I refer to your recent letter in which you asked, in effect, whether the Public Trustee of New South Wales shares the immunity of the Crown in right of the State from the operation of the National Security (Landlord and Tenant) Regulations. The principle that the Crown is not bound by legislation, unless expressly named, is in recognition of the fact that private interests are subordinate to the public needs. Although the Public Trustee is an officer of the Crown in the sense that he is an officer appointed by the Governor, his official acts are not performed in the public interest but in private interest. The reason for the rule is not, therefore, applicable to his case and I do not think that he should be subject to the rule. It follows that he should not be regarded as exempt from the operation of the National Security (Landlord and Tenant) Regulations. The adoption of the interpretation which I have suggested will clearly prevent anomalies. It would be undesirable for a private trustee to be subject to the Regulations while the Public Trustee was exempt.

[Vol. 37, p. 52]