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CONTENTS
Passage History
Purpose
Background
Main Provisions
Endnotes
Contact Officer and Copyright Details
Albury-Wodonga Development Amendment
Bill 1999
Date Introduced: 24 November 1999
House: House of Representatives
Portfolio: Transport and Regional Services
Commencement: The provisions relating to the
Albury-Wodonga Development winding-up agreement and the repeal of
the Albury-Wodonga Development (Financial Assistance) Act
1973(1) commence on Royal Assent.
The remaining provisions commence on a day to be
fixed by proclamation,(2) or failing that, six months after the
completion of the last of the following three events:
-
- The day on which the NSW Repeal Act(3) receives Royal
Assent
-
- The day on which the Victorian Repeal Act(4) receives Royal
Assent
-
- The day on which the Albury-Wodonga Development winding-up
agreement is signed on behalf of the NSW, Victorian and
Commonwealth governments
To put in place arrangements to facilitate the
winding up of the Albury-Wodonga Development Corporation.
The Albury-Wodonga Development Corporation (the
Corporation) was established in 1973 under an agreement between the
Commonwealth, Victoria and NSW. This agreement was ratified by
Commonwealth Parliament through the Albury-Wodonga Development
Act 1973 (the 1973 Act). For constitutional reasons, Victoria
and NSW also passed similar legislation(5) which established State
authorities to operate in conjunction with the Corporation.(6)
The Commonwealth's purpose behind the agreement
and the 1973 Act was to develop a regional growth centre as part of
its urban and regional development strategy.(7) At the time, the
intention was to build up a population of 300,000 by the year
2000.(8) Under the scheme, the Corporation was to be responsible
for the development of new areas, while local government was to
remain generally responsible for their existing urban areas. A
Ministerial Council comprising the three relevant Governments
retained oversight of the Corporation, including approval of the
strategic development plans.
Following a review of the Corporation in 1989,
the Ministerial Council announced significant changes to its role.
At the Commonwealth level, these were implemented by the
Albury-Wodonga Development Amendment Act 1991. Under this
Act and associated administrative changes, the Corporation was
to
concentrate on the profitable development and
marketing of its land holdings...[and while continuing to] play an
important role in land use, social planning and economic
development of the area...primary responsibility for these
functions [would now] reside with local government.(9)
The changes to the operation of the Corporation
also required it to provide financial returns to the
Commonwealth.(10) The preferred position of the then Commonwealth
Opposition was that Corporation should be phased out as soon as
practical.(11)
In 1995, the Ministerial Council decided to wind
up the Corporation entirely. Since then, the Corporation has
progressively sold off many of its assets, including commercial and
residential real estate. In order to protect real estate values in
the region, this sell off has been subject to minimum prices set by
the respective State Valuers- General.(12)
The Albury-Wodonga Development Amendment
Bill 1999 (The Bill) is being introduced in parallel
with similar legislation in the Victorian and NSW Parliaments. The
Bill and its State counterparts restructures the Corporation,
abolishes the two State corporations, and transfers their assets,
rights, obligations and liabilities to the Corporation. The
Corporation will then become solely responsible for the disposal of
the remaining assets. The Bill also provides for the development of
a winding up agreement at some future point to complete the
process, which is projected to be around 2005.(13)
Item 2
of Schedule 1 inserts new sections
5A-5D into the Act. The key elements are section
5A and section 5B. Section
5A provides that the Minister(14) may make a written
determination that a particular form of agreement is an 'approved
form' of a winding up agreement. That determination must be tabled
in both House of Parliament and is subject to disallowance by a
resolution passed within 15 days of tabling. Section
5B provides that if a winding-up agreement 'substantially
in accordance' with the form tabled under section
5A is signed by the three Governments, it is taken to have
been approved by the Parliament. This would appear to be a
questionable delegation of Parliamentary power to the
Executive.
Item 16 of Schedule
1 repeals the existing functions of the Corporation and
replaces those with functions that are focused on preparing the
Corporation for winding up.
