Constitution Act 1934

Constitution Act 1934

This Act may be cited as the Constitution Act 1934.

In this Act, unless the contrary intention appears –

Assembly means the House of Assembly of the Parliament of Tasmania;

Council means the Legislative Council of the Parliament of Tasmania;

House means such one of the two Houses of Parliament as the context indicates;

municipality means a municipal area;

Parliament means the Parliament of Tasmania constituted as provided by this Act;

State roll has the same meaning as in the Electoral Act 2004;

Tasmanian Augmented Electoral Commission means the Tasmanian Augmented Electoral Commission appointed under section 4 of the Legislative Council Electoral Boundaries Act 1995;

ward means an electoral district within the meaning of the Local Government Act 1993.

The Legislative Council and House of Assembly of Tasmania in being at any future demise of the Crown shall not be determined or dissolved by such demise, but, subject to the provisions of this Act, shall continue so long as they would have continued respectively but for such demise.

Any future demise of the Crown shall not affect anything done in this State before the day whereon the Governor, by his proclamation, has notified such demise, and all things done within this State at any time after such demise, but before the day of the publication of the Gazette containing such proclamation, and which but for this Act might be affected by such demise, shall have the same effect and be of the same force as if no such demise had happened.

Every commission, warrant, or other authority for the exercise of any office or employment of any kind or nature within the State issued or exercised by the Governor in Council, or the Governor, or by any other person in the name and on behalf of His Majesty in virtue of his office, or under the authority of any Act of the Imperial Parliament, or of the Parliament of the Commonwealth, or of the Parliament of Tasmania, or of any rules or regulations made thereunder respectively, shall continue in full force notwithstanding any future demise of the Crown until duly revoked or cancelled, and shall be of the same effect as if no such demise had happened; anything contained in an Act of the Imperial Parliament passed in the first year of His late Majesty King William the Fourth, chapter 4, to the contrary notwithstanding.

No action, suit, or other process or proceeding, civil or criminal, in or to which His Majesty shall be a party, or which shall have been commenced or carried on in His name or by His authority, shall, by reason of His demise, abate, discontinue, or be in any manner affected; but every such action, suit, process, or proceeding shall and may be carried on, enforced, or otherwise completed or acted on in the name of His successor, and as if such demise had not happened.

All contracts of every kind lawfully entered into by or on behalf of His Majesty with any person, body, or authority, and all benefit and advantage thereof, and all liability in respect thereof, shall respectively attach and belong to the heirs and successors of His Majesty, although they be not expressly named in any such contract.

In this section the said letters patent means the letters patent under the great seal of the United Kingdom bearing date 29th October 1900, as amended by the letters patent bearing date 31st August 1920, by the letters patent bearing date 22nd February 1934, and by the letters patent bearing date 25th May 1971, and includes any letters patent to be hereafter issued in amendment of, or in substitution for, the same.

During the temporary absence of the Governor from the seat of government or from the State or during any illness of the Governor, all the powers and authorities conferred upon or vested in the Governor by any statutory or other law or usage of the State, as well as the powers and authorities conferred upon or vested in the Governor by the said letters patent, shall and may be exercised, performed, and executed by the officer or person appointed by the Governor to be his deputy during such absence or illness, subject nevertheless to any terms or limitations expressed in the instrument appointing such deputy.

During any period when the powers and authorities in the said letters patent granted to the Governor are vested in the Lieutenant-Governor or such other person or persons as is or are appointed to administer the Government of the State, the provisions of subsection (2) shall apply to the person appointed to be the deputy of the Lieutenant-Governor, or of such other person or persons appointed to administer the government as aforesaid, during his temporary absence from the seat of government or from the State or during his illness, subject nevertheless to any terms or limitations expressed in the instrument appointing such deputy.

Any exercise, performance, or execution before the passing of this Act of any of the powers or authorities hereinbefore mentioned shall be and be deemed to have been of the same validity, and shall have and be deemed to have had the same force and effect, as if this Act had been in force at the time of such exercise, performance, or execution.

No more than 11, or, where a Secretary to Cabinet has been appointed pursuant to section 8F, no more than 10, persons shall hold office as Ministers of the Crown at any one time.

No person shall be appointed a Minister of the Crown unless he is a member of the Council or the Assembly, and, subject to the following provisions of this section, a Minister of the Crown ceases to hold office as such on ceasing to be a member of the Council or the Assembly.

Where a member of the Council, on the expiry of his term of office as such in any year, also holds office as a Minister of the Crown he may continue in the office of Minister of the Crown until the expiration of the period of 7 days following the day of the return of the writs for the periodical election of members of the Council in that year.

Where, at the dissolution of the Assembly, or on its ceasing to continue, a member thereof holds office as a Minister of the Crown he may continue in the office of Minister of the Crown until the expiration of the period of 7 days following the day of the return of the writs for the ensuing general election.

If, as provided in subsection (2) or subsection (3), a person continues in office as a Minister of the Crown until the expiration of the period of 7 days following the day of the return of the writs referred to in either of those sections, he then ceases to hold office as a Minister of the Crown unless, since the return of the writs, he has again been appointed a Minister of the Crown.

Except as provided in this section, no office, power, duty, authority, obligation, or discretion that is by law conferred or imposed upon the Attorney-General shall be allocated to, or exercised or discharged by, any other Minister of the Crown or the Secretary to Cabinet.

In any case in which he considers it expedient so to do, the Governor may appoint another Minister of the Crown to be Acting Attorney-General for a specified period or until the happening of a specified event, and during the continuance of the appointment that Minister may exercise, perform and discharge all the powers, duties, authorities, obligations, and discretions conferred or imposed by law upon the Attorney-General or appertaining to the office of Attorney-General in as full, complete and effectual manner as if he were the holder of the office of Attorney-General.

Except as provided in section 8C any official document requiring the signature or execution of any particular Minister shall be valid and effectual if it is signed or executed on his behalf by any other Minister.