Metro Tasmania (Transitional and Consequential Provisions) Act 1997

Metro Tasmania (Transitional and Consequential Provisions) Act 1997

An Act to provide for the transfer of property, rights and liabilities to Metro Tasmania as the universal successor of the Metropolitan Transport Trust and to amend consequentially certain Acts and regulations

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:

1.   Short title

This Act may be cited as the Metro Tasmania (Transitional and Consequential Provisions) Act 1997 .

2.   Commencement

(1)  Sections 1 , Sections 15 and 17 and this section and Schedules 2 and 4 commence on the day after the day on which this Act receives the Royal Assent.

(2)  Subject to subsection (1), this Act commences on the day proclaimed under section 2 of the Metro Tasmania Act 1997 .

3.   Interpretation

In this Act –

Board means the board of directors of the Company;

Company means the company referred to in the Metro Tasmania Act 1997 ;

director means a director of the Company;

incorporation day means the day on which the Company is incorporated;

liabilities includes all liabilities, duties and obligations, whether actual, contingent or prospective;

MTT employee means an employee, within the meaning of the Tasmanian State Service Act 1984 , who, immediately before the incorporation day, was appointed or employed for the purposes of the repealed Act;

property means –

(a) any legal or equitable estate or interest (whether present or future and whether vested or contingent) in real or personal property; and

(b) money, documents and securities; and

(c) any other rights;

repealed Act means the Metropolitan Transport Act 1954 ;

rights includes all rights, powers, privileges and immunities, whether actual, contingent or prospective;

Trust means the Metropolitan Transport Trust established under the repealed Act.

4.   Transfer of property, &c., to Company

(1)  On the incorporation day –

(a) the property of the Trust vests in the Company; and

(b) the liabilities of the Trust become the liabilities of the Company.

(2)  State tax is not payable in respect of any document prepared to give effect to subsection (1) .

(3)  In this section,

State tax means application or registration fees, stamp duty or any other tax, duty, fee or charge imposed by any Act or law of Tasmania.

5.   Construction of instruments

(1)  This section applies to an instrument –

(a) which was in force immediately before the incorporation day; and

(b) in which there is a reference to the Trust.

(2)  Unless the context or subject matter of the instrument otherwise indicates or requires, an instrument to which this section applies has effect on and from the incorporation day as if –

(a) the reference to the Trust were a reference to the Company; or

(b) if the case so requires, the reference included a reference to the Company.

6.   Continuation of proceedings

(1)  On and after the incorporation day –

(a) legal proceedings instituted by or against the Trust before, and pending on, the incorporation day may be continued by or, as the case may be, against the Company; and

(b) a judgment or order of a court obtained in those proceedings by or against the Trust may be enforced by or, as the case may be, against the Company; and

(c) a document addressed to and purporting to be served on the Trust relating to those proceedings is taken to be served on the Company.

(2)  Any legal or other proceedings instituted by or against the Trust before the incorporation day and pending on that day may be continued by or, as the case may be, against the Company.

(3)  A judgment or order of a court obtained in any such legal proceedings, where the proceedings are brought by or against the Trust, may be enforced by or against the Company on or after the incorporation day.

7.   Auditor

A person acting as auditor of the Trust immediately before the incorporation day continues, on that day, to act as auditor of the Company until its members appoint another person as auditor.

8.   Powers of Company in respect of matters arising under this Act

(1)  This section applies to –

(a) debts, money, claims, securities and charges relating to property that vests in the Company under this Act; and

(b) liabilities that become liabilities of the Company under this Act.

(2)  On and after the incorporation day, the Company may –

(a) in addition to pursuing any other remedies or exercising any other powers that may be available to it, pursue the same remedies for the recovery of debts, money and claims to which this section applies that are payable to, or recoverable by, the Trust and for the prosecution of proceedings relating to any such debts, money or claims as the Trust might have done but for the enactment of this Act; and

(b) enforce and realise any security or charge to which this section applies and which is existing immediately before the incorporation day in favour of the Trust and may exercise any powers conferred under the security or charge on the Trust as if it were a security or charge in favour of the Company.

