Agricultural Produce Commission Act 1988

In this Act unless the context otherwise requires —

the Commission, means a member of the Commission and includes the chairperson;

a producers’ committee, means a member of the producers’ committee and includes the chairperson;

There is hereby established a body to be called the Agricultural Produce Commission.

The Commission is a body corporate with perpetual succession and a common seal and is capable of —

acquiring, holding, managing, leasing and disposing of real and personal property; and

suing and being sued; and

doing and suffering all such acts and things as a corporation may lawfully do and suffer.

The Commission is not an agent of the Crown in right of the State.

The Commission is to consist of 3 or 4 members appointed by the Minister.

A member of the Commission is to have, in the Minister’s opinion, a broad understanding of agricultural industry and —

experience in financial management; or

other experience relevant to the Commission’s functions.

The Minister shall, prior to making any appointments to the Commission, establish in writing the particular experience relevant to the Commission’s functions which the Minister determines is necessary for membership of the Commission.

The Minister shall —

publish and make available on request the selection criteria for membership of the Commission established under subsection (3);

advertise in a major newspaper circulating in the State when there is a vacancy in the Commission’s membership, and that applicants are invited to apply;

indicate in such advertisement any conditions required of candidates for membership of the Commission including the disclosure of any possible conflicts of interest.

The Minister is to appoint one of the members of the Commission to be the chairperson.

The Schedule has effect with respect to the Commission and its acts and proceedings.

Subject to this Act the Commission may —

establish producers’ committees with responsibility for agricultural produce; and

allocate responsibility for agricultural produce to existing producers’ committees; and

remove responsibility for agricultural produce from producers’ committees; and

appoint members to producers’ committees; and

advertise for the formation of producers’ committees; and

conduct polls under this Act; and

wind up the affairs of producers’ committees and appoint liquidators for that purpose; and

dissolve producers’ committees; and

provide such services in relation to the functioning of producers’ committees as are necessary from time to time; and

provide, as are necessary from time to time, persons to assist producers’ committees in carrying out their functions under this Act; and

direct, co‑ordinate and supervise the functioning and expenditure of producers’ committees; and

provide such other services to producers’ committees as the Minister may direct.

Without limiting subsection (1), a producers’ committee may be established with responsibility, or be allocated responsibility for —

any agricultural produce of a particular kind, class or variety or which possesses a particular characteristic; or

a number of different kinds, classes or varieties of agricultural produce; or

achieving specified objects in relation to any agricultural produce,

In performing its functions in relation to a producers’ committee the Commission shall have regard to advice to it from the committee.

The Minister may give directions in writing to the Commission with respect to the performance of its functions either generally or in relation to a particular matter, and the Commission shall give effect to such direction.

The text of any direction given under subsection (1) shall be included in the annual report submitted by the Commission under Part 5 of the Financial Management Act 2006.

For parliamentary purposes or for the proper conduct of the Minister’s public business, the Minister is entitled —

to have information in the possession of the Commission; and

where the information is in or on a document, to have, and make and retain copies of, that document.

For the purposes of subsection (1) the Minister may —

request the Commission to furnish information to the Minister;

request the Commission to give the Minister access to information;

for the purposes of paragraph (b) make use of the staff of the Commission to obtain the information and furnish it to the Minister.

The Commission shall comply with a request under subsection (2) and make its staff and facilities available to the Minister for the purposes of paragraph (c) of that subsection.

In this section —

answering a question asked in a House of Parliament; or

complying with a written law, or an order or resolution of a House of Parliament, that requires information to be furnished to a House of Parliament.

The funds of the Commission shall consist of —

charges received by the Commission for services provided by the Commission to producers’ committees; and

moneys paid to the Commission upon the dissolution of any producers’ committee under section 15; and

such moneys as may be lawfully received by the Commission.

An agency special purpose account called the Agricultural Produce Commission Account is established under section 16 of the Financial Management Act 2006.

All moneys received by the Commission and by any producers’ committee shall be credited to the Agricultural Produce Commission Account.

The funds of the Commission shall be applied for the purposes of carrying out the functions of the Commission under this Act.

Where the funds of the Commission are not sufficient the Treasurer may make advances of moneys to the Commission from time to time to make up any deficiency in those funds.

The Treasurer may recoup any moneys advanced to the Commission under subsection (2) whenever the Treasurer is of the opinion the Commission has sufficient funds for carrying out its functions under this Act.

A producer or producers of agricultural produce, or a body representing the interests of such producers, may request the Commission to conduct a poll for the purpose of establishing a producers’ committee with responsibility for the agricultural produce for the whole State or a part of the State.

A request made under subsection (1) must —

be made in writing; and

specify the agricultural produce for which the producers’ committee is proposed to have responsibility; and

specify the objects sought to be effected by establishing the producers’ committee; and

if the producers’ committee is proposed to be established only in relation to a particular part of the State, specify the part of the State in relation to which it is proposed to be established.

The Commission must publish notice of a proposal to establish the producers’ committee.

A notice referred to in subsection (1B) —

must be published in the manner directed by the Minister; and

must specify the name or names of the producer or producers, or body, that made the request; and

must explain in simple terms the objects sought to be effected by the proposal; and

must specify the agricultural produce for which the producers’ committee is proposed to have responsibility; and

where the producers’ committee is to be established only in relation to a particular part of the State, must specify the part of the State in relation to which the producers’ committee is proposed to be established; and

must invite submissions from producers who may be affected by the proposal.

In performing its functions under this Division, the Commission must have regard to any submissions made to it under subsection (2)(f).

If the Commission is satisfied that, having regard to the interests of the agricultural industry in question, the formation of the proposed producers’ committee would be materially to the financial detriment of a producer or producers who may be affected by the proposal the Commission must not proceed to conduct the poll in accordance with the provisions of this section but if the Commission is not so satisfied the Commission must, subject to subsection (5), conduct the poll.

For the purposes of subsection (3), the Commission may invite any producer who in its opinion has an interest in the proposal to attend meetings of the Commission.

The Commission must not conduct a poll for the establishment of a producers’ committee unless the producer or producers, or body, that requested the poll deposits with the Commission such sum as is determined by the Commission as the reasonable costs of the poll and the estimated initial costs of the establishment of the producers’ committee.

If the Commission resolves to establish the producers’ committee, any money paid to the Commission under subsection (5) must be repaid by the producers’ committee out of the funds of the producers’ committee to the producer or producers, or body, that made the deposit under that subsection.

The Commission must not establish a producers’ committee with responsibility for agricultural produce unless —

the Commission has —

complied with subsections (1B) and (2); and

conducted a poll among the producers of the agricultural produce in the whole of the State, or a part of the State, as is relevant to the proposal to establish the producers’ committee;

the poll is in favour of the proposal.

Even if the Commission has complied with subsections (1B) to (5) and (7) and a poll of producers vote in favour of the proposal, the Commission may refuse to establish, or defer the establishment of, the producers’ committee if the Commission considers that, having regard to the circumstances of the case, it is not desirable or practicable to do so.