Transport (Planning and Research) Act 1974

1 Transport (Planning and Research) Act 1974

TRANSPORT (PLANNING AND RESEARCH)

ACT 1974

No. 50 of 1974

An Act to make provision with respect to Planning and Research in connexion with Transport.

BE IT ENACTED by the Queen, the Senate and the House of Representatives of Australia, as follows: —

Short title.

1. This Act may be cited as the Transport (Planning and Research) Act 1974.

Commencement.

2. This Act shall come into operation on the day on which it receives the Royal Assent.

Interpretation.

3. (1) In this Act, unless the contrary intention appears—

“approved project” means a work or other matter that is approved by the Minister under section 6 to the extent to which particulars of that work or other matter are approved under that section;

“period to which this Act applies” means the period commencing on the date of commencement of this Act and ending on 30 June 1977;

“research or planning in connexion with transport” means road planning or research, or research or planning in connexion with urban public transport;

“research or planning in connexion with urban public transport” means scientific, technical or economic research, investigation or planning in connexion with public transport services in urban areas, and includes—

(a) the investigation of public transport services in urban areas in relation to other means of transport in urban areas; and

(b) research into matters affecting the needs of persons requiring transportation in urban areas;

“road planning or research” means scientific, technical or economic planning, investigation or research related to roads or road transport, and includes—

(a) the investigation of transport by road in relation to other means of transport; and

(b) research into road safety, the design of vehicles and the behaviour of road users;

“urban area” means—

(a) an area designated for the purposes of the Census taken in the year 1971 as—

(i) the Sydney Statistical Division;

(ii) the Melbourne Statistical Division;

(iii) the Brisbane Statistical Division;

(iv) the Adelaide Statistical Division;

(v) the Perth Statistical Division;

(vi) the Hobart Statistical Division; or

(b) a part of Australia that is, by virtue of a declaration under section 4 that is in force, an urban area for the purposes of this Act.

(2) A reference in this Act to urban areas includes a reference to a particular urban area.

(3) A reference in this Act to an amount expended in respect of a project is a reference to an amount expended in connexion with the carrying out of a work or other matter constituting or included in a project, being a work or matter carried out in accordance with particulars of the work or matter approved by the Minister under section 6.

(4) For the purposes of this Act, each of the following periods is a year to which this Act applies:

(a) the period commencing on the date of commencement of this Act and ending on 30 June 1975;

(b) the year commencing on 1 July 1975; and

(c) the next succeeding year.

Urban areas.

4. The Minister may, by notice published in the Gazette, declare a specified part of Australia to be an urban area for the purposes of this Act, or revoke or vary such a declaration.

Programs of research and planning.

5. (1) As soon as practicable after the commencement of this Act, the Minister shall request each of the States to furnish to him, not later than a specified date, particulars of projects to be considered by the Minister for approval under this Act, being projects by way of research or planning in connexion with transport that can be carried out by or on behalf of the State during the period to which this Act applies.

(2) The Minister may request each of the States to furnish to him, not later than a specified date before the commencement of a year to which this Act applies, particulars of additional projects to be considered by the Minister for approval under this Act, being projects by way of research or planning in connexion with transport that can be carried out by or on behalf of the State during the period to which this Act applies.

(3) Where the Minister makes a request to the States in accordance with sub-section (1) or (2), the Minister may cause to be held consultations between Australia and the States concerning the projects or ad­ditional projects to be approved by the Minister, including projects or additional projects by way of research or planning in connexion with transport that Australia requests the States to carry out.

Approvals of projects.

6. (1) For the purposes of this Act, the Minister may—

(a) approve a work or other matter by way of research or planning in connexion with transport for the purposes of section 7 or 8 or for the purposes of section 7 and for the purposes of section 8; and

(b) approve particulars of the work or other matter so approved.

(2) Where the Minister approves a work or other matter under sub-section (1), he shall also—

(a) in the case of a work or other matter approved for the purposes of section 7 and for the purposes of section 8—approve an amount of expenditure in respect of that work or matter for the purposes of section 7 and an amount of expenditure in respect of that work or matter for the purposes of section 8 so that the sum of those amounts equals the estimated cost of that work or matter; or

(b) in any other case—approve, for the purposes of section 7 or 8, as the case may be, an amount of expenditure in respect of that work or matter, being an amount equal to the estimated cost of that work or matter.

(3) The Minister may vary an approval given under this section.

Grant of financial assistance to States.

7. (1) Subject to this section, where a State has, during a year to which this Act applies, expended an amount in respect of a project approved under section 6 for the purposes of this section, there is payable to the State, by way of financial assistance, an amount equal to two-thirds of the amount so expended.

(2) The sum of the amounts paid under this section to a State at any time in respect of a project approved for the purposes of this section shall not exceed two-thirds of the approved expenditure in respect of the work or other matter comprising the project for the purposes of this section.

  

(3) The sum of the amounts paid under this section to a State in respect of expenditure during a year to which this Act applies shall not exceed the amount specified opposite to the name of that State, in relation to that year, in the Schedule.

Grant of financial assistance to States in respect of additional projects.

8. (1) Subject to this section, where a State has, during a year to which this Act applies, expended an amount in respect of a project approved under section 6 for the purposes of this section, there is payable to the State, by way of financial assistance, an amount equal to two-thirds of the amount so expended.

(2) The sum of the amounts paid under this section to a State at any time in respect of a project approved for the purposes of this section shall not exceed two-thirds of the approved expenditure in respect of the work or other matter comprising the project for the purposes of this section.

