Legal Opinions

In reference to your memorandum of 30th June, the first question which calls for consideration is the possible application to internees of the Commonwealth Employee’s Compensation Act 1930.

I am in receipt of your memorandum No. C.R. 7700 dated the 23rd July, 1941, relative to the proposal to serve wines on the Trans-Australian railway to passengers partaking of meals.

I have been asked to advise whether, in the event of a member of the Legislative Council of Victoria being appointed as a member of the Commonwealth Bank Board, he would incur the penalties prescribed by sections 25 and 27 of the Constitution Act Amendment Act 1928 of the State of Victoria.

By section 20 of the Land Tax Assessment Act as amended assessments of Land Tax are to be made in respect of triennial periods. The current triennial period will expire on June 30th 1942, and unless the present statutory provisions are altered a fresh assessment will have to be made for the triennial period beginning on July 1st 1942.

The Secretary, Department of Social Services, has forwarded the following memorandum to me for advice:

In considering applications by Aboriginal Missions for the approval of the Minister to the recognition of their organizations as Institutions for the purposes of the Child Endowment Act it has been learned that, apart from those on Government Settlements, aboriginal children may be grouped as follows:

Group 1. Those wholly fed, clothed, housed and maintained by the Mission.

I refer to your memorandum of 28th October, 1941 (No. 220/14/18) requesting to know whether an employee who resigns his employment prior to and with a view to volunteering for war service may be regarded as having been ‘employed immediately prior to the date upon which he volunteered for war service’ for the purpose of regulation 3 of the National Security (Reinstatement in Civil Employment) Regulations.

I refer to your minute of 19th February, 1942, forwarding copy of a letter from the American Legation on the subject of certain proposed changes in the procedure with respect to prizes taken by the United States Naval Forces in foreign waters.

I would suggest that the matter is one in which uniformity of policy between all parts of the King’s dominions is highly desirable, and which should be settled, therefore, in consultation with the United Kingdom Government.

I refer to your memorandum dated 24th March, 1942, requesting advice on the question whether it is necessary for regulations to be laid on the table of the Senate before any member of the Senate can move for their disallowance.

In 1931 in the case of Dignan v. Australian Steamships Pty. Ltd. (45 C.L.R. 188) the High Court by a majority (Rich, Starke and Dixon J.J. (Gavan Duffy, C.J. and Evatt J. dissenting)) held that it was not a condition essential to the validity or operation of a resolution of disallowance that the regulations should first be laid before the House.

I refer to the question of the disposal of goods now in Australia or to arrive in Australia and consigned either to the Royal Netherlands Indies Government or to persons or companies domiciled in the Netherlands Indies: also to the question of the transfer to the Royal Netherlands Government of certain gold held in Australia on behalf of banks in the Netherlands Indies and of certain credits in Australian banks in the name of certain banks in the Netherlands Indies.

This draft Bill⁽¹⁾ is based on the assumption that it is not permissible directly and explicitly to exclude the States from their right to impose a State Income Tax.

For present purposes we accept that assumption, but we have not independently examined this matter for ourselves.

To get the purposes of the draft War–time Arrangements Bill into proper perspective it should not be considered merely in isolation but as a link in a larger plan.