WOOL (RESERVE PRICES PLAN) REFERENDUM REGULATIONS.

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Statutory Rules 1951, No. 85. (m)

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Citation.

1. These Regulations may be cited as the Wool (Reserve Prices Plan) Referendum Regulations.

Interpretation.

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

“ the Chief Electoral Officer ” means the Chief Electoral Officer for the Commonwealth ;

(m) Made under the Wool (Reserve Prices) Fund Act 1950 on 8th August, 9151 ; notified in Gazette on 9th August, 1951.

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“ the Wool (Reserve Prices) Plan ” means the proposed plan and arrangements set out in the document delivered by the Minister to the Chief Electoral Officer in accordance with regulation 3 of these Regulations.

(2.) In these Regulations any reference to a form is a reference to a form contained in the Schedule to these Regulations.

(3.) For the purposes of these Regulations—

(a) a wool-grower who ordinarily resides in the Australian Capital Territory is deemed to ordinarily reside in the State of New South Wales ; and

(b) a wool-grower who ordinarily resides in the Northern Territory is deemed to ordinarily reside in the State in which he normally sells most of the wool grown by him in any year.

Referendum.

3.—(1.) A referendum shall be held in accordance with these Regulations.

(2.) The Minister shall, for the purpose of the referendum, deliver to the Chief Electoral Officer a document setting out the terms of a proposed plan for establishing minimum reserve prices for wool, and proposed arrangements in connexion with the operation of the plan in Australia.

Closing of poll.

4. The poll at the referendum shall close at twelve noon on the twenty-third day of August, 1951.

Returning Officer and Deputy Returning Officer.

5.—(1.) The Chief Electoral Officer shall be the Returning Officer for the purposes of the referendum.

(2.) The Returning Officer shall appoint a Deputy Returning Officer for each State.

Roll or wool-growers.

6.—(1.) The Deputy Returning Officer for a State shall prepare a roll of wool-growers for the State.

(2.) The name of a person shall not be included in the roll of wool-growers for a State unless he ordinarily resides in the State, and, prior to four o’clock in the afternoon of the seventeenth day of August, 1951—

(a) his name and address have been notified to the Deputy Returning Officer by a wool-selling broker or wool-selling agent or by the Australian Wool Realization Commission as being those of a wool-grower who, during the year ended on the thirtieth day of June, 1950, sold not less than five bales of shorn wool ; or

(b) the Deputy Returning Officer has received from him a duly completed claim for enrolment in accordance with Form A.

(3.) Notwithstanding anything contained in the last preceding sub-regulation, a person is not entitled to make a claim for enrolment unless he is a wool-grower who—

(a) owns not less than two hundred sheep ; or

(b) during the year ended on the thirtieth day of June, 1951, sold, or delivered to store for sale, not less than five bales of shorn wool,

and a Deputy Returning Officer shall not, in pursuance of a claim for enrolment, enrol a person who he is satisfied was not entitled to make the claim.

Persons entitled to vote at referendum.

7. A person who is enrolled on the roll of wool-growers for a State shall be entitled to vote in that State at the referendum if he is a wool-grower and if—

(a) he owns not less than two hundred sheep ; or

(b) during the year ended on the thirtieth day of June, 1951, he has sold, or delivered to store for sale, not less than five bales of shorn wool.

Personal representatives and trustees.

8. For the purpose of eligibility for enrolment, and for the purpose of voting at the referendum, in the case of personal representatives, or trustees of the estate, of a deceased person—

(a) sales or deliveries of wool made, before his death, by the deceased person shall be deemed to have been made by the personal representatives or trustees ; and

(b) where there is more than one personal representative or trustee in respect of one deceased person, they shall be treated jointly as one person ordinarily resident in the State in which the deceased person was ordinarily resident.

Partnerships.

9. For the purposes of these Regulations, sheep owned by a partnership, and wool sold or delivered by a partnership, shall be deemed to be owned, sold or delivered, as the case may be, by the partners individually in the proportions in which they are entitled to share in the profits of the partnership.

Voting by companies.

10. When a person entitled to vote at the referendum is a company, the right to vote may be exercised on behalf of the company by the secretary or public officer of the company.

Transmission of ballot-papers, &c.

11.—(1.) As soon as practicable after the commencement of these Regulations, the Deputy Returning Officer for each State shall transmit, or cause to be transmitted, by post to each person enrolled on the roll of wool-growers for that State a ballot-paper in accordance with Form B, together with an envelope having printed thereon a form of declaration in accordance with Form C.

