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1998-1999-2000-2001
THE PARLIAMENT OF THE
COMMONWEALTH OF AUSTRALIA
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
NATIONAL MUSEUM OF AUSTRALIA AMENDMENT BILL 2000
REVISED EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM
(Circulated by authority of Senator the Hon. Richard Alston, Minister for Communications, Information Technology and the Arts)
THIS EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM TAKES ACCOUNT OF AN AMENDMENT MADE BY THE
SENATE TO THE BILL AS INTRODUCED
ISBN: 0642
466122
NATIONAL MUSEUM OF
AUSTRALIA
AMENDMENT BILL 2000
OUTLINE
The National Museum of Australia Amendment Bill 2000 (the Bill) amends
the National Museum of Australia Act 1980 (the Act):
(a) to enable the National Museum of Australia (the Museum) to exhibit material relating to Australia’s future as well as its past;
(b) to confirm that the Museum has the power to engage in a range of commercial activities relating to its functions;
(c) to enable the Museum to charge fees and impose charges for services provided in relation to its functions;
(d) to enable the Museum to raise funds for Museum purposes;
(e) to increase the value of historical material for which Ministerial approval is required before the material may be disposed of;
(f) to make a technical correction to paragraph 27(2)(e) of the Act; and
(g) to establish a Museum Fund into which may be paid gifts and bequests and
money (other than trust money) received from the disposal of property, devises,
bequests and assignments.
The Act establishes a museum of Australian
history, comprehensively defined to include the natural history of Australia and
the history of the interaction of people with the Australian natural
environment. The Australian natural environment includes all aspects of the
surroundings of people in Australia, whether affecting them as individuals or in
their social groupings.
The Museum is due to open in Canberra in March
2001. The amendments contained in the Bill will amend the Act to ensure that a
range of activities proposed by the Museum are within its powers. These
activities include charging for services provided by the Museum (such as guided
tours, audio tours and lectures), undertaking fund raising activities and
establishing a fund.
The Museum may wish to enter into arrangements with
commercial sponsors which would give the sponsors naming rights in relation to
the Museum or parts of its building, or particular exhibitions, in return for
donations of cash, goods or services to the Museum. To remove any doubt about
the ability of the Museum to enter into such arrangements, the Bill amends the
Act to provide that it is a function of the Museum to develop and implement
sponsorship, marketing and other commercial activities relating to the
Museum’s functions.
The Museum proposes to have a standing or
permanent exhibition for children known as the kSpace which will involve a 3
dimensional experience relating to Australian cities of the future. The Act
currently enables the Museum to exhibit historical material and to hold
temporary exhibitions of other material. To give effect to the Museum’s
proposal, and to enable the Museum to hold other permanent or long term
exhibitions of matters which might fall outside the area of ‘historical
material’, the amendments will expand the Museum’s existing
functions to enable it to exhibit material (on a permanent or temporary basis)
that relates to Australia’s present and future as well as its
past.
An additional issue addressed by the Bill is the value of
historical material for which Ministerial approval is required before disposal
action can be undertaken. The current statutory limit of $20,000 was set when
the Act commenced and is to be increased to $250,000. This proposed figure will
better reflect current values and is consistent with the limit set out in
paragraph 7A(1)(b) of the National Library Act 1960.
FINANCIAL IMPACT STATEMENT
The Bill is not expected to have any financial impact on Commonwealth
expenditure.
The Museum has been set a revenue target of $4.2m in its
first year. The Bill enables the Museum to engage in a range of commercial
activities which will allow the Museum to raise funds to meet this target. It
is not currently possible to estimate the amount the Museum will raise through
commercial activities. The Prime Minister has asked that a review of the
Museum’s financial position be conducted 12 months after opening.
NATIONAL MUSEUM OF AUSTRALIA
AMENDMENT BILL 2000
Clause 1 provides that the Bill, when enacted, may be cited as the
National Museum of Australia Amendment Act 2000.
Clause 2 provides that the Bill, when enacted, will commence on the day
on which it receives Royal Assent.
Clause 3 –
Schedule(s)
Clause 3 provides, in effect, that provisions in the
National Museum of Australia Act 1980 (the Act) that are specified in
Schedule 1 to the Bill are amended or repealed in accordance with the applicable
items in the Schedule, and that other items in the Schedule have effect
according to their terms.
Item 1 – Insertion of new paragraph 6(1)(baa)
Section
6 of the Act sets out the functions of the Museum. These functions include
exhibiting historical material (paragraph 6(1)(b)) and holding temporary
exhibitions of other material (paragraph 6(1)(ba)). ‘Historical
material’ is defined in section 3 of the Act to mean material relating to
Australian history. ‘Australian history’ is separately defined in
section 3 to include the natural history of Australia and the history of the
interaction of people with the Australian natural environment.