Item 21 of Schedule
1 makes the Commonwealth Minister solely responsible for
issuing directions to the Corporation. The Ministerial Council no
longer has any role in this regard.
Item 24 of Schedule
1 eliminates the positions of the Wodonga and Albury
representatives plus 2 deputy Chairpersons from the Corporation,
thus reducing its membership to a Chairperson, the Chief Executive
Officer plus two other members.(15)
Item 25 of Schedule
1 introduces new criteria for appointment to the
Corporation. A new paragraph 10(3) provides that
the Chairperson and the two other members must not be appointed
unless 'he or she appears to the Minister to be qualified for
appointment because of his or her knowledge and understanding of
issues relating to the development of the Albury-Wodonga
region'.
Item 51 of Schedule
1 inserts sections 20A-20H dealing with
the development of plans and the transfer of assets etc from the
State corporations to the (Commonwealth) Corporation.
Section 20A provides that the
Corporation must draw up a plan ('a winding up plan') setting out
how it proposes to perform its functions. This Plan must be
provided to the Minister within 90 days of the commencement of this
section (that is, Royal Assent). The Minister may direct the
Corporation to vary the Plan.
Section 20B provides that the
Corporation must draw up an annual operational plan designed to
give effect to the winding up plan. The operational plan must be
provided to the Minister and the Minister may direct the
Corporation to vary the Plan.
Sections 20D-20F provides that
Victoria and/or NSW may pass legislation to transfer assets,
contractual rights, obligations and liabilities from their
respective State Corporations to the Corporation. As a safeguard
for the Commonwealth, the legislation purporting to effect any
transfer is not effective until the Commonwealth Minister publishes
a notice in the Gazette consenting to the transfer.
Section 20G provides that the
transfers enabled by new sections 20D-F cannot be
used by the Commonwealth to levy any tax as defined by s.55 of the
Constitution.
The effect of section 20H is to
ensure that any the acquisition by the Commonwealth of property
from a person resulting from the section 20D-F
transfers must be on just terms as required by s.51(xxxi) of the
Constitution. Should a person and the Commonwealth not be able to
reach agreement on the amount of compensation for the acquisition,
the person may take action in the Federal Court.
- This Act allowed financial assistance to be provided to NSW and
Victoria for the purposes of development of the Albury-Wodonga
area.
- But note that proclamation must not proceed the signing of the
winding up agreement.
- That is, the NSW Act that repeals the Albury-Wodonga
Development Act (NSW) 1974
- That is, the Victorian Act that repeals the Albury-Wodonga
Agreement Act (NSW) 1974
- See endnotes 3 and 4 above.
- Board members of the State corporations are also Board members
of the Commonwealth Corporation.
- Second reading speech, The Hon Tom Uren MP, House of
Representatives, Parliamentary Debates, 20
November 1973, p. 3534.
- Following a change of Government in 1975, the 'growth centre'
program was curtailed. As a result the population target was cut
back to 150,000. Albury-Wodonga Development Corporation, Annual
Report 1988-99.
- Second reading speech, The Hon Wendy Fatin MP, House of
Representatives, Parliamentary Debates, 13 March 1991, p.
1910.
- A total of $72.237 million has been returned to the
Commonwealth over the last eleven years. Albury-Wodonga Development
Corporation, Annual Report 1998-99, p. 13.
- Ewen Cameron (Member for Indi), House of Representatives,
Parliamentary Debates, 10 April 1991, p. 2255.
- Albury-Wodonga Development Corporation, Annual Report
1998-99, p. 12.
- Second reading speech, The Hon Larry Anthony MP, House of
Representatives, Parliamentary Debates, 24 November 1999,
p. 9300.
- Currently the Minister for Regional Services, Territories and
Local Government.
- Note that although the membership of the Corporation under the
current Act is theoretically eight, apparently only the Chairperson
and the CEO positions are presently filled.
Angus Martyn
6 December 1999
Bills Digest Service
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ISSN 1328-8091
© Commonwealth of Australia 1999
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