persons representing growers of vegetable seeds; and
(d) two persons representing merchants of vegetable seeds, 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 who is not the officer of the Department of Supply and Development shall be the Chairman of the Committee.
(4.) In the absence of the Chairman of the Committee, the members present at any meeting may choose one of their number to be the Chairman of that meeting.
Meetings of the Committee.
6.—(1.) Meetings of the Committee shall be held at such times and places as the Committee from time to time determines.
(2.) The Chairman of the Committee, or any three members thereof, may at any time call a special meeting of the Committee.
(3.) At all meetings of the Committee five members shall form a quorum.
(4.) At all meetings of the Committee, the Chairman shall have a deliberative vote, and in the case of an equality of votes, shall also have a casting vote.
(5.) All questions before the Committee shall be decided by a majority of votes.
(6.) The Committee shall keep a record of its proceedings.
Deputies of members.
7.—(1.) The Minister may, in respect of each member of the Committee, 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 Committee 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.
Fees and expenses.
8. There shall be payable to any member of the Committee such salary, fees and expenses as the Governor-General directs.
Incorporation of Committee.
9. The Committee shall be a body corporate, with perpetual succession and a common seal.
The Executive Officer.
10.—(1.) There shall be an Executive Officer who shall be appointed by the Minister on such terms and conditions as the Minister determines.
(2.) The Executive Officer shall be entitled to attend all meetings of the Committee and to take part in the discussions at any such meeting, but shall not have the right to vote on any question before any such meeting.
(3.) The Executive Officer shall perform such duties as are determined by the Committee and shall be responsible for the carrying out of the decisions of the Committee.
Indemnity.
11. A member of the Committee shall not be personally liable for any act of the Committee or for any act done by him as a member of the Committee.
Appointment of officers.
12.—(1.) The Committee may appoint such officers, other than the Executive Officer, as are necessary to assist the Committee in carrying out its functions under these Regulations.
(2.) Officers appointed in pursuance of this regulation shall not be subject to the Commonwealth Public Service Act 1922–1941, and shall hold office during the pleasure of the Committee.
(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 Committee 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.
Delegation of powers.
13.—(1.) The Committee may, in relation to any matters or class of matters, or in relation to any particular State or part of the Commonwealth, by writing under its seal, delegate such of its powers and functions under these Regulations (other than this power of delegation) as it thinks fit, so that the delegated powers or functions may be exercised by the delegate with respect to the matters or class of matters or the State or part of the Commonwealth specified in the instrument of delegation.
(2.) Where under these Regulations the exercise of any power or function by the Committee is dependent upon the opinion, belief or state of mind of the Committee in relation to any matter, that power or function may be exercised by the delegate upon the opinion, belief or state of mind of that delegate.
(3.) Every such delegation shall be revocable at will, and no such delegation shall prevent the exercise of any power or function by the Committee.
Registration of growers.
14.—(1.) Any person who engages, or who is about to engage, in the production of vegetable seeds may, in such form and manner as the Committee requires, at any time before sowing the crop from which those seeds are to be produced (or, where the Committee, in special cases, permits, after sowing but during the growth of the crop) apply to the Committee to be registered as a vegetable seed grower in respect of that crop.
(2.) The Committee may, in its absolute discretion, register any such person as a vegetable seed grower, and may, at any time, for reasons which it thinks fit, cancel the registration of any registered vegetable seed grower.
Prohibition of sale of seeds.
15.—(1.) A person who is not a registered vegetable seed grower in respect of any particular seeds produced by him shall not sell, exchange or in any way dispose of those seeds for valuable consideration.
(2.) A registered vegetable seed grower in respect of any seeds produced by him shall not sell, exchange or otherwise dispose of those seeds for valuable consideration other than in accordance with such directions, if any, as the Committee serves upon him in writing.
Power to require destruction or disposal of vegetable crops.
16. Where the Committee is satisfied that any crop of vegetables, other than a crop of vegetables in respect of which a person is registered under these Regulations, has matured beyond the stage at which it is ordinarily marketed for human consumption, the Committee may, by notice in writing addressed to the grower or to any other person having the control of the crop, require that grower or other person to destroy or otherwise dispose of the crop in such manner, and within such time, as is specified in the notice, and the grower or other person shall comply with the requirements contained in that notice accordingly.
Returns.
17. The Committee may, by notice in writing addressed to any person, or by notice published in the Gazette specifying any class of persons, require that person or class of persons to furnish returns containing such information relating to vegetable seeds as is specified in the notice, and that person, or every person of that class, as the case may be, shall, within the time and in the manner specified in the notice, furnish a return accordingly.
Dispersal of seeds to protect against enemy action.
18. For the purpose of protecting any vegetable seeds from enemy action, or of minimizing the effect of enemy action, the Committee may direct the owner or any other person having the possession, control or disposal of any vegetable seeds, to remove those seeds from one place to another place (whether within the same locality or not) and to do all such things as the Committee thinks necessary for the protection and preservation of any such seeds, and the owner or other person shall comply with the requirement accordingly.
Powers of Committee.
19. On behalf of the Commonwealth and subject to any direction of the Minister the Committee may—
(a) purchase, sell, exchange, dispose of or otherwise deal in vegetable seeds;
(b) process, treat, clean and grade, or arrange for the processing, treatment, cleaning or grading of, any vegetable seeds;
(c) store, or arrange for the storage of, any vegetable seeds;
(d) enter into agreements with any person on any matter relating to the production, acquisition, treatment, storage or disposal of vegetable seeds;
(e) make advances to any registered vegetable seed grower;
(f) guarantee any registered vegetable seed grower against any loss due to crop failure; and
(g) do all things which it is required by these Regulations to do or which are necessary or convenient to do for carrying out or giving effect to these Regulations.
Authentication of notices, directions and requirements.
20. Any notice, direction or requirement authorized by the Regulation to be made or given by the Committee shall be sufficiently authenticated if signed by the Executive Officer on behalf of the Committee, and any notice, direction or requirement purporting to have been so signed shall, in the absence of proof to the contrary, be deemed to have been made or given in pursuance of a resolution of the Committee.
Person not to fail to comply with conditions.
21. A person shall not contravene or fail to comply with any term or condition of any agreement entered into by him with the Committee, or any direction served on him by the Committee under regulation 15 of these Regulations.
Power of entry.
22. Any person authorized in that behalf by the Committee may enter upon any land or premises and destroy, or cause to be destroyed, any plants which, in the opinion of the Committee, might cross-fertilize any vegetable crop being grown by a registered vegetable seed grower for the purpose of producing vegetable seeds.
Proper care to be taken of vegetable seeds.
23. Any person having any vegetable seeds in his possession or under his care (other than seeds for his own domestic use) shall exercise proper care and take all proper and reasonable precautions and do all things necessary to preserve and safeguard those vegetable seeds and to keep them from any damage or deterioration whatsoever, and shall comply with any direction of the Committee given for the purpose of preserving or safeguarding those seeds.
24. In any prosecution for an offence against the National Security Act 1939–1940 for an offence arising out of a contravention or failure to comply with the provisions of these Regulations, the averment of the prosecution that the person charged was the owner of any vegetable seeds and that he sold, exchanged or disposed of those seeds for valuable consideration shall be prima facie evidence of the matters so averred.
By Authority: L. F. Johnston, Commonwealth Government Printer, Canberra.