(3) The sum of the amounts paid under this section to the States in respect of expenditure during a year to which this Act applies shall not exceed the amount specified, opposite to that year, in the following table:—

|                                                           | $          |
| --------------------------------------------------------- | ---------- |
| Year ending 30 June 1975................................. | 3,000,000  |
| Year ending 30 June 1976................................. | 4,000,000  |
| Year ending 30 June 1977................................. | 4,000,000  |
| 197                                                       | 11,000,000 |

Projects commenced before commencement of Act.

9. (1) The power of the Minister to approve, under section 6, a work or other matter extends to approving a work or other matter that was commenced before the commencement of this Act, but after 1 July 1974.

(2) Where the Minister approves a work or other matter referred to in sub-section (1), an amount expended by a State after 1 July 1974, but before the commencement of this Act in connexion with the carrying out of the work or matter, being an amount expended in connexion with the carrying out of the work or matter in accordance with particulars of the work or matter that are approved by the Minister under section 6, shall be deemed to have been expended in respect of the project comprising the work or matter during a year to which this Act applies.

Expenditure after the end of a year on work carried out during a year.

10. An amount expended by a State after the expiration of a year to which this Act applies but before the next following 1 January for the purpose of meeting commitments undertaken during that year in respect of a project approved for the purposes of section 7 or 8 shall, for the purposes of that section, be deemed to have been expended during that year.

Variation of amounts available in a year.

11. Where the Minister is satisfied that, due to exceptional circumstances—

(a) the sum of the amounts that will be payable to a State, in respect of a year to which this Act applies, under sub-section 7 (1), is less than the amount specified in the Schedule in relation to the State in respect of that year; or

(b) the sum of the amounts payable to the States in respect of a year to which this Act applies under sub-section 8(1) is less than the amount specified opposite to that year in the table in sub-section 8(3),

the Minister, with the concurrence of the Treasurer, may direct that the amount so specified shall be deemed to be reduced by such amount as is specified by the Minister and that the amount specified in the Schedule in relation to the State or in the table in sub-section 8(3), as the case may be, in respect of the next following year shall be increased by a corresponding amount and, upon the Minister giving such a direction, this Act has effect as if those amounts had been respectively reduced and increased in accordance with the Minister’s direction.

Appropriation.

12. Payments (including advances) to the States under this Act shall be made out of the Consolidated Revenue Fund, which is appropriated accordingly.

  

Evidence of expenditure

13. A State is not entitled to a payment under section 7 or 8 in relation to any expenditure in respect of a work or other matter comprising a project approved for the purposes of that section unless the State has furnished the Treasurer with—

(a) a statement in respect of that expenditure, in accordance with a form approved by the Treasurer, accompanied by a certificate of the Auditor-General of the State certifying that, in his opinion, the amounts shown in the statement as having been expended were expended in respect of the approved project; and

(b) such further information, if any, as the Treasurer requires in respect of that expenditure.

Advances.

14. (1) The Treasurer may, at such times as he thinks fit, make advances to a State of such amounts as he thinks fit on account of an amount that may become payable to the State under this Act.

(2) Without limiting the discretion of the Treasurer under sub-sec­tion (1), the Treasurer may refrain from making an advance to a State under that sub-section until the State has furnished to the Treasurer such documents and other evidence to justify the making of an advance to the State or to show how an amount, or part of an amount, advanced to the State under that sub-section has been used or applied, as the Treasurer requests.

Conditions.

15. Payment of an amount (including an advance) to a State under this Act in relation to an approved project is subject to the conditions—

(a) that there will be furnished to the Minister by the State, upon the completion of the project, a comprehensive report concern­ing the results of the project; and

(b) that, if the Minister informs the Treasurer of the State that he is satisfied that the State has failed to fulfil the condition specified in paragraph (a), the State will repay that amount, or such part of that amount as the Minister specifies, to Australia.

Additional condition.

16. Payment of an amount (including an advance) to a State under this Act is subject to the condition that the State will repay to Australia, on demand by the Treasurer, the amount by which, at the time of the de­mand, the total of the amounts (including advances) paid to the State under this Act exceeds the total of the amounts that have become payable to the State under this Act.

Access to records.

17. A person authorized by the Minister may, at all reasonable times, inspect, and take copies of, or extracts from, any plans, designs, tenders, records or other documents relating to an approved project of a State.

Delegation.

18. (1) The Minister may, either generally or otherwise as provided by the instrument of delegation, by writing under his hand, delegate to an officer of the Australian Public Service any of his powers under section 5 or 6.

(2) A power so delegated may be exercised in accordance with the instrument of delegation.

(3) A delegate of the Minister in the exercise of his powers under this Act is subject to the directions of the Minister.

(4) A delegation under this section is revocable at will and does not prevent the exercise of a power by the Minister.

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SCHEDULE Section 7(3)

DIVISION OF GRANTS AMONGST STATES

| State                            | Year ending 30 June 1975 | Year ending 30 June 1976 | Year ending 30 June 1977 | Total      |
| -------------------------------- | ------------------------ | ------------------------ | ------------------------ | ---------- |
|                                  | $                        | $                        | $                        | $          |
| New South Wales...............   | 1,800,000                | 2,000,000                | 2,000,000                | 5,800,000  |
| Victoria......................   | 1,300,000                | 1,300,000                | 1,400,000                | 4,000,000  |
| Queensland ...................   | 700,000                  | 800,000                  | 800,000                  | 2,300,000  |
| South Australia................. | 300,000                  | 400,000                  | 400,000                  | 1,100,000  |
| Western Australia............... | 400,000                  | 500,000                  | 500,000                  | 1,400,000  |
| Tasmania.....................    | 100,000                  | 100,000                  | 200,000                  | 400,000    |
| Total........................    | 4,600,000                | 5,100,000                | 5,300,000                | 15,000,000 |