An Act to make provision for Temporarily Controlling and Regulating the Prices Chargeable for the Necessaries of Life and for other purposes. [Assented to, August 13th, 1914.] HEREAS it is expedient, in view of the state of war at the Preamble. present time existing in Europe, to provide against unreason able increases in the prices of commodities which are regarded as necessaries of life, and to prevent the withholding of supplies of such commodities by persons in possession thereof, and to make other incidental provisions: Be it therefore Enacted by the Governor of the State of South Australia, with the advice and consent of the Parliament thereof, as follows: 1. This Act may be cited as "The Prices Regulation Act, 1914." Short title. 2. In this Act, except where inconsistent with the context or Interpretation some other intention is clearly intended, "Commissioner" means a member of the Commission: "Fixed price" means the maximum price fixed by the Commission 66 under this Act: Forfeiture certificate" means a certificate made under section 13: "Inspector" means inspector appointed under this Act: 66 Necessary of life" or "necessary" means a commodity which has, Prices Regulation Quorum. Majority decision to be sufficient. Acts of Commission not invalidated by vacancy. The Prices Regulation Act.-1914. "Regulation" means regulation made under this Act: "The Commission" means the Prices Regulation Commission: "The Deputy-President" means the Deputy-President of the Commission: "The Minister" means the Minister of the Crown to whom the administration of this Act is for the time being committed by the Governor : "The President" means the President of the Commission: "The Secretary" means the Secretary to the Commission: "This Act" includes regulations made under this Act: The Prices Regulation Commission. 3. (1) A Commission, to be called the "Prices Regulation Commission," is hereby constituted. (2) The Commission shall consist of three members to be appointed by the Governor. (3) One of the Judges of the Supreme Court, or the President of the Industrial Arbitration Court, shall be appointed one of such members, and shall be the President of the Commission. (4) The Governor may appoint one of such other two members to be the Deputy-President of the Commission. 4. Any two members of the Commission shall form a quorum thereof. 5. (1) At all meetings of the Commission the President shall preside, if present; and in his absence the Deputy-President shall preside. The Commissioner presiding shall have a casting as well as a deliberative vote. (2) Whenever the Commissioners are not unanimous as to any matter, such matter shall be decided by the majority of votes, and the decision so arrived at shall be the decision of the Commission. 6. No act or proceeding of the Commission shall be invalid or be prejudiced by reason only of the fact that, at the time when such act or proceeding is done, taken, or commenced there is a vacancy in the office of any member. The Prices Regulation Act.-1914. 7. In case of illness or other incapacity, or absence from the State, Deputy member. of any member of the Commission, or of a vacancy in the office of any member, the Governor may appoint some person to be a deputy member of the Board during such illness, incapacity, or absence, or until such vacancy is filled. Every person so appointed shall, until his appointment is terminated by notice in the Government Gazette, have all the powers, rights, and privileges, and perform all the duties and functions of a member of the Commission. Officers. 8. (1) The Minister may appoint a Secretary to the Commission Secretary, inspectors, and any other officers whom he considers necessary to enable the and other officers. Commission to carry out its duties and functions. (2) The Minister may also appoint such inspectors and other officers as he considers necessary for the purposes of this Act; and he may authorise other persons to do such acts and things as he considers necessary for carrying out the purposes of this Act. (3) Any person who in any way resists, interferes with, hinders, or obstructs any inspector or other officer or person in the exercise or discharge of any power or duty under this Act shall be guilty of an offence and be liable to a penalty not exceeding One Hundred Pounds or to be imprisoned for any term not exceeding six months. Fixing of Prices of Necessaries of Life. 9. (1) The Commission may, from time to time, in their absolute Commission may discretion, (a) declare any commodity to be a necessary of life within (b) revoke, in whole or in part, any declaration previously (2) The Commission in making a declaration under this section may limit its application to a specified part or parts of the State. Unless so limited every declaration so made shall apply throughout the State. (3) The Commission, in declaring commodities to be necessaries of life within the meaning of this Act, shall not be limited to commodities which are generally regarded as necessaries of life, but may include any other commodities the prices of which they consider it desirable to fix under this Act. 10. With declare commodities Commission to fix prices at which necessaries are to be sold. Publication and date of operation of declarations. Penalty for failing to supply necessary of life on tender of fixed price. The Prices Regulation Act.-1914. 10. With regard to any necessary of life, the Commission- (b) may fix and declare different maximum prices according to (c) may fix and declare different maximum prices for different parts of the State: (d) may, from time to time, make a declaration varying any price previously fixed by them; but only so as to apply to future transactions: (e) in fixing any price, may do so relatively to such standards of measurement, weight, capacity, or otherwise, as they think proper. 11. Every declaration made by the Commission shall be published in the Government Gazette, and shall take effect upon such publication or upon a later date fixed by the declaration. 12. (1) If any person who has in his custody, or under his control, any necessary of life in which he usually trades, fails, on(a) demand of any quantity of such necessary, and (b) tender of payment at the fixed price for the amount demanded, to supply such necessary in the quantity demanded, he shall, subject to the provisions of this section, be guilty of an offence against this Act, and be liable to a penalty not exceeding One Hundred Pounds, or to be imprisoned for any term not exceeding six months. (2) If any person carries on business of any class in connection with which a necessary of life is usually sold or supplied, or if he has been in the habit of selling or supplying such necessary of life, he shall, for the purpose of this section, be deemed usually to trade in such necessary of life. (3) In any prosecution, under this section, it shall be a sufficient defence to show that, on the occasion in question, (a) the defendant supplied a reasonable quantity of the necessary of life; or (b) the defendant was a wholesale trader in such necessary, and the person who demanded to be supplied was not a retail trader therein; or (c) the defendant had not a sufficient quantity of such necessary in his custody or under his control to supply the quantity demanded, in addition to the quantity required to satisfy all other contracts, then subsisting, under which he was obliged to supply quantities of such necessary and the ordinary requirements of his business. (4) For The Prices Regulation Act.-1914. (4) For the purposes of this section, in determining what is a reasonable quantity, regard shall be had to all the circumstances of the case, including the question whether the person who demanded to be supplied was or was not, at the time of the demand, carrying on business as a retail trader in the necessary of life demanded, either alone or with other goods. (5) Where a retail trader is prosecuted under this section, the defence that he supplied a reasonable quantity of the necessary of life shall be sufficiently established by proving that he supplied the person making the demand with a sufficient quantity thereof to meet the reasonable needs, for one week, (a) of himself and the members of his household, and (b) if the necessary is of a kind generally used for animals, of (6) For the purposes of this section, all persons who live with and in the same house as a person shall be regarded as members of his household. (7) In this section "wholesale trader" means a trader who usually sells the "animals" includes birds. Forfeiture on Withholding Necessaries. 13. (1) If the Commission are satisfied, on such evidence as Commission may they deem sufficient, that a person-— (a) has in his custody, or under his control, goods which are a necessary of life, and (b) has failed, on demand and tender of the fixed price, to the Commission may issue a certificate, to be called a "forfeiture (2) The provisions of subsection (2) of section 12 shall apply for the purposes of this section also. issue forfeiture certificate. ca e the Minister 14. (1) When a forfeiture certificate, as to any necessary of life, O forfeiture certifi has been granted concerning any person, the Minister may, by may forfeit goods. writing signed by him, order that the whole, or such quantity as is stated |