What it does
The Alumina Refinery (Mitchell Plateau) Agreement Act 1971 (the Act) mechanically ratifies and gives statutory effect to a long-form commercial agreement between the State of Western Australia and a private company (originally Amax Bauxite Corporation, later assignments to the companies now named in the schedules). Section 3 expressly ratifies the Agreement set out in the First Schedule and declares that the Agreement "shall, subject to its provisions, be carried out and take effect as though those provisions had been expressly enacted in this Act" (s 3(2)). The Act also ratifies two subsequent variation agreements (the First and Second Variation Agreements in Schedules Two and Three) (ss 3A, 3B) and, separately, ratifies and gives primacy to a termination agreement dated 20 February 2015 set out in the Fourth Schedule (s 4). The termination agreement is itself declared to operate "despite any other Act or law" (s 4(2)).
Practically the Act does three kinds of things, all by reference to the schedules:
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It creates override effect for the Agreement and its variations, including express modifications to other statutes and private rights where the Agreement requires that outcome (First Schedule, Clause 3(3); cf. s 3(2)). The Agreement text sets out how the Mining Act, Land Act, Transfer of Land Act and Public Works Act are to be regarded as modified for the project (First Schedule, Clause 3(3)(a)‑(d)).
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It implements a negotiated package of property, fiscal and regulatory rights and obligations between the State and the Company: mineral leases, rights of occupancy, special leases at peppercorn rent for port and townsite areas, defined rents and royalties for bauxite and staged construction obligations for a refinery and infrastructure (First Schedule, Clauses 8, 9, 10, 21, 9(1)(j)‑(k)).