The Museum
proposes to have a standing or permanent exhibition for children known as the
kSpace. The kSpace is a 3 dimensional experience involving headsets, joysticks
and a video representation of Australian cities of the future.
The
reference in paragraph 6(1)(b) of the Act to historical material tends to
suggest that exhibits must relate to the past, or the present, rather than the
future. Viewed in isolation, the kSpace might not relate strictly to
‘history’. However, the presentation might fall within the
functions of the Museum to the extent that it helped explore or illuminate
previous trends in such things as urban planning and
development.
Paragraph 6(1)(ba) of the Act provides for the exhibition of
‘material’ (as opposed to ‘historical material’) but
this is only ‘from time to time as the occasion requires’, which
suggests that the exhibition of material which is not ‘historical’
material is only meant to be on a short term basis.
It is therefore
doubtful whether the Museum would have the power to exhibit material relating to
the future (rather than the past) on an ongoing basis.
To address these
issues, Item 1 inserts a new paragraph 6(1)(baa) into the Act. This will enable
the Museum to exhibit the kSpace and other permanent or long term exhibitions of
matters which relate to Australia’s present and future as well as its
past.
Items 2 and 3 – Amendment of paragraph 6(1)(c) and
insertion of new paragraph 6(1)(e)
The Museum may wish to enter into
arrangements with commercial sponsors which would give the sponsors naming
rights in relation to the Museum or parts of its building, or particular
exhibitions, in return for donations of cash, goods or services to the
Museum.
Such arrangements would probably fall within the Museum’s
powers in relation to exhibitions, and in relation to the receipt of donations
(see section 7 of the Act).
However, to remove any doubt about the
ability of the Museum to enter into such arrangements, item 3 inserts a new
paragraph 6(1)(e) into the Act. This new provision is based on paragraph 6(f)
of the Australian National Maritime Museum Act 1990. It provides that
it is a function of the Museum to develop and implement sponsorship, marketing
and other commercial activities relating to the Museum’s
functions.
Item 2 makes a minor amendment to paragraph 6(1)(c)
consequential on the amendment made by item 3.
Item 4 –
Insertion of new paragraphs 7(2)(ja) and (jb)
Section 7 of the Act
deals with the powers of the Museum. Subsection 7(1) provides that, subject to
the Act, the Museum has power to do all things necessary or convenient to be
done for or in connection with the performance of its functions. Without
limiting the generality of subsection 7(1), subsection 7(2) sets out examples of
powers of the Museum referred to in subsection 7(1).
Item 4 inserts 2 new
powers into subsection 7(2):
(a) to enable the Museum to charge fees and
impose charges for services provided in relation to its functions (new paragraph
7(2)(ja), based on paragraph 7(1)(u) of the Australian National Maritime
Museum Act 1990); and
(b) to enable the Museum to raise funds for
Museum purposes (new paragraph 7(2)(jb), based on paragraph 7(1)(t) of the
Australian National Maritime Museum Act 1990).
New paragraph 7(2)(ja) will enable the Museum to charge fees and impose
charges for its services such as guided tours, audio tours and lectures.
Section 44 of the Act enables the making of regulations ‘for fixing
charges for entry onto any land, or into any building, owned by, or under the
control of, the Museum’, but contains no express power relating to the
setting of other fees. The charging of fees for services directly related to
the Museum’s exhibition or dissemination of information functions (see
subsection 6(1) of the Act) would probably fall within the ‘necessary or
convenient’ power relating to those functions (see subsection 7(1) of the
Act). However, new paragraph 7(2)(ja) will remove any doubt about the power of
the Museum to impose such charges.
The Museum could actively seek to
raise funds for Museum purposes such as through the holding of events. The
ability of the Museum to do this would probably fall within the power in
paragraph 7(2)(c) of the Act to ‘accept gifts, devises, bequests or
assignments made to the Museum’. However, new paragraph 7(2)(jb) will
remove any doubt about the power of the Museum to undertake fund raising
activities for Museum purposes.
Items 5 and 6 – Amendment of paragraphs 9(4)(b) and
9A(3)(b)
Subsection 9(4) of the Act provides that the Museum may
dispose of historical material in the national historical collection (as defined
in section 3 of the Act) where the Museum Council so resolves and, if the value
of the material exceeds $20,000, Ministerial approval is obtained. Subsection
9A(3) of the Act contains a similar provision in relation to the disposal of
historical material not forming part of the national historical
collection.
Items 5 and 6 will amend paragraphs 9(4)(b) and 9A(3)(b) to
increase the value of historical material for which Ministerial approval is
required before its disposal to $250,000.
