Wesley Vale Pulp and Paper Industry Act 1961
An Act to encourage the establishment in the Wesley Vale district of an industry for the manufacture of wood pulp, paper, and other products of wood, and to provide for matters incidental thereto
[Royal Assent 15 December 1961]
Be it enacted by His Excellency the Governor of Tasmania, by and with the advice and consent of the Legislative Council and House of Assembly, in Parliament assembled, as follows:
PART I - Preliminary
This Act may be cited as the Wesley Vale Pulp and Paper Industry Act 1961 .
(1) In this Act, unless the contrary intention appears –company means Paper Australia Pty Ltd, a company registered under the Corporations Act and carrying on business in this State, and includes any subsidiary thereof and any permitted assignee thereof;factory means the factory established by Associated Pulp and Paper Mills Limited at Wesley Vale in this State;Forest Practices Code means the Code issued pursuant to section 30 of the Forest Practices Act 1985 and in force under that Act and includes any amendments to that Code;Forestry corporation means the Forestry corporation established by section 6 of the Forestry Act 1920 ;functions includes duties;industry means the production at the factory of wood pulp, paper, and other products of wood, and includes –(a) the production of by-products of the process of manufacturing wood pulp;(b) investigations preliminary to, and in connection with –(i) the manufacture of wood pulp, paper, and other products of wood; and(ii) the supply and preparation of materials therefor; and(c) afforestation;municipality means a municipal area;permitted assignee means a person to whom rights, concessions, and obligations are assigned by the company, with the consent of the Minister, pursuant to section twenty-two ;subsidiary, used in relation to the company, means a corporation that is a subsidiary of the company within the meaning of subsection (3) of this section.(2) . . . . . . . .(3) For the purposes of this Act, a corporation shall be deemed to be a subsidiary of the company if, but only if, the majority of the shares thereof are beneficially held by the company and –(a) the amount of the shares so held is more than fifty per cent of the issued share capital of the corporation or such as to entitle the company to more than fifty per cent of the voting power in the corporation; or(b) the company has power (not being power vested in it by virtue only of the provisions of a security or by virtue of shares issued to the company in pursuance of any such provisions) directly to nominate or appoint the majority of the directors or members of the governing body of the corporation.
(1) . . . . . . . .(2) . . . . . . . .(3) Nothing in this Act affects the operation of the Hydro-Electric Corporation Act 1995 or the Electricity Supply Industry Restructuring (Savings and Transitional Provisions) Act 1995 .
3A. Application of Act to Forestry corporation
On and after the commencement of the Forestry Amendment (Forestry Corporation) Act 1994 –(a) a function imposed on the Commission by this Act that could have been performed by the Commission if that Act had not commenced is to be performed by the Forestry corporation; and(b) a power that could have been exercisable by the Commission under this Act if that Act had not commenced may be exercisable by the Forestry corporation; and(c) an opinion that could have been formed, or a determination or recommendation that would have been made by the Commission under this Act if that Act had not commenced may be formed or made by the Forestry corporation; and(d) an authority that could have been given to the Commission under this Act if that Act had not commenced may be given to the Forestry corporation; and(e) any other thing that could have been done, or would have been required to be done, in relation to the Commission had that Act not commenced may be done, or is to be done, in relation to the Forestry corporation.