(2.) There shall be enclosed with each such ballot-paper and envelope a copy of the Wool (Reserve Prices) Plan.

(3.) There may also be enclosed with each such ballot-paper and envelope a pamphlet containing a brief explanation by the Minister of the Wool (Reserve Prices) Plan.

Voting compulsory.

12.—(1.) A person who—

(a) is entitled to vote at the referendum ; and

(b) has received a ballot-paper substantially in accordance with Form B and an envelope having printed thereon a form of declaration substantially in accordance with Form C,

shall not, without reasonable excuse, fail to vote at the referendum.

Penalty : Two pounds.

(2.) In proceedings for an offence against this regulation, proof that the Deputy Returning Officer for the State in which the person charged ordinarily resided at the date on which the poll closed did not, before that date, receive an envelope, of the kind provided for the posting of votes, bearing the signature of the person charged shall be prima facie evidence that that person failed to vote at the referendum.

(3.) Proceedings for an offence against this regulation shall not be instituted except by the Chief Electoral Officer or an officer thereto authorized in writing by the Chief Electoral Officer.

Manner of voting.

13.—(1.) A vote shall be made by complying with the provisions of the next succeeding sub-regulation.

(2.) A voter shall mark his vote on his ballot-paper as follows:—

(a) if he approves of the proposed plan—by placing a cross in the square opposite the word “ YES ” ; and

(b) if he does not approve of the proposed plan—by placing a cross in the square opposite the word “ NO ”,

and shall then complete and sign the declaration on the envelope supplied, fold the ballot-paper and place it in the envelope, fasten the envelope, and post it, bearing the address of the Deputy Returning Officer as printed on the envelope.

(3.) The voter shall, before posting the envelope, affix a postage stamp of the value of three pence half-penny to the envelope.

Replacement of ballot-paper.

14. If a person who is entitled to vote at the referendum makes and transmits to the Deputy Returning Officer for the State in which he is enrolled an application in writing stating—

(a) his name and address ;

(b) that he has not received a ballot-paper or envelope or that a ballot-paper or envelope received by him has been lost or destroyed ; and

the Deputy Returning Officer may post to that person a ballot-paper and envelope, or a further ballot-paper and envelope, as the case may require.

Custody of envelopes containing ballot-papers.

15.—(1.) A Deputy Returning Officer shall place and keep in a locked and sealed ballot-box, until the scrutiny, all envelopes appearing to contain ballot-papers received by him up to the close of the poll at the referendum.

(2.) An envelope containing a ballot-paper received after the close of the poll shall not be admitted to the scrutiny.

The scrutiny.

16. Immediately after the close of the poll in the referendum, the Deputy Returning Officer for each State, in the presence of an officer of the Commonwealth Public Service and of any other person or persons approved by the Deputy Returning Officer, shall—

(a) open the ballot-box and produce unopened all envelopes contained therein;

(b) examine each envelope and, if the declaration appears to have been signed by the voter, accept the vote for scrutiny, but if the declaration is not so signed, disallow the ballot-paper without opening the envelope ;

(c) place the envelopes containing the disallowed ballot-papers in a parcel, seal the parcel and endorse it “ Wool (Reserve Prices Plan) Referendum—Votes rejected at preliminary scrutiny ” and add his signature and the date ;

(d) place all envelopes containing votes accepted for scrutiny on a table before him with the blank side uppermost, and then withdraw from each envelope the ballot-paper contained therein and, without unfolding it or inspecting the vote or permitting any other person to do so, forthwith place the ballot-paper in a ballot-box for subsequent count ;

(e) place the envelopes from which ballot-papers have been withdrawn in a parcel, seal the parcel and endorse it “ Wool (Reserve Prices Plan) Referendum—Envelopes from which ballot-papers have been withdrawn ” and add his signature and the date ;

(f) take from the ballot-box referred to in paragraph (d) of this regulation all the ballot-papers contained therein and, rejecting all informal ballot-papers (if any)—

(i) count the number of votes recorded in favour of the proposed plan ; and

(ii) count the number of votes recorded not in favour of the proposed plan ; and

(g) place all ballot-papers admitted as formal or rejected as informal in a sealed and clearly labelled parcel.

Notification of result.

17.—(1.) The Deputy Returning Officer shall forthwith notify the Returning Officer of the result of the referendum in his State.

