{"id":"C1938A00016","name":"New Guinea Loan Guarantee Act 1938","slug":"new-guinea-loan-guarantee-act-1938","collection":"act","jurisdiction":"commonwealth","status":"repealed","isInForce":false,"actNumber":"16 of 1938","makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":3941,"registerId":"commonwealth-C1938A00016-current","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-03-30","status":"Repealed","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"New Guinea Loan Guarantee Act 1938","content":"NEW GUINEA LOAN GUARANTEE.\n\nNo. 16 of 1938.\n\nAn Act to provide a Guarantee by the Commonwealth in respect of a Loan to be raised by the Administrator of the Territory of New Guinea to meet the Cost of certain Road Construction.\n\n\\[Assented to 5th July, 1938.\\]\n\n\\[Date of commencement, 2nd August, 1938.\\]\n\nBE it enacted by the King’s Most Excellent Majesty, the Senate, and the House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Australia, as follows.—\n\nShort title.\n\n1. This Act may be cited as the New Guinea Loan Guarantee Act 1938.\n\nGuarantee of loan raised by Administrator of New Guinea.\n\n2.—(1.) Subject to this section, the Commonwealth hereby guarantees the repayment of, and the payment of interest upon, a loan not exceeding One hundred and fifty thousand pounds to be raised by the Administrator of the Territory of New Guinea acting under the authority of a law in force in the Territory.\n\n(2.) The last preceding sub-section shall not apply unless—\n\n(a) the loan is raised at such time and in accordance with such terms and conditions as are approved by the Treasurer; and\n\n(b) the loan is raised for the purposes of, and the proceeds of the loan are applied to, the construction of a road between Salamaua and Wau in the Territory of New Guinea.\n\nAppropriation.\n\n3. The Consolidated Revenue Fund is hereby appropriated to the extent necessary to meet any liability of the Commonwealth arising from the guarantee provided by this Act.","sortOrder":0}],"analysis":{"kimi_summary":{"_metrics":{"model":"kimi-k2.5","source":"moonshot-batch","completionTokens":1466},"content_quality":"ok","complexity_score":2,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The legislation remains tightly focused on its original purpose: guaranteeing a single loan for the Salamaua-Wau road construction. No expansion beyond this specific infrastructure project."},"complexity_factors":["Only 3 operative sections with no sub-divisions","No defined terms or interpretation section","Simple binary conditions in section 2(2) with only two requirements","No cross-referencing to other Commonwealth Acts","Straightforward appropriation mechanism without elaborate financial safeguards"],"plain_english_summary":"This Act allows the Australian Government to act as a guarantor for a loan taken out by the Administrator of New Guinea (then an Australian-administered territory) to build a specific road.\n\n**Key points:**\n- The Commonwealth guarantees repayment of a loan up to **£150,000** (roughly $15-20 million in today's values)\n- The money must be used to build a road between **Salamaua and Wau** in New Guinea\n- The Treasurer must approve the timing and terms of the loan\n- If New Guinea cannot repay, Australian taxpayers foot the bill via the Consolidated Revenue Fund (the government's main bank account)\n\n**Why this matters:**\nBy providing a government guarantee, the loan becomes less risky for lenders, meaning the territory can borrow money at lower interest rates to build critical infrastructure. This is essentially the Commonwealth backing its territory's credit card for a specific infrastructure project."}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/new-guinea-loan-guarantee-act-1938","history":"/api/acts/new-guinea-loan-guarantee-act-1938/history","analysis":"/api/acts/new-guinea-loan-guarantee-act-1938/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/new-guinea-loan-guarantee-act-1938/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/new-guinea-loan-guarantee-act-1938/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/new-guinea-loan-guarantee-act-1938/documents"}}