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This is a Bill, not an Act. For current law, see the Acts databases.
PARLIAMENT OF VICTORIA
Gas Industry (Residual Provisions) (Amendment)
Act 2002
Act No.
TABLE OF PROVISIONS
Clause Page
1. Purpose 1
2. Commencement 1
3. New Part 14 inserted 2
PART 14--TRANSFER OF CERTAIN PROPERTY OF
GASCOR 2
116. Definitions 2
117. Purpose of Part 5
118. Nomination of transferee 6
119. Transfer of Longford assets and Longford liabilities 6
120. Assets and liabilities to vest subject to encumbrances 6
121. Certificate of chief executive officer 6
122. Substitution of party to agreement 7
123. GASCOR instruments 8
124. Longford proceedings 8
125. Taxes 8
126. Evidence 9
127. Validity of things done under this Part 9
ENDNOTES 11
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PARLIAMENT OF VICTORIA
Initiated in Assembly 9 October 2002
A BILL
to amend the Gas Industry (Residual Provisions) Act 1994 and for
other purposes.
Gas Industry (Residual Provisions)
(Amendment) Act 2002
The Parliament of Victoria enacts as follows:
1. Purpose
The main purpose of this Act is to amend the Gas
Industry (Residual Provisions) Act 1994 to
provide for the transfer of certain property, rights
5 and liabilities of GASCOR.
2. Commencement
This Act comes into operation on the day after the
day on which it receives the Royal Assent.
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Gas Industry (Residual Provisions) (Amendment) Act 2002
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3. New Part 14 inserted
After Part 13B of the Gas Industry (Residual
Provisions) Act 1994 insert--
'PART 14--TRANSFER OF CERTAIN
5 PROPERTY OF GASCOR
116. Definitions
(1) In this Part--
"former GASCOR property" means the
Longford assets and Longford liabilities
10 that, under section 119, have vested in,
or become liabilities of, the transferee;
"GASCOR" means GASCOR Pty Ltd
ACN 085 262 773;
"GASCOR contractual rights" means the
15 rights of GASCOR arising out of or
under--
(a) any contract of insurance entered
into by GASCOR on or before
10 December 1999 that includes
20 public liability or professional
indemnity insurance; or
(b) any chose in action, indemnity,
remedy, right of compensation or
other right in respect of Longford
25 liabilities under any contract; or
(c) any contract under which
GASCOR has retained a legal
practitioner or firm of legal
practitioners to provide legal
30 services in connection with the
Longford proceedings;
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"GASCOR instrument" means an
instrument (including a legislative
instrument other than this Part)
subsisting immediately before the
5 relevant date in relation to GASCOR--
(a) to which GASCOR was a party;
or
(b) that was given to or in favour of
GASCOR; or
10 (c) that refers to GASCOR; or
(d) under which--
(i) money is, or may become
payable to or by GASCOR;
or
15 (ii) other property is to be, or
may become liable to be,
transferred to or by
GASCOR;
"Longford assets" means--
20 (a) GASCOR contractual rights; and
(b) other Longford rights; and
(c) all documents and records in the
possession, custody or control of
GASCOR relating to the Longford
25 proceedings;
"Longford liabilities" means any liabilities
of GASCOR arising out of or in
connection with--
(a) the Longford proceedings; or
30 (b) the fire and explosions that
occurred at the gas processing
plant at Longford on
25 September 1998;
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"Longford proceedings" means--
(a) proceeding No. 5538 of 2001 and
proceeding No. 5975 of 2001 in
the Supreme Court ("the initial
5 proceedings"); and
(b) the claims by Esso Australia Pty
Ltd (ACN 000 018 566) and Esso
Australia Resources Pty Ltd
(ACN 091 829 819) for
10 contribution or indemnity from
GASCOR in the Third Party
Notice Statement of Claim dated
7 June 2001 in proceeding
No. 5538 of 2001 ("the initial
15 third party claims"); and
(c) any other proceedings where--
(i) a cause of action is the same
or substantially similar to a
cause of action in the initial
20 proceedings or the initial
third party claims; and
(ii) the facts, matters and
circumstances relied on in
the proceedings are similar
25 to the facts, matters and
circumstances relied on in
the initial proceedings or the
initial third party claims; and
(d) any appeal from the proceedings
30 referred to in paragraph (a), (b) or
(c);
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"other Longford rights" means the rights
of GASCOR (other than GASCOR
contractual rights)--
(a) that arise out of any duty that a
5 fiduciary owes to GASCOR in
relation to or in connection with
the Longford proceedings;
(b) under any Act or law relating to
confidentiality or privilege and
10 that arise out of or in connection
with the Longford proceedings;
(c) to any amount of costs, damages
or compensation arising in relation
to or in connection with the
15 Longford proceedings;
(d) to contribution or indemnity in
respect of a Longford liability;
"relevant date" means the date fixed by the
Minister under sub-section (2) for the
20 purposes of this Part;
"transferee" means the person nominated
under section 118;
(2) The Minister may, by notice published in the
Government Gazette, fix the relevant date for
25 the purposes of this Part.
117. Purpose of Part
(1) It is the intention of this Part to provide for
the transfer as a bundle in one transaction of
the whole of the Longford assets and
30 Longford liabilities to a person nominated by
the Minister under this Part.