9.   Contracts and agreements

(1)  A contract, agreement, arrangement or undertaking made or entered into by the Trust, if not executed, discharged or otherwise terminated before the incorporation day, is taken to be a contract, agreement, arrangement or undertaking entered into by the Company.

(2)  A person who is a party to any such contract or agreement is not entitled to terminate that contract or agreement by reason only of the operation of this Act.

10.   Company taken to hold licences, &c.

(1)  Until the end of the triennium commencing on 1 July 1998, the Company is taken to hold such licences and to have the benefit of such exemptions granted under the Traffic Act 1925 as may be necessary to enable it to continue to provide the services provided by the Trust immediately before the incorporation day in the areas specified in Schedule 1 .

(2)  Subsection (1) has effect notwithstanding section 15(11) of the Traffic Act 1925 and sections 22A and 23 of that Act do not apply to any licence which the Company is taken to hold.

(3)  No fee is payable in respect of any licence or exemption taken to be in force under this section.

11.   Initial directors and chairperson

(1)  On the incorporation day –

(a) the persons who were, immediately before that day, holding office as directors of the Trust are taken to be appointed as the initial directors of the Board for the unexpired balance of their term of office; and

(b) the person who was at that time holding office as chairperson of the Trust is taken to be appointed as the initial chairperson of the Board.

(2)  If an initial director vacates office before the end of his or her term, a suitable person, as mentioned in section 9 of the Metro Tasmania Act 1997 , is to be appointed to replace that director for the balance of that term.

12.   Existing staff of Trust to be transferred

(1)  On the incorporation day, the employment of all MTT employees is terminated and they become employees of the Company.

(2)  On the incorporation day –

(a) the Company becomes the employer of each MTT employee; and

(b) each such employee ceases to be a State Service employee and the Tasmanian State Service Act 1984 ceases to apply to that employee –

but compensation is not payable to the employee by reason of that fact.

(3)  An MTT employee –

(a) is taken to have been employed by the Company for the same remuneration as he or she was receiving immediately before the incorporation day; and

(b) except where an award, agreement or any other law otherwise provides, retains all existing and accrued rights relating to leave as if service as an employee of the Company were a continuation of his or her service under the Tasmanian State Service Act 1984 ; and

(c) may claim those rights against the Company.

(4)  The period of service of an MTT employee under the Tasmanian State Service Act 1984 is taken to be service as an employee of the Company.

(5)  Nothing in subsection (1) or (2) prevents any of the terms or conditions of employment of an MTT employee being altered by an award, agreement or any other law having effect after the incorporation day.

(6)  The Long Service Leave (State Employees) Act 1994 continues to apply to an MTT employee unless he or she, by notice in writing given to the Company, elects that that Act is not to apply to him or her.

13.   Superannuation

(1)  [Section 13 Subsection (1) substituted by No. 19 of 1999, Sched. 1, Applied:15 May 1999] [Section 13 Subsection (1) omitted by No. 54 of 2016, s. 71, Applied:31 Mar 2017] .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  

(1A)  [Section 13 Subsection (1A) inserted by No. 19 of 1999, Sched. 1, Applied:15 May 1999] [Section 13 Subsection (1A) omitted by No. 54 of 2016, s. 71, Applied:31 Mar 2017] .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  

(1B)  [Section 13 Subsection (1B) inserted by No. 19 of 1999, Sched. 1, Applied:15 May 1999] The Company must not establish a superannuation scheme after the commencement day specified in the Public Sector Superannuation Reform Act 1999 .

(1C)  [Section 13 Subsection (1C) amended by No. 54 of 2016, s. 71, Applied:31 Mar 2017] [Section 13 Subsection (1C) inserted by No. 19 of 1999, Sched. 1, Applied:15 May 1999] The Company must comply with any instruction relating to superannuation given to it by the Minister responsible for the administration of the Public Sector Superannuation Reform Act 2016 .

(2)  [Section 13 Subsection (2) amended by No. 54 of 2016, s. 71, Applied:31 Mar 2017] The Company must make adequate provision to meet its liability under the Public Sector Superannuation Reform Act 2016 to pay pension and other benefits in respect of –

(a) all MTT employees; and

(b) any of its employees who are members of a superannuation scheme referred to in subsection (1) ; and

(c) all former employees of the Trust.

