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Broadcasting and Television Amendment Act (No. 2) 1976

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BROADCASTING AND TELEVISION AMENDMENT ACT (No. 2) 1976 No. 187, 1976
BROADCASTING AND TELEVISION AMENDMENT ACT (No. 2) 1976 No. 187 of 1976 - TABLE OF PROVISIONS
BROADCASTING AND TELEVISION AMENDMENT ACT (No. 2) 1976 No. 187 of 1976 TABLE OF PROVISIONS Section 1. Short title, &c. 2. Commencement 3. Interpretation 4. Heading to Part II 5. Repeal of Division 1 of Part II and substitution of new Division- Division 1-Establishment and Constitution of the Tribunal 7. Establishment of Tribunal 8. Membership of Tribunal 9. Financial interests, &c. 10. Acting members 11. Associate members 12. Acting associate members 13. Disclosure of financial interests by associate members 14. Leave of absence 15. Resignation 15A. Termination of office 15B. Meetings 15C. Divisions of Tribunal 15D. Delegations by Tribunal 15E. Staff 15F. Officers' Rights Declaration Act 6. Repeal of section 16 and substitution of new section- 16. Functions of Tribunal 7. Insertion of new section- 22A. Voting in relation to inquiries 8. Insertion of new section- 25A. Member or associate member ceasing to be available 9. Repeal of sections 31, 32 and 33 and substitution of new sections- 31. Membership of Commission 32. Term of office 10. Dismissal and vacation of office 11. Meetings of Commission 12. Repeal of section 46A and substitution of new section- 46A. Public Service Board to approve certain salaries 13. Insertion of new section- 79A. Joint Consultative Committee 14. Insertion of new Part- PART IVA_THE PUBLIC BROADCASTING SERVICE AND THE PUBLIC TELEVISION SERVICE 111A. Grant of licences 111B. Application of Act 15. Insertion of new sections- 111c. Functions of Department 111D. Orders, &C. 111E. Remuneration 16. Regulations 17. Consequential amendments 18. Transitional provisions 19. Appointments to Tribunal and Commission 20. Making of regulations BROADCASTING AND TELEVISION AMENDMENT ACT (No. 2) 1976 No. 187 of 1976 - SECT. 1. Short title.
BROADCASTING AND TELEVISION AMENDMENT ACT (No. 2) 1976 No. 187 of 1976 An Act to amend the Broadcasting and Television Act 1942. BE IT ENACTED by the Queen, and the Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Australia, as follows:- Short title, &c. 1. (1) This Act may be cited as the Broadcasting and Television Amendment Act (No. 2) 1976.*1* (2) The Broadcasting and Television Act 1942*2* is in this Act referred to as the Principal Act. BROADCASTING AND TELEVISION AMENDMENT ACT (No. 2) 1976 No. 187 of 1976 - SECT. 2. Commencement.

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2. (1) Subject to this section, this Act shall come into operation on the day on which it receives the Royal Assent.*1* (2) Sections 3 to 13 (inclusive) and 15 to 18 (inclusive) shall come into operation on 1 January 1977. (3) Section 14 shall come into operation on a date to be fixed by Proclamation. BROADCASTING AND TELEVISION AMENDMENT ACT (No. 2) 1976 No. 187 of 1976 - SECT. 3. Interpretation.
3. Section 4 of the Principal Act is amended- (a) by inserting after the definition of ''approved bank'' in sub- section (1) the following definition:- '' 'associate member' means an associate member of the Tribunal appointed under section 11;''; (b) by adding at the end of the definition of ''commercial broadcasting station'' in sub-section (1) the words ''or a public broadcasting station''; (c) by adding at the end of the definition of ''commercial television station'' in sub-section (1) the words ''or a public television station''; (d) by inserting after the definition of ''Commissioner'' in sub- section (1) the following definition:- '' 'inquiry' means an inquiry in accordance with Division 3 of Part II;''; (e) by omitting from sub-section (1) the definition of ''member'' and substituting the following definition:- '' 'member' means a member of the Tribunal appointed under section 8;''; (f) by inserting after the definition of ''national television station'' in sub-section (1) the following definitions:- '' 'public broadcasting licence' or 'public television licence' means a licence granted under Part IVA for the operation of a broadcasting station or television station, as the case may be; 'public broadcasting station' or 'public television station' means a broadcasting station or television station operating by virtue of a public broadcasting licence or public television licence, as the case may be;''; (g) by omitting from sub-section (1) the definition of ''the Board'' and substituting the following definition:- '' 'the Broadcasting Council' means the Broadcasting Council established by virtue of paragraph (ba) of sub-section (1) of section 134;''; (h) by inserting after the definition of ''the Commission'' in sub-section (1) the following definition:- '' 'the Tribunal' means the Australian Broadcasting Tribunal constituted under this Act;''; and (i) by inserting in sub-section (2), after the words ''commercial television station'', the words ''or for a public television station''. BROADCASTING AND TELEVISION AMENDMENT ACT (No. 2) 1976 No. 187 of 1976 - SECT. 4. Heading to Part II.