(2) This section has effect despite anything to
the contrary in section 6 of the
Interpretation of Legislation Act 1984.
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118. Nomination of transferee
The Minister may by notice in writing to
GASCOR nominate a person as the
transferee for the purposes of this Part.
5 119. Transfer of Longford assets and Longford
liabilities
On the relevant date--
(a) the Longford assets vest in the
transferee; and
10 (b) the Longford liabilities become
liabilities of the transferee.
120. Assets and liabilities to vest subject to
encumbrances
On the Longford assets and Longford
15 liabilities vesting in or becoming liabilities
of the transferee under section 119--
(a) the Longford assets so vested are
subject to the encumbrances (if any) to
which they were subject immediately
20 before so vesting; and
(b) the rights to which GASCOR was
entitled in respect of the Longford
liabilities immediately before they
ceased to be liabilities of GASCOR
25 vest in the transferee.
121. Certificate of chief executive officer
(1) A certificate signed by the chief executive
officer of the transferee certifying that
property, rights or liabilities of GASCOR
30 specified in the certificate have been vested
in or become liabilities of the transferee
under section 119 is, unless revoked under
sub-section (2), conclusive evidence--
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(a) that the property, rights or liabilities
have been so vested or become
liabilities of the transferee; and
(b) that the property, rights or liabilities
5 vested in or became the property, rights
or liabilities of the transferee on the
relevant date.
(2) If the Treasurer and the Minister so direct
the chief executive officer of the transferee
10 in writing, the chief executive officer
must revoke a certificate given under sub-
section (1) by issuing another certificate or
certificates in place of the first certificate.
(3) The chief executive officer of the
15 transferee--
(a) must keep a register of certificates
issued under this section; and
(b) must make the register reasonably
available for inspection by GASCOR or
20 any other interested person.
122. Substitution of party to agreement
On the rights and liabilities of GASCOR
under an agreement vesting in, or becoming
liabilities of, the transferee on the relevant
25 date in accordance with section 119--
(a) the transferee becomes a party to the
agreement in place of GASCOR; and
(b) the agreement has effect on and after
the relevant date as if the transferee had
30 always been a party to the agreement.
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123. GASCOR instruments
Each GASCOR instrument relating to former
GASCOR property continues to have effect
according to its tenor on and after the
5 relevant date as if a reference in the
instrument to GASCOR were a reference to
the transferee.
124. Longford proceedings
(1) This section applies on the Longford assets
10 and Longford liabilities vesting in or
becoming liabilities of the transferee under
section 119.
(2) If, immediately before the relevant date, any
Longford proceedings were pending or
15 existing, then on and after the relevant
date--
(a) the transferee is substituted for
GASCOR as a party to the Longford
proceedings; and
20 (b) the transferee has the same rights in the
Longford proceedings as GASCOR
had; and
(c) all things done in the course of the
Longford proceedings before the
25 relevant date shall have the same effect
in relation to the transferee as they had
in relation to GASCOR.
125. Taxes
No duty or other tax is chargeable under any
30 Act in respect of anything effected by or
done under this Part or in respect of any act
or transaction connected with or necessary to
be done by reason of this Part.
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126. Evidence
(1) Documentary or other evidence that would
have been admissible for or against the
interests of GASCOR in relation to former
5 GASCOR property if this Part had not been
enacted, is admissible for or against the
interests of the transferee.
(2) Division 3A of Part III of the Evidence Act
1958 continues to apply with respect to the
10 books of account of GASCOR and to entries
made in those books of account before the
relevant date, whether or not they relate to
former GASCOR property.
(3) In sub-section (2), "books of account" has
15 the same meaning as in Division 3A of
Part III of the Evidence Act 1958.
127. Validity of things done under this Part
(1) Nothing effected by this Part or done or
suffered under this Part--
20 (a) is to be regarded as placing any person
in breach of contract or confidence or
as otherwise making any of them guilty
of a civil wrong; or
(b) is to be regarded as placing any person
25 in breach of or as constituting a default
under any Act or other law or any
provision in any agreement,
arrangement or understanding
including, without limiting the
30 generality of the foregoing, any
provision prohibiting, restricting or
regulating the assignment or transfer of
any property or the disclosure of any
information; or
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(c) is to be regarded as fulfilling any
condition which allows a person to
exercise a right or remedy in respect of
or to terminate any agreement or
5 obligation; or
(d) is to be regarded as giving rise to any
remedy for a party to a contract or an
instrument or as causing or permitting
the termination of any contract or
10 instrument because of a change in the
beneficial or legal ownership of any
asset, right or liability; or
(e) is to be regarded as causing any
contract or instrument to be void or
15 otherwise unenforceable; or
(f) is to be regarded as frustrating any
contract; or
(g) releases any surety or other obligor
wholly or in part from any obligation.
20 (2) The validity of any act or transaction of
GASCOR, the transferee or the chief
executive officer of the transferee must not
be called in question in any proceedings on
the ground that any provision of this Part has
25 not been complied with.'.
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Endnotes
Act No.
ENDNOTES
By Authority. Government Printer for the State of Victoria.
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