Commonwealth Numbered Regulations - Explanatory Statements

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POLITICAL BROADCASTS (NEW SOUTH WALES) (AMENDMENT) 1992 NO. 6

EXPLANATORY STATEMENT

STATUTORY RULES 1992 No. 6

Issued by the Authority of the Minister for Transport and Communications

BROADCASTING ACT 1942

Political Broadcasts (New South Wales) (Amendment)

Section 134 of the Broadcasting Act 1942 (the Act) provides that the Governor-General may make regulations for the purposes of the Act.

Section 95H of the Act provides that subject to the regulations the Australian Broadcasting Tribunal grant each prescribed political party a period of free political broadcast time in relation to an election.

Minute No. 84 of 1991 recommended the making of Regulations (the principal Regulations) under Part 2 of the Political Broadcasting and Political Disclosures Act 1991. Those Regulations prescribed the way in which free political broadcasting time was to be allocated to political parties and candidates in the next election for the Parliament of New South Wales. The Regulations were made on 23 December 1991. As the Regulations did not contain a commencement provision they were to take effect upon the date of gazettal per section 48 of the Acts Interpretation Act 1901. Gazettal occurred upon 3 January 1992. On 3 January 1992 the Principal Regulations were purportedly rescinded and remade to correct section numbering from the Act which had been recast from its Bill form by the Clerk of the House of Representatives.

Advice has subsequently been received that the making of Regulations rescinding the principal Regulations and making new Regulations in substantially the same form was contrary to sections 48A of the Acts Interpretation Act 1901 and therefore void.

This results in the principal Regulations continuing to have effect from 3 January. The Regulations to which this minute relates, make the corrections to the section numbers purportedly made by the invalid second set of Regulations.

The principal Regulations include at Regulations 6 a formula for the calculation of the total free broadcasting time to be allocated in accordance with the requirements of subsection 95H(4) of the Broadcasting Act 1942. The effect of the formula in Regulation 6 was to prescribe 40 x 2 minute broadcasts. This calculation mirrored the Tasmanian Regulations. In both cases advice subsequently received as to the provisions of the relevant electoral acts casts doubt on the utility of the existing regulation.

Sub-section 95Q(3) of the Broadcasting Act, provides that freetime broadcasts can not be broadcast prior to the close of nominations for the relevant election. The New South Wales electoral legislation does not specify a minimum number of days between the close of nominations and the conduct of the subsequent poll. Therefore the prescription of a total number of broadcasts in Regulation 6 could potentially be incompatible with the further requirements of the regulations in respect of the manner in which such broadcasts are to occur in Regulation 12.

These regulations substitute the prescribed total with a daily total per days upon which broadcasts can occur in accordance with the Act and the Regulations.

Regulation 1 is formal, providing for the amendment of the existing Regulations.

Regulation 2 inserts new definitions in the Regulations. Campaign period, which is relevant to Regulation 6 and Regulation 12 is defined to commence from the beginning of the day following the close of nominations for the election. or on the third Saturday preceding the election day, whichever is the later thereby ensuring that in the case where during an election period for the New South Wales Parliament the date prescribed for the close of nomination is more than three weeks before the polling day, the period in which freetime broadcasts conducted shall be no more than approximately three weeks before the polling day.

Regulation 2 also specifies that available broadcast days shall not include Sundays. Subregulation 2(2) inserts definitions of 'available broadcasting day' and 'election day'.

Regulations 3-5 are formal and substitute the accurate section numbers which are set out in the final printed copy of the Political Broadcasts and Political Disclosures Act.

Regulation 6 substitutes a new Regulation 6 which prescribes the formula for the calculation of the total freetime available.

Regulations 7-10 are formal and substitute the accurate section numbers which are set out in the final copy of the Political Broadcasts and Political Disclosures Act.

Regulation 11, subregulation (1) is formal and substitutes the accurate section number which is set out in the final copy of the Political Broadcasts and Political Disclosures Act.

Regulation 11, subregulations (2) (3) and (4) are formal and substitute the appropriate type space to clarify the meaning of the Regulation.

Regulation 11, subregulation (5) omits subregulation 12.3 which is no longer required as it applies to cases where more than two broadcasts were required on one day. This is no longer possible because new Regulation 6 restricts the number of broadcasts to two per day.

Regulations 12-13 are formal and substitute the accurate section numbers which are set out in the final copy of the Political Broadcasts and Political Disclosures Act.


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