The current statutory limit
of $20,000 was set when the Act commenced and is to be increased to $250,000.
This proposed figure will better reflect current values and is consistent with
the limit set out in paragraph 7A(1)(b) of the National Library Act
1960.
Item 7 – Amendment of paragraph
27(2)(e)
Item 7 makes a technical correction to paragraph 27(2)(e) of
the Act. It combines the effect of 2 amendments in previous Acts that did not
take effect because they were misdescribed.
Section 27 of the Act deals
with the termination of the appointment of the Director of the Museum. One of
the grounds on which the Governor-General may terminate the appointment of the
Director is if the Director ‘fails to comply with his or her obligations
under section 19’.
Section 19 of the Act was repealed by the
Audit (Transitional and Miscellaneous) Amendment Act 1997 as a
consequence of the enactment of the Commonwealth Authorities and Companies
Act 1997. Section 19 required a member of the Museum Council with a direct
or indirect pecuniary interest in a matter being considered by the Council to
disclose it at a Council meeting and absent himself or herself from any
deliberation or decision of the Council with respect to the matter.
The
disclosure of, and voting on matters involving, material personal interests by
Council members is now dealt with by sections 27F and 27J of the Commonwealth
Authorities and Companies Act 1997 (the CAC Act).
Item 103 of
Schedule 10 to the Corporate Law Economic Reform Program Act 1999
purported to make an amendment to paragraph 27(2)(e) of the Act by inserting a
reference to section 27F or 27J of the CAC Act. That purported amendment could
not be made because an earlier purported amendment to paragraph 27(2)(e) of the
Act was misdescribed. The earlier amendment, purported to be made by item 1011
of Schedule 2 to the Audit (Transitional and Miscellaneous) Amendment Act
1997, failed to recognise an amendment made by item 98 of Schedule 5 to the
Statute Law Revision Act 1996 which altered a reference to ‘his
obligations’ to ‘his or her obligations’.
To rectify
these errors, item 7 omits the reference in paragraph 27(2)(e) of the Act to
‘section 19’ and substitutes a reference to ‘section 27F or
27J of the Commonwealth Authorities and Companies Act
1997’.
Item 8 – Insertion of new section 34 –
National Museum of Australia Fund
Item 8 inserts a new section 34
into the Act to provide for the establishment of a Museum Fund. New section 34
is based on section 36 of the National Gallery Act 1975.
Section 4
of the Act establishes the Museum as a body corporate. Section 18 of the
Commonwealth Authorities and Companies Act 1997 requires that
Commonwealth authorities (including the Museum) pay all moneys received into a
bank account maintained by the Commonwealth authority. By implication, the
Museum is empowered to open and operate bank accounts.
Section 36 of
the National Gallery Act 1975 and section 44 of the Australian
National Maritime Museum Act 1990 provide for the establishment of a Fund
for each institution into which may be paid gifts and bequests (made otherwise
than on trust) and money received from the disposal of property, devises,
bequests and assignments.
New section 34 of the Act will ensure that the
Museum has a similar Fund.
The proposed Fund will not contain money held
by the Museum on trust. By virtue of paragraph 7(2)(c) and subsection 7(4) of
the Act, the Museum is obliged to deal with money held by the Museum on trust in
accordance with the obligations imposed on the Museum as the trustee of the
trust. Section 35 of the Act, which deals with how moneys of the Museum may be
applied, specifically excepts moneys held on trust from the requirements of that
section. If the obligations imposed by a trust required the holding of the
moneys in a particular account, or subject to particular conditions, then the
Museum would be empowered to do so.
Proposed subsection 34(1) of the Act
establishes a fund by the name of the National Museum of Australia
Fund.
Proposed subsection 34(2) of the Act provides that income received
from the investment of money standing to the credit of the Fund will form part
of the Fund.
Proposed subsection 34(3) of the Act provides for payment
into the Fund of:
(a) gifts and bequests of money that the Museum accepts
after the Bill receives Royal Assent (otherwise than on trust);
(b) money
that the Museum receives after the Bill receives Royal Assent (other than money
to be held on trust by the Museum) from the disposal of property given, devised,
bequeathed or assigned to the Museum whether before, at or after the day the
Bill receives Royal Assent;
(c) so much of the money held by the Museum
in bank accounts (otherwise than on trust) immediately before the Bill receives
Royal Assent as the Minister determines by written notice given to the Museum
within 21 days after the Bill receives Royal Assent.
Proposed subsection
34(4) of the Act provides that the payment of money into a bank account
maintained by the Museum in accordance with subsection 18(2) of the
Commonwealth Authorities and Companies Act 1997 under the name of the
National Museum of Australia Fund will be taken, for the purposes of proposed
subsection 34(3), to be a payment of the money into the Fund.