Tasmanian Beef Industry (Research and Development) Trust Act 1990 (Tas)

Tasmanian Beef Industry (Research and Development) Trust Act 1990

An Act to provide that the unexpended balance of money contributed by Tasmanian beef producers for testing of carcasses for chemical residues may be used for purposes of research and development in the beef industry [Royal Assent 11 July 1990]

Whereas –

(a) at a meeting of the Tasmanian Meat Industry Advisory Council at Glenorchy on 13th August 1987 comprising representatives of the Department of Primary Industry, the Meat and Allied Trades Federation of Tasmania, the Meat Exporters Association, the Tasmanian Farmers and Graziers Association and the Council of Live-stock Agents, it was agreed that urgent action was required in the interests of the beef export industry to provide a fund for testing carcasses of cattle for chemical residues; and (b) on 17th August 1987 a fund known as the Tasmanian Meat Industry Residue Testing Fund (in this Act referred to as "the Fund") was established for the purposes mentioned in paragraph (a) by contributions paid voluntarily by Tasmanian beef producers at the time of sale of their livestock; and (c) the Fund was established without formal documentation and as it was not contemplated that the Fund would ever have a credit balance no provision was made for distribution of the Fund in the event of a winding up; and (d) on 29th February 1988 the Australian Meat and Livestock Corporation assumed responsibility for the testing of carcasses by applying part of the slaughter levy imposed under the Live-stock Slaughter Levy Act 1964 of the Commonwealth for that purpose and as a result the money then standing to the credit of the Fund was not needed for that purpose; and (e) the original trustees of the Fund were David William Eddington, Farmer of Richmond, James Phillip Agnew, Farmer of Oatlands and Michael Boyd Fletcher, Executive Officer of Launceston each of whom remains in office as a trustee; and (f) on 31st January 1990 the unexpended balance of the Fund together with accrued interest was $275 198·06; and (g) it is impossible to distribute the balance of the Fund in an equitable manner among the persons who contributed to it as – (i) contributions to the Fund were made voluntarily by at least 5 000 beef producers; and (ii) in the vast majority of cases the contributions were made through agents and the payments were made by the agents without identifying the producers who made the contributions; and (iii) there were several changes in the rates at which contributions were paid, in the rate of testing carcasses and in the manner of selecting the lots of cattle for testing; and (iv) the source of the contributions cannot be traced without considerable cost and in some cases contributions cannot be traced at all; and (h) it is expedient that the unexpended balance of the Fund be applied for purposes of research and development in the beef industry: