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Commonwealth act
This Act has been repealed and is no longer in force. It is retained for historical reference.
This law is an amendment act — it doesn't stand alone, but instead updates and extends an earlier law called the Wheat Industry Stabilization Act 1968–1970, which created a system to support Australian wheat farmers through guaranteed prices and production quotas (limits on how much wheat could be grown).
1. Extends the scheme by one more season The original stabilisation scheme was set to cover six wheat-growing seasons. This amendment adds a seventh season (the 1973–74 season, starting 1 October 1973), keeping the support system alive for another year.
2. Sets a guaranteed price for the 1973–74 season Wheat farmers growing in the 1973–74 season are guaranteed a price of $58.79 per tonne for their wheat. This is a financial safety net — if the market price falls below this, the scheme kicks in to make up the difference.
3. Sets the home consumption price for 1973–74 The law fixes the price at which the Australian Wheat Board (the government body that manages wheat marketing) must sell wheat inside Australia during the year starting 1 December 1973. This involves:
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Direct links to the current provisions in Wheat Industry Stabilization Act 1973.
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View on official registerSourced from the Federal Register of Legislation (legislation.gov.au), CC BY 4.0.
4. Adjusts the Tasmanian freight account deadlines The scheme maintains a special fund to reimburse freight costs for shipping wheat to Tasmania. This amendment extends the cut-off date for that fund from 30 September 1973 to 30 September 1974, keeping it running for the extra season.
5. Updates quota rules The "quota season" definition is extended to include the 1973–74 season. The Wheat Board is also given flexibility to plan on the basis that the national wheat quota might be increased by up to 544,311 tonnes during that season.
6. Updates penalties — switching to metric The penalties for breaching wheat-selling rules are updated for the new season to reflect the now-metric measurement system (tonnes instead of bushels). Penalties can be up to three times the guaranteed price of the wheat involved, or $20 per 100 kilograms, plus possible imprisonment of up to six months.
7. Modernises the language throughout A large number of housekeeping changes are made to the existing law:
Australia's wheat industry in the early 1970s depended heavily on this stabilisation scheme to protect farmers from volatile world prices. This amendment keeps that safety net in place for one more year, sets the key financial numbers for 1973–74, and tidies up the law's language — including a significant shift from imperial to metric measurements, reflecting Australia's broader metrication program underway at the time.