(3)  [Section 13 Subsection (3) substituted by No. 19 of 1999, Sched. 1, Applied:15 May 1999] Where an MTT employee is a member of a scheme established or maintained by the Trust before the commencement day specified in the Public Sector Superannuation Reform Act 1999 , nothing in this Act affects his or her entitlements as such a member.

14.   Regulations

(1)  The Governor may make regulations for the purpose of this Act.

(2)  The regulations may contain provisions of a savings or transitional nature consequent on the enactment of this Act.

(3)  A provision referred to in subsection (2) may take effect on the day on which this section commences or a later day.

(4)  Without limiting subsection (2) , the regulations may provide that, until the end of the triennium commencing on 1 July 1998, any provisions of the Traffic Act 1925 or the Transport Act 1981 specified in the regulations do not apply to the Company.

15.   

See Schedule 2 .

16.   

See Schedule 3 .

17.   

[Section 17 Repealed by No. 54 of 2016, s. 72, Applied:31 Mar 2017]

18.   

See Schedule 5 .

19.   Repeal of Metropolitan Transport Act 1954, &c., and saving for by-laws

(1)  The Metropolitan Transport Act 1954 and the Metropolitan Transport Amendment Act 1998 are repealed.

(2)  Notwithstanding the repeal of the Metropolitan Transport Act 1954 effected by subsection (1), the Metropolitan Transport By-laws 1990 made under that Act continue in force for a period of 3 years from the incorporation day but may be amended or rescinded by regulations made under this Act.

(3)  For the purposes of subsection (2), references in the Metropolitan Transport By-laws 1990 to the Metropolitan Transport Trust are taken to be references to the Company.

20.   Administration of Act

Until provision is made in relation to this Act by order under section 4 of the Administrative Arrangements Act 1990  –

(a) the administration of this Act is assigned to the Minister for Transport; and

(b) the Department responsible to the Minister for Transport in relation to the administration of this Act is the Department of Transport.

SCHEDULE 1 - Metropolitan areas in which licences or exemptions taken to be in force

Section 10(1)

1.   Hobart Metropolitan Area

The area situated within a radius of 22 kilometres from the General Post Office at Hobart.

2.   Launceston Metropolitan Area

The area of the City of Launceston, as existing immediately before the commencement of the Local Government (City of Launceston Reorganization) Act 1985 , together with –

(a) such parts of the councils of St Leonards and Lilydale (as existing immediately before that commencement); and

(b) such parts of the councils of Evandale, Westbury and Beaconsfield –

as are situated within a radius of 12 kilometres from the General Post Office at Launceston.

3.   Burnie Metropolitan Area

Such area as may be required for the transport of passengers by road, in either direction, between –

(a) any places within the City of Burnie; and

(b) the City of Burnie and the town of Wynyard; and

(c) the City of Burnie and the town of Ulverstone.

SCHEDULE 2 - Consequential Amendments

The amendments effected by Section 15 and this Schedule have been incorporated into the authorised version of the Government Prices Oversight Act 1995 .

SCHEDULE 3 - Consequential Amendments

The amendments effected by Section 16 and this Schedule have been incorporated into authorised versions of the following Acts:

(a) Constitution Act 1934 ;

(b) Government Business Enterprises Act 1995 ;

(c) Government Prices Oversight Act 1995 ;

(d) Metropolitan Transport Act 1954 ;

(e) Ombudsman Act 1978 ;

(f) Public Health Act 1962 ;

(g) Tasmanian State Service Act 1984 ;

(h) Taxi Industry Act 1995 ;

(i) Traffic Act 1925 ;

(j) Transport Act 1981 .

SCHEDULE 4 - Consequential Amendments

The amendments effected by Section 17 and this Schedule have been incorporated into the authorised version of the Retirement Benefits Regulations 1994 .

SCHEDULE 5 - Consequential Amendments

The amendments effected by Regulation 18 and this Schedule have been incorporated into authorised versions of the following Statutory Rules:

(a) Traffic (Miscellaneous) Regulations 1968 ;

(b) Traffic (Public Vehicles) Regulations 1967 .