{"id":"tas:sr-2002-109","name":"Proclamation under the Railway Management Act (Repeal) Act 1997","slug":"proclamation-under-the-railway-management-act-repeal-act-1997","collection":"regulation","jurisdiction":"tas","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":"109 of 2002","makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":318365,"registerId":"tas-tas:sr-2002-109-current","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-04-08","status":"InForce","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"Proclamation under the Railway Management Act (Repeal) Act 1997","content":"> Proclamation under the Railway Management Act (Repeal) Act 1997\n\nI, the Governor in and over the State of Tasmania and its Dependencies in the Commonwealth of Australia, acting with the advice of the Executive Council, by this my proclamation made under [section 2 of the](/view/html/inforce/2026-04-12/act-1997-027#GS2@EN) [Railway Management Act (Repeal) Act 1997](/view/html/inforce/2026-04-12/act-1997-027) fix 1 October 2002 as the day on which that Act commences.\n\n23 September 2002\n\nG. S. M. GREEN\n\nGovernor\n\nBy His Excellency's Command,\n\nJ. G. COX\n\nMinister for Infrastructure\n\nDisplayed and numbered in accordance with the *[Rules Publication Act 1953](/view/html/inforce/current/act-1953-050)*.\n\nNotified in the *Gazette* on 25 September 2002\n\nThis proclamation is administered in the Department of Infrastructure, Energy and Resources.","sortOrder":0}],"analysis":{"summary":{"complexity_score":2,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The proclamation appears to serve its original narrow purpose: formally activating the commencement of the Railway Management Act (Repeal) Act 1997. There is no indication of scope expansion beyond that administrative function."},"complexity_factors":["Minimal substantive content — the document is primarily administrative metadata and status information rather than operative legal text","Involves a secondary instrument (proclamation) activating a repeal of a repeal Act, which adds one layer of indirect legal effect","No detailed operative provisions are visible in the provided text, reducing analytical complexity","Tasmanian-specific legislative framework may require cross-referencing with the parent Act to fully understand effect"],"plain_english_summary":"This Tasmanian government proclamation sets the commencement date for the Railway Management Act (Repeal) Act 1997, formally bringing into effect the repeal of the earlier railway management law on 25 September 2002. It mainly affects government agencies and entities formerly governed by the old railway regime and serves to remove legal uncertainty by officially ending that prior statutory framework; practical impact on most residents is minimal."},"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":2,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The proclamation does not alter the substantive scope or content of the Railway Management Act (Repeal) Act 1997; it merely fixes the Act's commencement date under section 2 and records publication and administration details."},"complexity_factors":["Procedural instrument with a single operative effect: fixes a commencement date.","Legal authority explicitly cited (section 2 of the Railway Management Act (Repeal) Act 1997).","Administrative formalities noted (Gazette notification and display/numbering under the Rules Publication Act 1953).","No substantive amendments or regulatory detail in the proclamation itself.","Clear decision-maker identified (Governor acting with Executive Council advice) and a named administering department."],"plain_english_summary":"This proclamation, made by the Governor with the advice of the Executive Council under section 2 of the Railway Management Act (Repeal) Act 1997, fixes 1 October 2002 as the date on which that Act commences. By setting the commencement date it brings the Act's repeal provisions into force on that day; the proclamation was published in the Gazette and is administered by the Department of Infrastructure, Energy and Resources."},"issue_detection":{"absurdities":[{"type":"circular_definition","section":"Title/Preamble","severity":"high","reasoning":"The Railway Management Act (Repeal) Act 1997 is, by its very nature and title, an Act whose purpose is to repeal legislation. Issuing a Proclamation under a Repeal Act creates a logical paradox: the parent Act exists solely to terminate legal instruments, yet it is simultaneously being used as the source of power to create a new legal instrument. A Repeal Act ordinarily spends itself upon commencement; using it as a continuing source of legislative power is internally inconsistent with its fundamental purpose.","confidence":0.72,"description":"A Proclamation issued under a Repeal Act — the enabling instrument has been repealed, yet subordinate legislation continues to operate under it."},{"type":"retroactive_impossibility","section":"Currency of version (Status Information)","severity":"medium","reasoning":"If the Railway Management Act (Repeal) Act 1997 performed its function of repealing the Railway Management Act, one would expect the legislative landscape it created to have resolved itself long before 2026. A subordinate instrument remaining 'in force' for nearly three decades under a Repeal Act raises the question of what substantive legal effect it can still have, given the parent regime it was designed to wind up has presumably ceased to exist.","confidence":0.65,"description":"A Proclamation made in 2002 under a 1997 Repeal Act is described as current 'to date' as of 2026 — nearly 29 years after the enabling Repeal Act was passed."