PROVISIONAL REGULATIONS UNDER THE WAR PRECAUTIONS ACT 1914-15.

I, THE GOVERNOR-GENERAL in and over the Commonwealth of Australia, acting with the advice of the Federal Executive Council, hereby certify that, on account of urgency, the following Regulations under the War Precautions Act 1914-1915 should come into immediate operation, and make the Regulations to come into operation as from the third day of April, 1916, as Provisional Regulations.

Dated this twenty-fourth day of March, 1916.

R. M. FERGUSON,

Governor-General

By His Excellency’s Command,

G. F. PEARCE,

Minister of State for Defence.

War Precautions (Prices Adjustment) Regulations 1916.

Short title

1. These Regulations may be cited as the War Precautions (Prices Adjustment) Regulations 1916.

Definitions

2. In these Regulations, unless the contrary intention appears—

“the Board” means the Commonwealth Prices Adjustment Board constituted under these Regulations; and

“State Board” means any Board or other authority appointed under any State Act upon which is conferred the function of fixing, or making recommendations in relation to, the prices of foodstuffs.

Prices Adjustment Board.

3. (1) There shall be a Commonwealth Prices Adjustment Board, consisting of five members, who shall be appointed by, and shall hold their membership during the pleasure of, the Governor-General.

(2) The Chairman of the Board shall be appointed by the Governor-General, and in his absence the members present may elect one of their numbers to act as Chairman.

(3) Three members of the Board shall form a quorum.

Powers of Board.

4. (1) The Board shall have power to—

(a) summon witnesses;

(b) take evidence on oath;

(d) enter upon any premises and inspect any documents books and papers or any stocks of flour and bread, or authorize any member of the Board or any other person to enter upon any premises and inspect any such documents books and papers or any stocks of flour and bread.

C.3310.—Price 3d.

(2) If any member of the Board or any other person authorized by the Board discloses, except in the course of his duty, or except to the Board, any information obtained by him while upon any such premises, he shall be guilty of an offence.

Failure of witness to appear.

5. Any person who, having been summoned as a witness before the Board, fails, without lawful excuse, to appear in obedience to the summons, shall be guilty of an offence.

Failure to be sworn produce documents, or answer questions.

6. Any person who, having been summoned as a witness before the Board, refuses, without lawful excuse, to be sworn, or to make an affirmation, or to produce documents books and papers or to answer questions which he is lawfully required to answer, shall be guilty of an offence.

Preventing Board or member from entering premises, &c.

7. Any person who prevents or attempts to prevent the Board or any member of the Board or any other person who produces an authority in writing signed by the Chairman of the Board from entering upon any premises and inspecting any documents books and papers or any stocks of flour or bread shall be guilty of an offence.

Proclaimed areas.

8. (1) For the purpose of these Regulations, the areas specified in the Schedule shall, subject to sub-regulations (2) and (3) of this Regulation, be proclaimed areas.

(2) Upon the recommendation of the Board, the Governor-General may from time to time by notice in the Gazette declare that any area specified by him shall, for the purposes of these Regulations, be a proclaimed area or part of a proclaimed area, and thereupon the area shall, so long as the declaration remains in force, be deemed to be a proclaimed area, or part thereof, as the case may be.

(3) Upon the recommendation of the Board, the Governor-General may from time to time by notice in the Gazette declare that any proclaimed area, or any part thereof, shall cease to be a proclaimed area, or part thereof (as the case may be), and thereupon such area, or part, shall cease to be a proclaimed area, or part thereof (as the case may be).

Determination of prices, &c.

9. (1) The Governor-General may from time to time, on the recommendation of the Board—

(a) determine the maximum prices which may be charged for flour and bread sold in any proclaimed area;

(b) determine the conditions under which flour and bread may be sold therein.

(2) Any such determination shall be published in the Gazette, and shall from the date specified in the Gazette have the force of law.

(3) Until the Governor-General makes any determination in pursuance of sub-regulation (1) of this Regulation, the following shall be the maximum prices which may be charged in proclaimed areas:—

For Flour—Eleven pounds five shillings per ton delivered within any proclaimed area in any State of the Commonwealth other than Western Australia, and Eleven pounds eight shillings per ton delivered within any proclaimed area in Western Australia.

For Bread—

When sold over the counter in any proclaimed area in any State of the Commonwealth other than Western Australia—Sixpence halfpenny per four pounds, and for a fraction of four pounds a proportionate amount, and where such amount includes a portion of a penny (other than a halfpenny) the amount may be increased to the nearest halfpenny:

When sold over the counter in any proclaimed area in the State of Western Australia—Sevenpence per four pounds, and for a fraction of four pounds a proportionate amount, and where such amount includes a portion of a penny (other than a halfpenny) the amount may be increased to the nearest halfpenny.

Sale at price greater than maximum price.

10. Any person who in any proclaimed area sells or offers for sale flour or bread at a greater price than the maximum price fixed, by or under these Regulations, for the sale of flour or bread in that area shall be guilty of an offence.

Co-operation with State Boards.

11. (1) The Prime Minister may if he thinks fit, arrange with the Premier of any State for the conduct by a State Board, either conjointly with or in lieu of the Commonwealth Prices Adjustment Board, of any inquiry considered by the Board to be necessary for the purposes of these Regulations.

(2) For the purpose of any inquiry conducted by a State Board in pursuance of any such arrangement, the State Board shall have and may exercise all the powers and functions conferred on the Board by the preceding Regulations:

Provided that any recommendation made by the State Board in relation to the subject-matter of the inquiry shall be to the Commonwealth Prices Adjustment Board.

Expenses of members of the Board.

12. The Chairman of the Board shall be paid a sum of Thirty shillings per diem, and the other members of the Board a sum of Twenty-five shillings per diem each, on account of expenses incurred by them in and in the course of travelling, whether by land or water, whenever such expenses have been incurred bonâ fide in the performance of their duties as Members of the Board, and such sums as may be necessary to pay the cost of their conveyance.

The First Schedule.

(а) The area comprised within a radius of ten miles from the General Post Office, Sydney, in the State of New South Wales, together with the municipality of Parramatta in that State.

(b) The area comprised within the Commonwealth Electoral Division of Newcastle, in the State of New South Wales, and the Subdivisions of Largs and Maitland of the Commonwealth Electoral Division of Hunter, in the said State.

(d) The area comprised within a radius of seven miles from the General Post Office Brisbane, in the State of Queensland, together with the towns of Sandgate and Wynnum in that State.

(e) The area comprised within a radius of six miles from the General Post Office, Adelaide, in the State of South Australia, together with the municipalities of Glenelg and Port Adelaide.

(f) The area comprised within a radius of four miles from the General Post Office, Perth, in the State of Western Australia, together with the municipalities of Claremont, Fremantle, East Fremantle and North Fremantle.

(g) The area comprised within a radius of three and one-half miles from the General Post Office, Hobart, in the State of Tasmania.

(h) The area comprised within a radius of two miles from the Post Office, Launceston, in the State of Tasmania.

Printed and Published for the Government of the Commonwealth of Australia by Albert J. Mullet, Government Printer for the State of Victoria.