Legal Opinions

I refer to my letter dated 6th March, 1950, in reply to yours dated 3rd February, 1950, in which you make enquiries regarding the nationality of persons born to Chinese parents in the Territory of New Guinea. I assume that your enquiry is concerned with the children of parents of Chinese nationality.

Many thanks for the Opinion, Vol. 39, p. 98,¹ on the two questions which we asked about the position of the Senate in relation to the current amendment of the Social Services Consolidation Bill. I was naturally glad to find that you reached, by your own characteristically lucid and learned routes, the same conclusions as those which we ourselves had done.

The Director, Housing Division, Department of Works and Housing, has submitted the following memorandum for advice:

The Commonwealth and State Housing Agreement was executed under the authority of the Commonwealth and State Housing Agreement Act 1945 (Commonwealth Act No. 44 of 1945) and the corresponding legislation of each Australian State.

I refer to your memorandum, dated 17th April, 1950, requesting advice whether the offence of murder committed by two ex-Naval ratings in one of H.M.A. Ships in extra-territorial waters, for which they were convicted by a court martial, could be regarded as one against ‘military law’ within the meaning of War Cabinet decision of 13th November, 1942.

I refer to your memorandum of 2 March, 1950, in which you ask advice whether the exchange of letters between the Premier of Victoria (21 April, 1949) and the Prime Minister (8 July, 1949) would be sufficient to establish the basis of sale thus agreed upon, and release the Commonwealth for all time from liability under clause 14(3) of the Agreement, or whether legislation is required to authorize an amendment of the Agreement to that effect.

Your memorandum dated 5th April, 1950, requests advice as to the necessity for legislation to enable the Commonwealth to pay subsidies to the States, to meet the cost of freight and duty on prefabricated houses imported into Australia.

(2)  I understand that, as the subsidies are to be paid subject to conditions, you would wish a legal course to be adopted which would ensure that there would be no doubt as to the legality of the conditions upon which the money is to be paid.

I refer to your note, dated 11 May, 1950, requesting advice as to whether Commonwealth legislation could validly provide for subsidies to be paid out of the National Welfare Fund to charitable institutions for the aged to enable the institutions to increase their accommodation or whether it is a matter for the States.

Ryan v Crole¹

(1)  In this matter I am asked to advise upon the validity of Sections 286 and 288 of the Navigation Act, and also upon the Act and the proceedings in the abovementioned matter generally. It will be observed that in its literal form the request for opinion covers a very wide area. It will be convenient if I divide what I have to say hereafter into three parts dealing with related but separate subject matter. These are as follows:

The Secretary, Department of Immigration, has forwarded the following memorandum for advice:

Pursuant to section 5 of the abovementioned Act, the Minister has power to issue deportation orders at any time within twelve months from the twelfth day of July, 1949.

(2)  As it is intended to give individual consideration to all the cases which come within the scope of the Act, it is unlikely that they will all be dealt with before the last day upon which deportation orders can be made.

I refer to the discussions which took place last week concerning the legal availability of the Customs (Import Licensing) Regulations to prohibit the importation of merchant vessels, and to your request that I should prepare a statement of my opinion on the legal position affecting this question.