PART II - . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
PART III - RIGHTS AND OBLIGATIONS OF THE COMPANY OTHERWISE THAN IN RESPECT OF TIMBER
(1) Subject to this section, the company, for the purposes of the industry and so long as the industry is carried on, may, by virtue of this section and without other authority, take from the Mersey River at the prescribed point such quantity of water (not exceeding 91 megalitres a day) as the company requires for the purposes of the industry, to the extent that it is available at that point by the natural flow of that River, but so that –(a) the supply of water required by riparian owners for domestic purposes and the watering of stock is not thereby diminished; and(b) the rights of the holders of licences for the time being in force under the Water Management Act 1999 to take from the Mersey River and its tributaries such quantities of water as are authorized by their respective licences are not thereby impaired.(2) Notwithstanding anything in subsection (1) of this section, if at any time –the person having the control of that dam or work shall, at the request of the company, to the extent that water is available therein, release from the dam or work such quantity of water as is necessary to enable the company to take for the purposes of the industry such quantity of water (not exceeding 91 megalitres a day) as the company requires for those purposes.(a) the quantity of water that is available for abstraction by the company from the Mersey River at the prescribed point is such that the company is unable to take the quantity of water that it requires for the purposes of the industry; and(b) water is available to be released from any dam or other work for the storage of water constructed (otherwise than by the company) under the authority of any Act to augment the natural flow of water in that River –(3) Where water is released from a dam or other work pursuant to subsection (2) of this section, to the extent that the quantity of water taken by the company from the Mersey River exceeds –whichever is the greater quantity, the company shall take the excess upon and subject to such terms and conditions (including terms as to payment) as the Minister having the administration of this Act may, either generally or in a particular case, determine.(a) the natural flow of that River at the prescribed point immediately before the release of water from the dam or other work; or(b) 45·5 megalitres a day –(4) Notwithstanding the Water Management Act 1999 or any other law or rule of law to the contrary, during the continuance of this Act –(a) the council of the municipality of Kentish shall not, in pursuance of any authority conferred on it by or under any enactment, take from the Mersey River and its tributaries for the purposes of a public water supply for the inhabitants of that municipality or any part thereof any quantity of water in excess of 9·1 megalitres a day, except with the approval of the Minister having the administration of the Water Management Act 1999 and with the consent in writing of the company;(b) the rights conferred on the councils of the municipalities of Devonport and Latrobe, by or under any enactment, to take water from that River or its tributaries for the purposes of a public water supply for the inhabitants of those municipalities or of any part thereof are subject to the rights conferred on the company by the foregoing provisions of this section, and shall accordingly be exercised in such a manner that the rights so conferred on the company are not impaired; and(c) the Minister having the administration of the Water Management Act 1999 shall, unless the company otherwise agrees in writing, so exercise his or her powers under that Act (whether by the issue or modification of licences or otherwise) as to prevent the taking from that River and its tributaries, for non-domestic purposes, by persons other than one of the councils mentioned in paragraphs (a) and (b) of this subsection of such a quantity of water as, having regard to the total quantity of water required by those councils, would, at any time, reduce the quantity of water available to the company for the purposes of the industry below 45·5 megalitres a day.(5) For the purposes of subsection (1) of this section, the company may, subject to subsection (6) of this section, construct, lay down, and maintain upon, over, through, or under any Crown land or private land (including any road or street, whether belonging to or vested in the Crown or not) all such –as the company thinks necessary.(a) dams, weirs, walls, reservoirs, pumping stations, and other like works; and(b) channels, flumes, drains, pipes, conduits, and other like works –(6) The company shall not construct any dam, weir, reservoir, or other works for the storage of water or for controlling or affecting the flow or water level of any river or stream except with the approval of the Minister having the administration of the Water Management Act 1999 and upon and subject to such conditions (if any) as that Minister may impose.(7) Where any channel, flume, drain, pipe, conduit, or other like work is constructed or laid down upon, over, through, or under any Crown land or any road or street (whether belonging to or vested in the Crown or not) it shall, if the Minister having the administration of this Act so directs, be situated at such a depth below the surface of that land, road, or street as that Minister may determine.(8) The company shall not exercise any of the powers conferred by this section in relation to –(a) any land (including a road or street) belonging to or vested in a local authority, without the consent of, or otherwise than in accordance with such reasonable conditions as may be imposed by, the local authority;(b) any Crown land (not being a State highway or subsidiary road or land reserved or set apart for a public road or street), except under the authority of a lease or licence granted to the company pursuant to the Crown Lands Act 1976 ; or(c) any State highway or subsidiary road, or any Crown land that is reserved or set apart for a public road or street, without the consent of, and subject to such conditions as may be imposed by, the Minister having the administration of the Roads and Jetties Act 1935 .(9) The company shall –(a) if so directed by the Minister having the administration of the Water Management Act 1999 , install, at the prescribed point or at such place in the vicinity thereof as that Minister may approve, a water meter of a type approved by that Minister for the purpose of measuring the quantity of water taken from time to time by the company from the Mersey River for the purposes of the industry, and maintain that meter in a good and efficient condition so as to register accurately the quantity of water so taken from time to time;(b) if so directed by that Minister, keep a log or record book of a kind approved by him or her and cause to be entered therein a complete and accurate record of the quantity of water taken in each day by the company from that River for the purposes of the industry; and(c) permit any person authorised by that Minister in writing so to do to enter, at all reasonable times, upon the place where a meter is installed pursuant to a direction under this subsection and to inspect and examine it and to examine and make copies of, or take extracts from, any entries made in the log or record book referred to in paragraph (b) of this subsection.(10) The rights conferred on the company under this section are taken to be conferred by a special licence granted to the company under section 115(4) of the Water Management Act 1999 .(11) In this section –non-domestic purposes means purposes other than domestic purposes and the watering of stock;prescribed point means a site on or near to the right bank of the Mersey River situated approximately 20 metres downstream from the western boundary of Lot 358 of 500 acres purchased by John James, being the lot so numbered that is delineated on County Chart Devon 2C in the office of the Director-General of Lands at Hobart.
