Northern Territory Explanatory Statements

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STANDARD TIME BILL 2005

2005

LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY OF THE
NORTHERN TERRITORY

MINISTER FOR JUSTICE AND ATTORNEY-GENERAL

STANDARD TIME BILL 2005

SERIAL NO. 282

EXPLANATORY STATEMENT


GENERAL OUTLINE

This Bill repeals the Standard Time Act 1898 (SA) as it applies in the Northern Territory and provides for a new measurement of standard time.

The purpose of the Bill is to replace Greenwich Mean Time as the reference for calculating standard time by a reference to Co-ordinated Universal Time.

By reason of the Commonwealth National Measurement Act 1960, Co-ordinated Universal Time is the recognised legal measurement of time in Australia.

At the State and Territory level, the only statutes referring to Greenwich Mean Time are the Standard Time Acts and equivalent provisions in other legislation. In the Northern Territory, the Standard Time Act 1898 of South Australia currently applies. National agreement has been reached to amend the references in Standard Time legislation from Greenwich Mean Time to Co-ordinated Universal Time.

NOTES ON CLAUSES

Clause 1. Short Title.

This is a formal clause which provides for the citation of the Bill. The Bill when passed may be cited as the Standard Time Act 2005.

Clause 2. Commencement.

The Act will come into force on I September 2005. This date has been selected to co-ordinate with the commencement of comparative legislation in other Australian jurisdictions.

Clause 3. Definitions.

This clause provides definitions of the words “Co-ordinated Universal Time” and “legal document” for the purposes of the Act. “Co-ordinated Universal Time” is the recognised legal standard for time under the National Measurement Act (Cth) and is the only time scale supported by a technical infrastructure being maintained by a system of atomic clocks around the world. It is a more accurate time scale and replaces Greenwich Mean Time which is a solar time scale based upon the rotation of the Earth.

Clause 4 Declaration of Standard Time.

This clause declares that standard time in the Territory is to be 9 hours and 30 minutes in advance of Co-ordinated Universal Time.

Clause 5 References to Time.

This clause provides that references to time in legal documents or to the time at which before, after or during an act or omission has legal effect is to be in accordance with standard time, unless a legal document requires it to be determined in another way.

The provision applies whenever a document was made or an act or omission has occurred.

Clause 6 Repeal of Act

This clause repeals the Standard Time Act 1898 of South Australia which until this Act commences governs standard time in the Northern Territory.

Clause 7 Principal Act amended.

This clause provides for a Part to make a consequential amendment to the Interpretation Act.

Clause 8 Amendment of section 28 (Reckoning of time)

The consequential amendment substitutes a new section 28(3) to the Interpretation Act providing that in any Act a reference to time must be read as a reference to standard time.

Clause 9 Expiry of Part.

This clause allows the Part providing for the consequential amendment to the Interpretation Act to expire on the day after it commences.

 

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