4. The heading to Part II of the Principal Act is repealed and the following heading substituted:- ''PART II-THE AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING TRIBUNAL''. BROADCASTING AND TELEVISION AMENDMENT ACT (No. 2) 1976 No. 187 of 1976 - SECT. 5.
5. Division 1 of Part II of the Principal Act is repealed and the following Division substituted:- ''Division 1-Establishment and Constitution of the Tribunal Establishment of Tribunal. ''7. (1) There is hereby established a Tribunal by the name of the Australian Broadcasting Tribunal. ''(2) The Tribunal- (a) is a body corporate, with perpetual succession;
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(b) shall have a common seal; (c) may sue and be sued under its corporate name; and (d) has power to acquire, hold and dispose of real and personal property. ''(3) All courts, judges and persons acting judicially shall take judicial notice of the common seal of the Tribunal affixed to a document and presume that it was duly affixed. Membership of Tribunal. ''8. (1) The Tribunal shall consist of a Chairman, a Vice-Chairman and at least one other member but not more than 3 other members. ''(2) The members shall be appointed by the Governor-General as full-time members. ''(3) A member shall be appointed for such period, not exceeding 5 years, as is specified in his instrument of appointment, but is eligible for re-appointment. ''(4) A member shall hold office on such terms and conditions (if any) in respect of matters not provided for by this Act as are determined by the Governor-General. ''(5) A person who has attained the age of 65 years shall not be appointed or re-appointed as a member and a person shall not be appointed or re-appointed as a member for a period that extends beyond the date on which he will attain the age of 65 years. ''(6) The performance of the functions and the exercise of the powers of the Tribunal are not affected by reason of- (a) there being a vacancy in the office of Chairman or of Vice-Chairman; or (b) the number of members falling below 3 for a period of not more than 6 months. Financial interests, &c. ''9. A person shall not be appointed as a member if he has a direct or indirect pecuniary interest in a business carried on in Australia, or in a body corporate carrying on such a business, being an interest that could be in conflict with his duties as a member. Acting members. ''10. (1) Where there is or is about to be a vacancy in the office of Chairman of the Tribunal, the Governor-General may appoint a member to act as Chairman during the vacancy. ''(2) Where there is or is about to be a vacancy in the office of a member, other than the Chairman, the Governor-General may appoint a person to act as a member during the vacancy. ''(3) For the purposes of sub-section (2), there shall be deemed to be a vacancy in the office of a member at any time when that member is acting as Chairman in accordance with sub-section (1). ''(4) Subject to sub-section (11), a person appointed to act in accordance with sub-section (1) or (2) shall not continue so to act for more than 12 months. ''(5) During any period when there is neither a Chairman nor a person appointed under sub-section (1) or when the Chairman or the person appointed under sub-section (1) is absent from duty or from Australia or is, for any other reason, unable to perform the functions of the office of Chairman- (a) the Vice-Chairman shall act as Chairman; or (b) if there is no Vice-Chairman or the Vice-Chairman is not available to act as Chairman, the Governor-General may appoint a person (who may be a member) to act as Chairman, but any such appointment ceases to have effect when the circumstances giving rise to that appointment cease. ''(6) The Governor-General may appoint a person to act as a member during any period, or during all periods, when a member, other than the Chairman, is absent from duty or from Australia, is acting as Chairman in accordance with sub-section (5) or is, for any other reason, unable to perform the functions of his office. ''(7) The Governor-General may- (a) determine the terms and conditions of appointment, including remuneration and allowances, of a person appointed under this section; and
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(b) at any time terminate such an appointment. ''(8) The appointment of a person under this section ceases to have effect if he resigns his appointment by writing under his hand delivered to the Governor-General. ''(9) At any time when a person is acting as Chairman or as a member in accordance with this section, he has, and may exercise, all the powers and shall perform all the functions of the Chairman or a member, as the case may be, and, if he is not a member, shall be deemed to be a member for the purposes of sections 15B, 15C and 15D. ''(10) The validity of anything done by a person purporting to act in accordance with this section shall not be called in question by reason of any defect or irregularity in or in connexion with his appointment or on the ground that the occasion for his so acting had not arisen or had ceased. ''(11) Where a person is acting as a member in accordance with sub-section (2), (5) or (6), the Governor-General may, by reason of a pending inquiry or other special circumstances, direct that he shall continue so to act after the circumstances giving rise to his appointment cease until the Governor-General directs otherwise, but a person shall not continue to act by virtue of a direction under this sub-section for more than 12 months. Associate members. ''11. (1) Where the Chairman of the Tribunal notifies the Minister that he considers that the Tribunal should be assisted in relation to a particular inquiry by an associate member or by such number of associate members as he specifies, the Governor-General may, subject to sub- section (2), appoint a person or that number of persons to be an associate member or associate members of the Tribunal for the purposes of that inquiry, and the associate member or associate members shall, together with the member or members taking part in the inquiry, constitute the Tribunal for the purposes of the inquiry and, in the event of a person so appointed ceasing to be an associate member before the report is made in relation to the inquiry, the Governor-General may, if the Chairman so requests, appoint another person to be an associate member for the purposes of the inquiry. ''(2) Not more than 6 persons shall hold appointments as associate members at any one time. ''(3) The appointment of an associate member for the purposes of an inquiry shall be for a period commencing on the day specified in the instrument of his appointment and ending on the day on which the Tribunal makes its report in relation to that inquiry. ''(4) An appointment of an associate member shall be on such terms and conditions (if any) in respect of matters not provided for by this Act as are determined by the Governor-General. ''(5) A person may be appointed as an associate member for the purposes of an inquiry notwithstanding that he already holds an appointment or appointments as an associate member for the purposes of another inquiry or other inquiries. Acting associate members. ''12. (1) If an associate member is or is about to be absent from duty or from Australia or is, for any other reason, unable to perform his functions as an associate member, the Governor-General may, if the Chairman of the Tribunal so requests, appoint a person to act as an associate member in place of the associate member, in relation to a particular inquiry, during the absence or the period of inability. ''(2) The Governor-General may- (a) determine the terms and conditions of appointment, including remuneration and allowances, of a person appointed under this section; and (b) at any time terminate such an appointment. ''(3) The appointment of a person under this section ceases to have effect if he resigns his appointment by writing under his hand delivered to the Governor-General. ''(4) At any time when a person is acting as an associate member for the purposes of a particular inquiry, he has, and may exercise, all the powers and shall perform all the functions of the associate member in whose place he is appointed for the purposes of that inquiry and shall be deemed to be an associate member for the purposes of section 13. ''(5) The validity of anything done by a person purporting to be acting in
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accordance with this section shall not be called in question by reason of any defect or irregularity in or in connexion with his appointment or on the ground that the occasion for his so acting had not arisen or had ceased. ''(6) Where a person is acting as an associate member for the purposes of a particular inquiry, the Governor-General may direct that he shall continue so to act after the circumstances giving rise to his appointment cease until the Governor-General directs otherwise, but a person shall not continue to act by virtue of a direction under this sub-section after the making of the report in relation to the inquiry for the purposes for which he was appointed. Disclosure of financial interests by associate members. ''13. (1) An associate member shall, to the best of his knowledge, disclose to the Chairman of the Tribunal any direct or indirect pecuniary interest that he has or acquires in a business carried on in Australia, or in a body corporate carrying on such a business, being an interest that could be in conflict with his duties as an associate member. ''(2) Where an interest is so disclosed to the Chairman and- (a) in the case of an interest in a business-the person carrying on the business; or (b) in the case of an interest in a body corporate-that body corporate, is concerned in the inquiry for the purposes of which the associate member has been appointed, the Chairman shall cause the interest to be disclosed to the public. ''(3) Any interest disclosed under sub-section (1), whether or not it is an interest to which sub-section (2) applies, shall be set out in the report of the Tribunal in relation to the inquiry. Leave of absence. ''14. The Minister may grant leave of absence to a member or associate member upon such terms and conditions as to remuneration or otherwise as the Minister determines. Resignation. ''15. A member may resign his office or an associate member may resign his appointment by writing under his hand delivered to the Governor-General. Termination of office. ''15A. (1) The Governor-General may terminate the appointment of a member or associate member for misbehaviour or physical or mental incapacity. ''(2) If- (a) a member or associate member becomes bankrupt, applies to take the benefit of any law for the relief of bankrupt or insolvent debtors, compounds with his creditors or makes an assignment of his remuneration for their benefit; (b) a member- (i) except with the approval of the Minister, engages in paid employment outside the duties of his office; (ii) is absent from duty, except on leave of absence granted by the Minister, for 14 consecutive days or for 28 days in any 12 months; or (iii) becomes a person who by reason of section 9 would not be qualified to be appointed as a member; or (c) an associate member fails to comply with section 13, the Governor-General may terminate his appointment. Meetings. ''15B. (1) The Tribunal shall hold such meetings as are necessary for the performance of its functions (other than its functions in relation to inquiries). ''(2) The Chairman or Vice-Chairman of the Tribunal may convene a meeting. ''(3) At a meeting a quorum is constituted by a majority of the members for the time being holding office.