(1) If and so long as any effluent results from the use of any process in connection with the carrying on of the industry or of any part thereof, the company shall –(a) by means of an effluent drain or of effluent drains to be constructed by the company for that purpose, discharge all effluent so resulting into the sea below ordinary low-water mark at such point as the Minister may approve; and(b) maintain that effluent drain, or those effluent drains, as the case may be, in a good and sufficient state of repair so as efficiently to dispose of all such effluent.(2) An effluent drain that is constructed under the authority of subsection (1) of this section –(a) shall –(i) be constructed of such materials, and according to such design or specifications, as the Minister may approve;(ii) be located so that its outlet is below ordinary low-water mark at the point approved by the Minister pursuant to paragraph (a) of subsection (1) of this section; and(iii) where it crosses any Crown land or any road or street (whether belonging to or vested in the Crown or not) be situated at such a depth below the surface of the land, road, or street as the Minister may approve or direct; and(b) may be constructed upon, over, through, or under any Crown land or any private land.(3) An authorized officer may, at any time, enter upon any land upon, over, through, or under which an effluent drain is constructed under the authority of this section and may examine and take samples of any effluent that is being passed into, or disposed of by means of, that drain.(4) For the purposes of the execution by the company of any works authorized by this section to be executed by it, the company shall be deemed to be a service authority within the meaning of the Roads and Jetties Act 1935 and sections twelve , twelve A , and thirteen of that Act apply to and in relation to the company accordingly.(5) In this section, authorized officer means –(a) the Secretary of the responsible Department in relation to the Public Health Act 1962 ; or(b) a person employed in that Department who is authorized in writing by the Secretary of that Department, either generally or in a particular case, to exercise the powers conferred on an authorized officer by subsection (3) .
(1) The Minister having the administration of the Mining Act 1929 may, under and in accordance with the provisions of that Act and subject to such limitations, restrictions, and conditions as that Minister may determine, grant to the company such easement licences as, in the opinion of that Minister, are reasonably required by the company for the purposes of the industry.(2) For the purposes of this section, Part VI and section seventy-six of the Mining Act 1929 apply to and in respect of the company and any lands used or occupied by it in connection with the carrying on of the industry as if those lands were lands occupied by the company by virtue of a lease under that Act.(3) Notwithstanding anything in the Mining Act 1929 , any easement licence that is granted to the company pursuant to this section may be granted so as to continue in force so long as the special licence granted to the company under section four continues in force, and the provisions of that Act shall be construed accordingly.
(1) With the consent of the Minister, the company may, upon and subject to such terms and conditions as the Minister may approve or determine, make, construct, improve, repair, and maintain such roads, along such routes, as the company may think necessary for the purpose of carrying on the industry in the most efficient manner or for the purpose of transporting pulpwood, milling timber, or firewood from any forest from which the company obtains it pursuant to a special licence under this Act to any public road or to any mill or factory used by the company for the purposes of the industry.(1A) After the day fixed under section 2(2) of the Forest Practices Act 1985 , the Minister shall not approve or determine any term or condition for the purposes of subsection (1) that is inconsistent with the Forest Practices Code .(2) A road that is authorized by this section to be constructed by the company may be constructed –or partly over Crown land and partly over private land.(a) over Crown land; or(b) over private land –(3) When required by the Minister so to do the company shall deposit with the Minister, within three months after being so required, copies of all survey plans, designs, and specifications prepared by or on behalf of the company in relation to any road constructed or proposed to be constructed by the company under the authority of this section.(4) For the purposes of this section, the Governor may, notwithstanding anything in the Crown Lands Act 1976 , sell to the company, by private contract, any Crown land that, in the opinion of the Governor, is reasonably required by the company for the purpose of constructing any road that the company is, by this section, authorized to construct.
