Political Broadcasts (Tasmania) Regulations (Amendment) 1992 No. 5
EXPLANATORY STATEMENT
STATUTORY RULES 1992 No. 5
Issued by the Authority of the Minister for Transport and Communications
BROADCASTING ACT 1942
Political Broadcasts (Tasmania) Regulations (Amendment)
Section 134 of the Broadcasting Act 1942 (the Act) provides that the Governor-General may make regulations for the purposes of the Act.
Section 95H of the Act provides that subject to the regulations the Australian Broadcasting Tribunal grant each prescribed political party a period of free political broadcast time in relation to an election.
Minute No. 83 of 1991 recommended the making of Regulations (the principal Regulations) under Part 2 of the Political Broadcasts and Political Disclosures Act 1991. Those regulations prescribed the way in which free political broadcasting time was allocated to political parties and candidates in next election for the Tasmanian House of Assembly. The Regulations were expressed to take effect upon 1 January 1992, the date upon which Part 2 was to take effect by virtue of the Proclamation.
The Regulations and Proclamation were both made on the 19 December, the last sitting day of the Parliament for 1991. The Regulations once made were gazetted and tabled in the Senate on the same day.
Due to an administrative oversight the proclamation of Part 2 was not gazetted until 2 January 1992, that is, a day after the day which the proclamation purported to fix for the commencement of Part 2. Accordingly Part 2 could not commence upon 1 January 1992 as the proclamation had not been gazetted by that date. This had the effect of preventing the Regulations made under Part 2 from commencing on 1 January.
To rectify the effect of the void proclamation a new valid proclamation of Part 2 was made and gazetted on 3 January.
The principal Regulations include at Regulation 7 a formula for the calculation of the total free broadcasting time to be allocated in accordance with the requirements of subsection 95H (4) of the Act.
The effect of the formula in Regulation 7 is to prescribe 40 x 2 minute broadcasts. Subsequent advice received from the Tasmanian Government regarding recent amendments to the Tasmanian Electoral Act casts doubt on the operation of the existing formula.
Subsection 95Q(3) of the Act, provides that freetime broadcasts can not be broadcast prior to the close of nominations for the relevant election. The Tasmanian Electoral Act was recently amended to provide for a longer period between the issue of the writs for the election and the close of both the rolls and of nominations. This results in a subsequent reduction in the period between the close of nominations and the conduct of the poll. The actual period between the close of nominations and the polling day in the current Tasmania election is 16 days. it is not possible to broadcast 40 broadcasts in such a period and conform with the requirements of the Regulation 12 of the principal Regulations.
These regulations substitute the prescribed total with a daily total per days upon which broadcasts can occur in accordance with the Act and the Regulations.
Regulation 1 is formal, providing for the amendment of the existing Regulations.
Regulation 2 omits the commencement provisions from the principal Regulations. This will have the effect of ensuring that the Regulations being amended come into effect, at latest, upon the gazettal of these Regulations.
New Regulation 3 inserts new definitions in the Regulations. Campaign period which is relevant to Regulation 7 and Regulation 12 is defined to commence from the beginning of the day following the close of nominations for the election or on the third Saturday preceding the election day, whichever is the later, thereby ensuring that in the case where during an election period for the Tasmanian Parliament the date prescribed for the close of nomination is more than three weeks before the polling day, the period in which freetime broadcasts conducted shall be no more than approximately three weeks before the polling day.
Regulation 3 also specifies available broadcast days shall not include Sundays. Subregulation 3.2 inserts definitions of 'available broadcasting time' and 'election day'.
Regulations 4-6 are formal and substitute the accurate section numbers which are set out in the final printed copy of the Political Broadcasts and Political Disclosures Act.
Regulation 7 substitutes a new Regulation 7 which prescribes the formula for the calculation of the total freetime available.
Regulations 8-11 are formal and substitute the accurate section numbers which are set out in the final copy of the Political Broadcasts and Political Disclosures Act.
Regulation 12, subregulation (1) is. formal and substitutes the accurate section number which is set out in the final copy of the Political Broadcasts and Political Disclosures Act.
Regulation 12, subregulations (2) (3) and (4) are formal and substitute the appropriate type space to clarify the meaning of the Regulation.
Regulation 12, subregulation (5) omits subregulation 12.3 which is no longer required as it applies to cases where more than two broadcasts were required on one day. This is no longer possible because new Regulation 7 restricts the number of broadcasts to, two per day.
Regulations 13-14 are formal and substitute the accurate section numbers which are set out in the final copy of the Political Broadcasts and Political Disclosures Act.