2019

 

 

 

 

THE PARLIAMENT OF THE COMMONWEALTH OF AUSTRALIA

 

 

 

 

 

 

SENATE

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

ANL LEGISLATION REPEAL B ILL 2019

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(Circulated by authority of the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Development, the Hon Michael McCormack MP)

 

 

 

 

ANL LEGISLATION REPEAL BILL 2019

 

OUTLINE

 

The purpose of the Bill is to repeal the entire ANL Act 1956 (ANL Act) and ANL Guarantee Act 1994 (Guarantee Act) to remove restrictions against the use of ‘protected names’ relating to the former Commonwealth-owned shipping line ANL Limited, and to remove outdated and unnecessary legislation.

 

The Commonwealth-owned shipping line ANL Limited was sold to French company CMA CGM in 1998, with the Commonwealth company subsequently wound up as a legal entity in 2003. The 1998 sale included all assets and intellectual property associated with the business, as well as the transfer of staff to new employment contracts.

 

Part IV of the ANL Act was intended to protect against the unauthorised use of names and trademarks associated with ANL Limited while it was owned and operated by the Commonwealth. It places restrictions on the use of certain ‘protected names’ relating to ANL Limited, making it an offence for any party not exempted in the Act to use these names in certain business contexts, including domain names and intellectual property registrations. While these protections were no longer required following the sale and winding up of ANL Limited, the protections have been retained due to a historical oversight.

 

As a result, some affected businesses are currently unable to register or re-register their domain names and other intellectual property. Repealing Part IV of the Act will remove this unnecessary and burdensome provision, allowing the Commonwealth to honour the terms of the 1998 sale in good faith and remove impediments to business.



The remaining provisions in the ANL Act have had no practical effect since the 1998 sale and can be repealed without negative impact. These provisions set out a number of matters relating to the operation of ANL Limited as a Commonwealth-owned business, including staffing and taxation matters. As these arrangements were resolved at the time of the sale, repealing these provisions will not impact the rights or entitlements of former employees, and will remove redundant legislation.

 

The Guarantee Act can also be repealed without negative impact. The Guarantee Act is a short Act which allows the Treasurer to guarantee loans to ANL Limited. As ANL Limited is no longer a Commonwealth company and has not existed as a legal entity since 2003, the Guarantee Act has no practical effect.

 

Repealing both the ANL Act and the Guarantee Act will remove outdated and unnecessary legislation, removing impediments to business with no negative impacts expected.

 

 

Financial impact statement

 

The Bill is not expected to have any significant financial impact.

 

Statement of Compatibility with Human Rights

Prepared in accordance with Part 3 of the Human Rights (Parliamentary Scrutiny) Act 2011

 

ANL Legislation Repeal Bill 2019

This Bill is compatible with the human rights and freedoms recognised or declared in the international instruments listed in section 3 of the Human Rights (Parliamentary Scrutiny) Act 2011 .

 

Overview of the Bill

The purpose of the Bill is to repeal the entire ANL Act 1956 (ANL Act) and ANL Guarantee Act 1994 (Guarantee Act) to remove protections against the use of ‘protected names’ relating to the former Commonwealth-owned shipping line ANL Limited, and to remove outdated and unnecessary legislation.

 

The Commonwealth-owned shipping line ANL Limited was sold to French company CMA CGM in 1998, with the Commonwealth company subsequently wound up as a legal entity in 2003. The 1998 sale included all assets and intellectual property associated with the business, as well as the transfer of staff to new employment contracts.

 

Part IV of the ANL Act was intended to protect against the unauthorised use of names and trademarks associated with ANL Limited while it was owned and operated by the Commonwealth. It places restrictions on the use of certain ‘protected names’ relating to ANL Limited, making it an offence for any party not exempted in the Act to use these names in certain business contexts, including domain names and intellectual property registrations. While these protections were no longer required following the sale and winding up of ANL Limited, the protections have been retained due to a historical oversight.

 

As a result, some affected businesses are currently unable to register or re-register their domain names and other intellectual property. Repealing Part IV of the Act will remove this unnecessary and burdensome provision, allowing the Commonwealth to honour the terms of the 1998 sale in good faith and remove impediments to business.



The remaining provisions in the ANL Act have had no practical effect since the 1998 sale and can be repealed without negative impact. These provisions set out a number of matters relating to the operation of ANL Limited as a Commonwealth-owned business, including staffing and taxation matters. As these arrangements were resolved at the time of the sale, repealing these provisions will not impact the rights or entitlements of former employees, and will remove redundant legislation.

 

The Guarantee Act can also be repealed without negative impact. The Guarantee Act is a short Act which allows the Treasurer to guarantee loans to ANL Limited. As ANL Limited is no longer a Commonwealth company and has not existed as a legal entity since 2003, the Guarantee Act has no practical effect.

 

Repealing both the ANL Act and the Guarantee Act will remove outdated and unnecessary legislation, removing impediments to business with no negative impacts expected.

Human rights implications

This Bill does not engage any of the applicable rights or freedoms.

Repealing the ANL Act 1956 (the ANL Act) will remove restrictions on the use of ‘protected names’ relating to the former Commonwealth-owned ANL shipping line, removing impediments to business. As the other provisions of the ANL Act have not had any practical effect since the sale of ANL Limited in 1998, repealing these provisions does not engage any rights or freedoms.

The only practical effect of repealing the ANL Guarantee Act 1994 (the Guarantee Act) will be that the Treasurer will no longer be able to guarantee loans in respect of ANL Limited. As this has not been necessary or appropriate since the 1998 sale of ANL to CMA CGM, repealing the Guarantee Act also does not engage any human rights or freedoms.

Conclusion

This Bill is compatible with human rights as it does not raise any human rights issues.  

 

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Infrastructure, Transport and

Regional Development, the Hon Michael McCormack MP

 

NOTES ON CLAUSES

 

Clause 1: Short title

 

1.       This is a formal provision that specifies the Act may be cited as the ANL Legislation Repeal Act 2019.

 

Clause 2: Commencement

2.       This clause provides for when each provision of the Act will commence. In this case, the whole of the Act commences the day after the Act receives Royal Assent.

Clause 3: Schedules

3.       This clause provides that legislation that is specified in a Schedule to this Act is amended or repealed as set out in the applicable items in the Schedule concerned, and any other item in a Schedule to this Act has effect according to its terms.

Schedule 1 - Repeals of Acts

 

ANL Act 1956

 

Item 1: The whole of the Act

4.       This clause repeals the entire ANL Act 1956 , removing the burdensome protected name provisions in Part IV of the Act as well as other outdated and unnecessary provisions.

ANL Guarantee Act 1994



Item 2: The whole of the Act

5.       This clause repeals the entire ANL Guarantee Act 1994, removing unnecessary and outdated provisions.