(2.) Upon receipt of notice of the results from all the Deputy Returning Officers, the Returning Officer shall furnish the Minister with a certificate showing—

(a) the total number of votes recorded in favour of the proposed plan ;

(b) the total number of votes recorded not in favour of the proposed plan ; and

Preservation of ballot-papers for six months.

18.—(1.) The Deputy Returning Officer shall retain the parcels referred to in regulation 16 of these Regulations until authority is given for the destruction of the contents of the parcels.

(2.) Upon the expiration of six months after the date of the certification to the Minister of the result of the referendum, the Returning Officer may authorize the destruction of the parcels.

Untrue statements.

19. A person shall not make an untrue statement in a declaration made for the purposes of these Regulations or in an application to a Deputy Returning Officer for the purpose of obtaining a ballot-paper or a further ballot-paper.

Penalty : Fifty pounds.

Offences in connexion with polling.

20.—(1.) A person shall not—

(a) impersonate another person for the purpose of securing a ballot-paper or for the purpose of voting at the referendum ;

(b) unlawfully deface or destroy a ballot-paper ;

(d) vote at the referendum unless he is entitled so to vote.

Penalty : Fifty pounds.

(2.) Notwithstanding paragraph (c) of the last preceding sub-regulation, the right of a person to vote as personal representative, or trustee of the estate, of a deceased person or on behalf of a company shall not affect, or be affected by, his right to vote in any other capacity.

Forms.

21.—(1.) Strict compliance with the forms in the Schedule shall not be necessary, and substantial compliance shall be sufficient.

(2.) For the purposes of these Regulations, the declaration to be completed and signed by a voter shall be deemed to be duly completed and signed in the case of a person voting as secretary or public officer of a company or as a personal representative, trustee or partner notwithstanding any alteration made by the voter to the form in order to show correctly the circumstances entitling him to vote.

(3.) A person who, by virtue of sub-section (2.) of the last preceding regulation, is entitled to vote more than once at the referendum may insert in the last sentence of the declaration in connexion with a vote recorded by him, after the word “ not ”, the words “ except as authorized by the Regulations ” and a declaration so altered and signed by the voter shall be deemed to be duly completed and signed.

THE SCHEDULE.

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Form A. Reg. 6 (2).

Commonwealth of Australia.

Wool (Reserve Prices Plan) Referendum.

CLAIM FOR ENROLMENT BY WOOL-GROWER (not already enrolled).

Surname

Christian name (or names)

Full Postal address

To the Deputy Returning Officer—

I, the abovenamed, hereby claim to have my name placed on the Roll of Wool-growers to enable me to vote at the Wool (Reserve Prices Plan) Referendum.

I declare that I am a wool-grower, and that—

(a) I own not less than two hundred sheep : or

(b) since 1st July, 1950, I have sold (or delivered to store for sale) not less than five hales of shorn wool.

Signature of Wool-grower

Date /1951.

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Form B. Reg. 11 (1.).

Commonwealth of Australia.

Wool (Reserve Prices Plan) Referendum.

BALLOT-PAPER.

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REFERENDUM.

Submission to Wool-growers of a Proposed Plan to Establish Minimum Reserve Prices for Wool.

Directions—Mark your vote on this ballot-paper as follows :—

IF YOU APPROVE of the proposed plan, place a cross in the square opposite the word “ YES ”.

IF YOU DO NOT APPROVE of the proposed plan, place a cross in the square opposite the word “ NO ”.

THE SCHEDULE—continued.

DO YOU APPROVE OF THE proposed plan to establish minimum reserve prices for wool ?

YES

Note.—This ballot-paper, when marked, should be folded and returned to the Deputy Returning Officer in the envelope supplied so as to reach that officer not later than twelve o’clock noon on the twenty-third day of August, 1951. The declaration on the envelope must be completed and signed by the voter.

VOTING IS COMPULSORY.

Penalty for failure (without valid reason) £2.

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Form C. Reg. 11 (1.).

Wool (Reserve Prices Plan) Referendum.

DECLARATION BY VOTER.

I of declare that

I am a wool-grower and that—

(a) I own not less than two hundred sheep ; or

(b) since 1st July, 1950, I have sold (or delivered to store for sale) not less than five bales of shorn wool.

I further declare I have not already voted at this Referendum either in this or any other State.

Signature of Voter

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Prohibited Exports. See TRADE AND COMMERCE.

Prohibited Imports. See TRADE AND COMMERCE.

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