Commonwealth Numbered Acts

TASMANIAN NATIVE FORESTRY AGREEMENT ACT 1979 No. 93, 1979 - SCHEDULE

SCHEDULE
Section 3

  AN AGREEMENT made the             day of One thousand nine hundred and
seventy-        between-


THE COMMONWEALTH OF AUSTRALIA (in this agreement called ''the Commonwealth'')
of the one part; and

THE STATE OF TASMANIA (in this agreement called ''the State'') of the other
part.

WHEREAS-

                (A)  an Inquiry into the structure of industry and the
                     employment situation in Tasmania which was carried out at
                     the request of the Prime Minister by Sir Bede Callaghan,
                     C.B.E., has established to the satisfaction of the
                     Commonwealth that financial assistance should be provided
                     to the Tasmanian Government for forestry projects;

                (B)  the State proposes to carry out a five year
                     re-afforestation programme in Tasmania and has requested
                     the Commonwealth to join with the State in providing
                     funds for that purpose; and

                (C)  the Parliament of the Commonwealth has authorized the
                     execution on behalf of the Commonwealth of this agreement
                     and the grant of financial assistance to the State on the
                     terms and conditions set out in this agreement:

NOW IT IS HEREBY AGREED as follows:

Interpretation and Construction

1. Except where the contrary intention appears or the context otherwise
requires words and expressions used in this agreement shall have the meanings
respectively attributed to them by the Schedule hereto and this agreement
shall be otherwise construed as set out in that Schedule.

Forestry Programme

2. The forestry programme to which this agreement relates is a programme of
projects for native forestry development over a period of five years
commencing on the 1st July 1978 for the following purposes, namely-

   (a)  the establishment of up to 2,750 hectares of eucalypt plantation on
        former farmland owned by the State or on Crown land dominated by scrub
        or waste species;

   (b)  reforestation and rehabilitation of eucalyptus forests in the West
        Coast region of the State;

   (c)  thinning of blackwood regeneration in the North-west region of the
        State.

Financial Assistance

3. (1) The Commonwealth will, in accordance with this agreement and subject to
compliance by the State with the provisions of this agreement, provide
financial assistance to the State equivalent to the amount expended by the
State on projects during each of the years commencing on the first day of July
in 1978, 1979, 1980, 1981 and 1982 (in this agreement called ''the financial
years'').

(2) The maximum amount of financial assistance to be provided by the
Commonwealth to the State shall be-

   (a)  in respect of the first of the financial years-the amount of One
        hundred and thirty six thousand dollars ($136,000); and

   (b)  in respect of each of the remaining four of the financial years-the
        amount of One hundred and thirty six thousand dollars ($136,000) plus
        any additional amount that is specified in a notice given by the
        Commonwealth to the State in respect of that year.

Payments by Commonwealth

4. (1) Subject to the provisions of this agreement the Commonwealth will, from
time to time at the request of the State, make payments to the State of
amounts of financial assistance to be provided under this agreement.

(2) The State will furnish to the Minister for Finance such documents and
other evidence in support of each request by the State for a payment to it by
the Commonwealth under sub-clause (1) as the Minister for Finance may from
time to time reasonably request, whether the request by the Minister for
Finance is made before or after the Commonwealth has made a payment pursuant
to the request by the State.

(3) Any statement of expenditure by the State forwarded to the Commonwealth in
connection with a request for payment in accordance with sub-clause (1) shall
be certified as to its correctness by the Auditor-General of the State.

Advances

5. (1) The Minister for Finance may, at such times as he thinks fit, make
advances of such amounts as he thinks fit to the State on account of an amount
that may become payable to the State under clause 4.

(2) An amount or part of an amount advanced by the Minister for Finance under
this clause may be deducted by the Commonwealth from amounts to be paid
subsequently under clause 4 or, if there are no further amounts to be paid
under that clause, shall be refunded by the State to the Commonwealth at the
request of the Minister for Finance.

