Commonwealth Numbered Acts

Liquid Fuel Emergency Act 1984 No. 5 of 1984 - SECT 17

17. (1) During a period of national liquid fuel emergency, the Minister may,
for the purpose of dealing with a shortage or likely shortage of relevant
liquid fuel, by instrument in writing served upon a relevant fuel industry
corporation, direct that corporation-

   (a)  to maintain, at all times after a date specified in the instrument, at
        such places in Australia as are specified in the instrument, such
        quantities as are specified in the instrument of reserve supplies of
        liquid fuel of a kind that is specified in the instrument; or

   (b)  to accumulate, by a date specified in the instrument, such quantities
        as are specified in the instrument of reserve supplies of liquid fuel
        of a kind specified in the instrument and at all times after that date
        to maintain such quantities of reserve supplies of liquid fuel of that
        kind at such places in Australia as are specified in the instrument.

(2) A relevant fuel industry corporation shall not refuse or fail, without
reasonable excuse, to comply with a direction given to it under sub-section
(1).

(3) The Minister may, in order to meet temporary circumstances, by instrument
in writing, authorize a relevant fuel industry corporation (being a
corporation that is required, by an instrument under sub-section (1), to
maintain at a particular place a particular quantity of reserve supplies of
liquid fuel of a particular kind) to maintain at that place, during a period
specified in the authority, such lesser quantity of reserve supplies of liquid
fuel of that kind as is specified in the authority.

(4) The maintenance by a relevant fuel industry corporation of a quantity of
reserve supplies of liquid fuel of a particular kind at a particular place at
a particular time in accordance with an authority given to the corporation
under sub-section (3) shall be deemed to constitute compliance by the
corporation with a direction given to it under sub-section (1) in relation to
the maintenance by the corporation of liquid fuel of that kind at that place
at that time.

(5) For all purposes of this Act, any direction in relation to liquid fuel of
a particular kind that was given to a relevant fuel industry corporation under
section 12 and was in force immediately before the proclamation of a national
liquid fuel emergency shall be taken to continue in force, unless sooner
revoked under sub-section 33 (3) of the Acts Interpretation Act 1901
or set aside by a court, after the making of that proclamation as if it had
been given to the corporation under and in accordance with sub-section (1) of
this section and had related to the maintenance or to the accumulation and
maintenance of reserve supplies of liquid fuel of that kind during the period
of the national liquid fuel emergency or during so much of that period as it
is, in accordance with its terms, capable of applying to.

(6) Notwithstanding anything contained in section 27, a direction continued in
force during a period or periods of a national liquid fuel emergency by virtue
of sub-section (5) continues in force, unless sooner revoked under sub-section
44 (4) of this Act or sub-section 33 (3) of the Acts  Interpretation Act 1901
or set aside by a court or by the Administrative Appeals Tribunal, after the
expiration of that period or of the last of those periods as a direction under
section 12.