› Security deposit scheme with respect to mining leases
› Security deposit supplied by third party in discharge of lessee's obligations
› Safety hazard caused by mining operations
› Decision by Minister to call upon security deposit
› No error made.
Aust Dig Administrative Law [1028]
Statutes
› Acts of Parliament
› Interpretation
› General approach to interpretation
› Purposive approach
› General principles
› Ascertaining meaning of phrase "provided by a ... lessee" in section concerned with use of security deposits
› Not confined to lessee personally or agent.
Aust Dig Statutes [1016]
Quick Take
1The phrase 'provided by a licensee or lessee' in s 196(1) of the Mineral Resources Development Act 1995 (Tas) is not confined to security deposits provided personally by the lessee or by an agent of the lessee; it extends to security deposits furnished by third parties where the deposit is supplied in discharge of the lessee's obligation to provide a security deposit under the Act.
2The purpose of the security deposit scheme — protecting the State from rehabilitation costs and incentivising progressive rehabilitation — supports a wide construction; a narrow construction requiring the Minister to determine the existence of an agency relationship before accepting or using a deposit would impose an onerous forensic burden Parliament did not intend.
3The question whether the requirement that a security deposit be 'provided by' the lessee constitutes a jurisdictional fact was raised but left undetermined, as on the wide interpretation adopted, the requirement was clearly satisfied on the evidence.