Use of Payments and Advances

6. The State shall ensure that an amount, or any part of an amount, paid to
the State under this agreement is not used or applied except for the purpose
of meeting expenditure on the project in respect of which the amount is
provided.

Interest

7. (1) Interest at the rate provided in this clause shall accrue in respect of
each payment or advance made to the State under clause 4 or clause 5 on and
from the date on which the payment or advance was made and shall be calculated
on so much of the payment or advance as for the time being has not been repaid
by the State under clause 8 or, in the case of an advance, refunded to the
Commonwealth under clause 5.

(2) The amount of the interest that has accrued under this clause (including
interest that has accrued under sub-clause (3)) shall be calculated as at each
fifteenth day of January and fifteenth day of July.

(3) Interest at the rate provided in this clause and calculated as provided in
sub-clause (2) shall accrue on each amount to which paragraph (a) of
sub-clause (4) applies as from the date at which the amount was so calculated
and after the end of the deferment period shall be calculated on so much of
the amount as for the time being has not been paid by the State to the
Commonwealth under clause 8.

(4) An amount of interest calculated under this clause shall be payable as
follows:

   (a)  an amount that is calculated before the end of the deferment period in
        respect of the payment or advance to which the interest relates shall
        be payable by the State to the Commonwealth as if the amount were a
        payment which was made by the Commonwealth under this agreement on the
        date on which that amount of interest is calculated and is repayable
        by the State in accordance with clause 8; and

   (b)  an amount of interest that is calculated after the end of the
        deferment period in respect of the payment or advance to which the
        interest relates shall be payable by the State to the Commonwealth
        upon the day at which the amount is calculated.

(5) The rate at which interest accrues under this clause shall be the rate
that is equivalent to the rate of yield to maturity of the loan of the longer
or longest term of the last loan raising by the Commonwealth in Australia for
public subscription prior to the date on which the relevant payment or advance
was made or the amount in respect of which the interest has accrued was
calculated, as the case may be.

(6) For the purposes of sub-clause (5) the expression ''the rate of yield to
maturity'' means the rate per annum, as determined by the Minister for Finance
to the nearest cent in accordance with sound actuarial practice, that the
yield from the interest payable by the Commonwealth in respect of the relevant
loan represents having regard to the issue price and the period to maturity of
the loan.

(7) For the purposes of this clause and of clause 8 ''the deferment period''
in respect of a payment or advance shall be the period of twenty years
commencing on the date on which the payment or advance was made and in
relation to an amount referred to in paragraph (a) of sub-clause (4) that date
shall for the purposes of sub-clause (1) of clause 8 be the date upon which
the payment or advance to which the amount relates was made.

Repayments by State

8. (1) Subject to sub-clause (2), the State shall repay to the Commonwealth
the amount of each payment made to the State under clause 4 (including an
amount referred to in paragraph (a) of sub-clause 7 (4)) and of each advance
made to the State and not refunded under clause 5 by eighty equal half-yearly
instalments, the first instalment to be paid in each case on the first
fifteenth day of July which occurs after the end of the deferment period in
respect of the payment (or amount) or advance and subsequent instalments on
each succeeding fifteenth day of January and fifteenth day of July until the
payment (or amount) or advance has been paid in full.

(2) The State may at any time, after giving to the Minister for Finance notice
of at least one month of its intention so to do, pay to the Commonwealth so
much of an amount that is payable by the State under this clause as has not
been paid, together with the interest on the amount so paid accrued to the
date of payment in accordance with clause 7.

Performance of Projects

9. The State shall ensure that projects in the forestry programme are carried
out during the financial years efficiently and in conformity with sound
forestry and financial practices and shall ensure that environmental factors
relating to the projects have been considered.