15. General provisions relating to works constructed by the company
(1) In the construction, execution, laying down, and maintenance of any works to which this section relates, the company –(a) shall not unnecessarily interfere with traffic on any road or street; and(b) shall, after the completion of the construction, execution, or laying down of the works, or of any works in connection with the maintenance thereof, fill up, reinstate, and make good the surface of the ground disturbed thereby and replace, reinstate, and make good all drains or other things opened or affected thereby to the satisfaction of the Minister or of the local authority having the control of those drains or things.(2) In this section, works to which this section relates means –(a) any dam, weir, wall, reservoir, pumping station, or other like work, and any channel, flume, drain, pipe, conduit, or other like work, constructed or laid down by the company under the authority of section eleven ; and(b) any effluent drain constructed by the company under the authority of section twelve .
16. Duty of company to prevent damage, &c.
(1) In the exercise of the powers conferred on it by this Act, the company shall do all such acts and things as may reasonably be necessary so to regulate the artificial flow of the Mersey River below any dam or other like work constructed or executed by the company under the authority of this Act as to prevent the erosion of the bed or banks of that River, damage to bridges or culverts, and flooding of riparian tenements.(2) If by reason of any work constructed or executed, or any other act, matter, or thing done, by the company –occurs, the company shall execute such works and do all such other acts and things as may be necessary for the purpose of restoring or repairing (so far as it is possible so to do) the bed or banks of that River and preventing further erosion thereof, or for the purpose of repairing the damage to the bridge or culvert and preventing further damage thereto, or for the purpose of preventing further flooding of the riparian tenement, as the case may be, in default whereof the company is liable to make compensation as provided in section seventeen .(a) erosion of the bed or banks of the Mersey River;(b) damage to a bridge or culvert; or(c) flooding of a riparian tenement –(3) For the purposes of this section, the company may, at all reasonable times, enter upon and pass over or across any Crown land or private land with men, vehicles, horses, machinery, and equipment and execute such works and do all such other acts and things, as may be necessary to enable the company to perform the duty imposed on it by subsection (2) of this section or to prevent the occurrence of any of the things that are mentioned in paragraphs (a) to (c) of that subsection.(4) Before exercising the powers conferred on it by subsection (3) of this section, the company shall –(a) in the case of private land, give reasonable notice in writing of its intention so to do to the occupier of the land; or(b) in the case of Crown land, give the like notice to the Minister.(5) In the exercise of its powers and the performance of its duties under this section, the company shall do as little damage as possible.
(1) The company shall make compensation to any person having a lawful interest in any land that is injuriously affected by any works constructed or executed, or any other act, matter, or thing done, by the company in pursuance of this Act, for any damage to that land arising by reason of the execution of that work or the doing of that act, matter, or thing.(2) A person who claims compensation under this section shall prefer his claim by notice in writing specifying –(a) the name and place of abode of the claimant;(b) the particular act occasioning the damage for which compensation is claimed;(c) the nature and amount of the damage; and(d) the nature of the title or interest of the claimant in or to the land in respect of which the claim is made.(3) If the company, by notice served upon any person, requires him to make a claim for compensation for any damage occasioned by the exercise, before the service thereof, of any of the powers conferred on the company by this Act, that person is not entitled to compensation for any damage sustained by reason of the exercise of any such powers before the service of the notice unless he prefers his claim, in accordance with this section, within six months after the service on him of the notice.(4) If the claimant and the company do not agree upon the amount of the compensation, the claim for compensation is to be determined in the same manner as a disputed claim for compensation under the Land Acquisition Act 1993 .
PART IV - MISCELLANEOUS
18. Power of company to acquire land for certain purposes
(1) For the purpose of enabling the company to construct –which the company is authorized by this Act to construct, but not for any other purpose, the company may acquire land other than Crown land.(a) any road; or(b) any dam, weir, reservoir, or other works for the storage of water or for controlling or affecting the flow or water level of any river or stream –(2) The Land Acquisition Act 1993 applies in relation to the acquisition of land, and the land acquired, by the company under subsection (1) .
