Commonwealth Grants Commission Amendment Act 1978 (Cth)

COMMONWEALTH GRANTS COMMISSION AMENDMENT ACT 1978

No. 86 of 1978

An Act to amend the Commonwealth Grants Commission Act 1973.

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 Commonwealth Grants Commission Amendment Act 1978. (2) The Commonwealth Grants Commission Act 1973 is in this Act referred to as the Principal Act.

Commencement 2. (1) Subject to sub-section (2), this Act shall come into operation on the day on which it receives the Royal Assent. (2) Sections 3, 5, 9 and 15 shall come into operation on 1 July 1978.

Long title 3. The long title of the Principal Act is amended by inserting "and to the Northern Territory'' after "the States''.

Definitions 4. Section 4 of the Principal Act is amended— (a) by inserting before the definition of "Chairman" the following definition: "'associate member' means an associate member of the Commission appointed under section 19a;"; and (b) by adding "appointed under section 8" at the end of the definition of "member".

Meaning of special assistance 5. Section 5 of the Principal Act is amended— (a) by omitting "are references" and substituting "shall be read as references"; and (b) by adding at the end thereof the following sub-section: "(2) References in this Act to the grant of special assistance to the Northern Territory shall be read as references to the grant of financial assistance to the Northern Territory for the purpose of making it possible for the Northern Territory, by reasonable effort, to function, in respect of matters for which the Ministers of that Territory have executive authority, at standards not appreciably below the standards of the States.".

Membership of Commission 6. Section 8 of the Principal Act is amended— (a) by omitting from sub-section (1) "The Commission" and substituting "Subject to section 19a, the Commission"; (b) by inserting after sub-section (5) the following sub-section: "(5a) A person who is employed by the Commonwealth or by a State in a full-time capacity is not eligible for appointment as a part-time member."; and (c) by omitting sub-section (8).