},{"type":"other","section":"Status Information — Currency Statement","severity":"low","reasoning":"Standard currency disclaimers are appropriate for consolidated Acts with substantive provisions that can be amended. A Proclamation under a Repeal Act typically fixes a single commencement date or declares a single fact. The promise of updates within 3 working days is a logical non sequitur when applied to an instrument with no ongoing operative provisions capable of amendment.","confidence":0.58,"description":"The document states the legislation is 'usually updated within 3 working days after a change' — but a Proclamation under a Repeal Act, once made, is by nature a one-time operative instrument with no ongoing amendable content, making this update promise meaningless."},{"type":"other","section":"Table of Amending Instruments","severity":"medium","reasoning":"Proclamations, particularly those under Repeal Acts, are generally spent instruments — they operate once to bring about a legal state of affairs (e.g., commencement of a repeal) and have no further operative life. The existence of amending instruments implies ongoing substantive content, which is logically inconsistent with the nature of a proclamation under a repeal statute. Either the amendments are redundant, or the instrument has substantive content that was not anticipated for a repeal mechanism.","confidence":0.61,"description":"The document references a 'Table of Amendments' for a Proclamation made under a Repeal Act, implying the instrument has been amended — an anomaly for what should be a spent, single-operation instrument."}],"contradictions":[{"severity":"medium","section_a":"Title — 'Railway Management Act (Repeal) Act 1997'","section_b":"Currency of version — 'current from 25 September 2002 to date (accessed 8 April 2026)'","confidence":0.67,"description":"The enabling Act is a 1997 Repeal Act, yet the Proclamation it authorises only became current from 25 September 2002 — five years after the parent Act — and remains in force in 2026, contradicting the expected temporal logic of repeal legislation."},{"severity":"low","section_a":"Authorisation — 'File last modified 9 December 2024'","section_b":"Table of Amending Instruments — implies ongoing legislative amendments","confidence":0.52,"description":"The file being modified as recently as December 2024 for a Proclamation under a 1997 Repeal Act, combined with the existence of amending instruments, contradicts the expectation that such an instrument would be spent and static. This suggests either the instrument has been kept artificially alive or the metadata reflects administrative updates rather than genuine legislative amendments, creating ambiguity about the instrument's true legal status."}]},"kimi_summary":{"content_quality":"ok","complexity_score":1,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"This is a commencement proclamation performing exactly the function intended—setting a start date for the parent Act. No scope expansion has occurred."},"complexity_factors":["Single operative provision fixing a commencement date","No defined terms","No cross-references to other legislation beyond citation of the parent Act","No conditional logic or exceptions","Standard proclamation format with ceremonial language only"],"plain_english_summary":"This is a formal government notice (a **proclamation**) made by the Tasmanian Governor in 2002. It simply sets **1 October 2002** as the date when the *Railway Management Act (Repeal) Act 1997* comes into force (starts operating).\n\n**What this means:**\n- The 1997 Act was passed to repeal (cancel) the old *Railway Management Act*, but it needed a specific start date.\n- This proclamation provides that date, allowing the repeal to finally take effect.\n- Once commenced, the old railway management laws stopped applying, and new arrangements (presumably under different legislation) took over.\n\n**Who it affects:**\n- Tasmanian government rail operations and infrastructure\n- Any businesses or individuals with interests in Tasmanian railways\n- Government agencies responsible for rail management\n\n**Why it matters:**\nWithout this proclamation, the 1997 repeal Act would have sat unused on the statute books. This document activated the legal change, formally ending the old railway management regime."}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/proclamation-under-the-railway-management-act-repeal-act-1997","history":"/api/acts/proclamation-under-the-railway-management-act-repeal-act-1997/history","analysis":"/api/acts/proclamation-under-the-railway-management-act-repeal-act-1997/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/proclamation-under-the-railway-management-act-repeal-act-1997/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/proclamation-under-the-railway-management-act-repeal-act-1997/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/proclamation-under-the-railway-management-act-repeal-act-1997/documents"}}