19. Authentication and service of notices
(1) A notice that is authorized or required to be given or served under this Act by the company shall be signed by the secretary of the company or by some other officer of the company authorized by the company in writing.(2) A notice that is authorized or required under this Act to be served on the company may be served personally or by registered post or certified mail on the secretary of the company or on the company's agent or other proper officer in this State.(3) A notice that is authorized or required under this Act to be served on or given to any person other than the company may be so served or given –(a) by delivering it to him personally; or(b) by sending it by registered post or certified mail addressed to him at his usual or last-known place of abode or business.(4) References in this section to the service of a notice by certified mail shall be construed as references to the transmission of that notice by post as certified mail as provided by the postal regulations for the time being in force.
If the company or any other body corporate is convicted of an offence against this Act, by reason of any contravention by the company or that other body corporate of, or any failure by it to comply with, any of the provisions of this Act, every director or member of the governing body of the company or of that body who authorized, directed, or consented to the contravention or failure shall be deemed to be guilty of that offence.
(1) If at any time during the continuance of this Act –the company's rights and concessions under this Act shall be deemed to be forfeited.(a) the company enters into liquidation (other than a voluntary liquidation for the purpose of reconstruction and the assignment of rights, concessions, and obligations under this Act) –(b) . . . . . . . .(2) If the company contravenes or fails to comply with any of the provisions of this Act that are applicable to it, the Attorney-General may apply to a judge for a summons requiring the company to show cause, on a day specified in the summons, why the rights and concessions of the company under this Act, should not be forfeited.(3) If on the hearing of a summons under this section the company fails to prove to the satisfaction of the judge that the contravention, failure, or delay was due to inadvertence or circumstances beyond the control of the company or that there was otherwise a reasonable cause therefor and that, in all the circumstances, it should reasonably be excused, the judge may, by order, declare the rights and concessions of the company under this Act to be forfeited.(4) Evidence in support of, or in opposition to, an application under this section may be given by affidavit or, if the judge so directs, may be given orally, or partly by affidavit and partly orally.(5) Subject to subsection (4) of this section, the procedure on the hearing of an application under this section shall be as the judge may direct.(6) On the determination of an application under this section the judge may make such order as to the costs thereof as he may think just.(7) If by virtue of the operation of this section or of any order under this section the rights and concessions of the company under this Act are or become forfeited, the Governor may, by proclamation, repeal this Act.
(1) The company may assign all or any of its rights, concessions, and obligations under this Act to any subsidiary of the company.(2) The company may, at any time, procure the incorporation of a subsidiary for the purpose of assigning to that subsidiary all or any of the rights, concessions, and obligations of the company under this Act.(3) Upon an assignment by the company to a subsidiary pursuant to subsection (1) of this section, the subsidiary is, by virtue of the assignment and this Act, subject to all the obligations and conditions imposed upon the company by this Act so far as they remain in force and are capable of taking effect, and the company remains responsible to the Minister for the performance of all its obligations under this Act and the special licence as if no subsidiary had been formed and no assignment made.(4) . . . . . . . .(5) The company may, with the consent in writing of the Minister but not otherwise, assign to a person other than a subsidiary of the company all or any of its rights, concessions and obligations under this Act except the special licence which may be transferred only in accordance with section 120 of the Water Management Act 1999 .(6) Upon an assignment by the company pursuant to subsection (5) of this section, the person to whom the rights, concessions, and obligations are assigned is subject to all the obligations and conditions imposed upon the company by this Act, to the exclusion of the company.(7) The consent of the Minister to an assignment under subsection (5) of this section shall not be unreasonably withheld, but the Minister may refuse to grant his consent to any such assignment if the company fails to furnish proof to his satisfaction with respect to –(a) the fitness and suitability of the proposed assignee;(b) the solvency of the proposed assignee;(c) the capacity of the proposed assignee to maintain production at a satisfactory level; and(d) . . . . . . . .(e) such other matters as, in the public interest, the Minister thinks necessary.
(1) This Act shall expire at the expiration of the period of eighty years commencing on the appointed day.(2) In this section –appointed day means such day as the Governor may, by proclamation, declare to be the appointed day for the purposes of this section.
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