Information, Consultation and Statements

10. The State shall-

   (a)  from time to time at the request of the Commonwealth Minister furnish
        to him such information as he may reasonably require for the purpose
        of or in relation to this agreement;

   (b)  prior to the commencement of each of the last four of the financial
        years, consult with the Commonwealth on the forestry programme
        proposed by the State in the forthcoming year; and

   (c)  prepare and furnish to the Minister for Finance not later than the
        thirtieth day of April in each year a statement showing the estimated
        expenditure on projects during the next of the financial years and
        estimates of the amounts that the State will request the Commonwealth
        to pay to the State under this agreement in respect of those projects.

Financial Statements

11. The State shall-

   (a)  keep full accounts and records of all financial transactions, work
        done, and plant, stores, materials and equipment used or disposed of,
        in connection with projects; and

   (b)  furnish to the Minister for Finance, as soon as possible after the
        completion of each of the financial years, financial statements
        showing expenditure on projects during that year.

Audit

12. (1) The accounts, books, vouchers, plans, documents and other records of
the State relating to projects shall be subject to audit by the
Auditor-General of the State.

(2) A report on the audits and on the financial statements in respect of each
of the financial years shall be furnished by the Auditor-General of the State
to the Minister for Finance as soon as possible after the completion of the
financial year, indicating inter alia-

   (a)  whether the financial statements are based on proper accounts and
        records and are in agreement with those accounts and records; and

   (b)  whether the expenditure of moneys was for the purpose of meeting the
        cost of projects, and including reference to such other matters
        arising out of the audits and financial statements as the
        Auditor-General of the State considers should be reported to the
        Minister for Finance.

Notices

13. Any notice, request or other communication to be given or made under this
agreement by the Commonwealth, the Minister for Finance or the Commonwealth
Minister to the State shall be deemed sufficiently given or made if it is in
writing signed by the Minister for Finance or the Commonwealth Minister, as
appropriate, or by any person thereunto authorized in writing by either of
them and any notice, application, request or other communication to be given
or made by the State to the Commonwealth, the Minister for Finance or the
Commonwealth Minister shall be deemed sufficiently given or made if it is in
writing signed by the State Treasurer or any person thereunto authorized in
writing by him.

THE SCHEDULE

Interpretation and Construction
Clause 1
1. The following definitions shall apply to this agreement-

''establishment'' means the planting of tree seedlings and other activities,
including construction of roads, firebreaks and tracks, prior to, and
subsequent to, planting the purpose of which is to ensure the survival and
development of those seedlings;

''forestry programme'' means the programme of projects referred to in clause
2;

''former farmland'' means land which has been predominantly cleared for
agricultural pursuits and includes land which was so cleared and which carries
partial tree or shrub cover;

''project'' means a project which has been approved by the Commonwealth
Minister for inclusion in the forestry programme as a project for the purposes
of this agreement;

''reforestation'' means planting, sowing or other activity to produce a new
tree crop on land which formerly carried tree cover;

''rehabilitation'' means operations to encourage the growth of, or improve the
stocking of, favoured species in existing forests; and

''thinning'' means selective felling of immature trees to accelerate growth or
improve the average quality of remaining trees.

2. In this agreement-

''the Act'' means the Act of the Parliament of the Commonwealth by which the
execution, on behalf of the Commonwealth, of this agreement is authorized;

''the Commonwealth Minister'' means the Minister of the Commonwealth from time
to time responsible for administering the Act;

''the Minister for Finance'' means the Minister for Finance of the
Commonwealth; and

''the State Treasurer'' means the Treasurer of the State.

3. In this agreement-

   (a)  a reference to a Minister includes a Minister of the Commonwealth or
        of the State who is for the time being acting for or on behalf of that
        Minister;

   (b)  a reference to a clause is, unless the reference otherwise indicates,
        to the designated clause of this agreement;

   (c)  a reference to a sub-clause is, unless another clause is indicated, to
        the designated sub-clause of the clause in which the reference
        appears; and

   (d)  words in the singular include the plural and vice versa.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, &c.
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