Natural Gas Corporation Amendment Act 1976
Natural Gas Corporation Amendment Act 1976
Natural Gas Corporation Amendment Act 1976
Public Act |
1976 No 141 |
|
Date of assent |
10 December 1976 |
|
Contents
An Act to amend the Natural Gas Corporation Act 1967
BE IT ENACTED by the General Assembly of New Zealand in Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:
1 Short Title and commencement
(1)
This Act may be cited as the Natural Gas Corporation Amendment Act 1976, and shall be read together with and deemed part of the Natural Gas Corporation Act 1967 (hereinafter referred to as the principal Act).
(2)
Except as provided in sections 5(2) and 6(2) of this Act, this Act shall come into force upon its passing.
2 Officers and employees
Section 11 of the principal Act is hereby amended by adding the following subsections:
“(8)
The Corporation may, out of its funds, advance money on the security of a mortgage, on such terms and conditions as it thinks fit, to any officer or employee of the Corporation to enable him—
“(a)
To purchase, for his own occupation as his residence, land on which a private dwelling is erected; or
“(b)
To erect on land owned by him a private dwelling for his own occupation as a residence; or
“(c)
To acquire, for his own occupation as his residence, an owner-occupier flat; or
“(d)
To improve any dwelling or owner-occupier flat owned and occupied by him as his residence; or
“(e)
To refinance a mortgage owing by him on land owned by him on which is erected a private dwelling occupied by him as his residence, or owing by him on an owner-occupier flat occupied by him as his residence.
“(9)
The power conferred on the Corporation by subsection (8) of this section shall extend to any land, dwelling, or flat owned and occupied, or intended to be owned and occupied, by the officer or employee jointly with his spouse.”
3 Functions and powers of Corporation
(1)
Section 12 of the principal Act is hereby amended by adding to subsection (2) the following paragraphs:
“(g)
Carry on alone any undertaking authorised by or pursuant to this Act, or join with another person or persons in doing so:
“(h)
Act as the agent of any person for any purpose that is connected with the carrying on of any undertaking authorised by or pursuant to this Act, or employ an agent or contractor for the like purpose:
“(i)
Where the Corporation possesses special expertise in carrying on any undertaking authorised by or pursuant to this Act, contract with any person to provide services making use of that expertise of the Corporation.”
(2)
The said section 12 is hereby further amended by inserting, after subsection (2), the following subsection:
“(2a)
The powers of the Corporation under this section to transport and deliver natural gas shall extend to the transport and delivery of any other substance approved in writing by the Minister. Any such approval may be given subject to conditions and the approval or the conditions may be revoked by the Minister or the conditions varied by him.”
4 Rights and authorities of Corporation
(1)
Section 14 of the principal Act is hereby amended by inserting in paragraph (e), after the word “bailment,”
, the word “subscription,”
.
(2)
The said section 14 is hereby further amended by adding, after paragraph (j), the following paragraph:
“(k)
Advance money on such terms and conditions as it thinks fit to any company in which the Corporation holds any shares or stock.”
5 Capital of Corporation
(1)
The principal Act is hereby amended by inserting in Part III, after the heading “Financial Provisions”
, the following section:
“17a.
“(1)
The authorised capital of the Corporation shall be $ 30 million.
“(2)
The Corporation may from time to time recommend to the Minister that the authorised capital of the Corporation be increased, and in that case the Governor-General, on the advice of the Minister and the Minister of Finance, may by Order in Council increase the authorised capital of the Corporation to such amount as may be prescribed in the order.
“(3)
The authorised capital of the Corporation shall be payable to it by the Minister of Finance, without further appropriation than this section, and that liability shall be satisfied as follows:
“(a)
As to $ 15 million thereof, by setting off that amount, as at the 1st day of April 1977, against loans made to the Corporation by the Crown from the National Development Loans Account; and
“(b)
As to the balance (including any increase under subsection (2) of this section)—
(i)
By payment out of the Consolidated Revenue Account or the National Development Loans Account; or
(ii)
By set-off against any indebtedness of the Corporation to the Crown—
at such time or times as the Minister of Finance considers appropriate.”
(2)
This section shall come into force on the 1st day of April 1977.
6 Taxation
(1)
The principal Act is hereby further amended by repealing section 24.
(2)
Subsection (1) of this section shall come into force on the 1st day of April 1977.
(3)
For the purposes of calculating the Corporation’s liability to income tax, the Corporation’s accumulated losses during the period from the 15th day of November 1967 to the 31st day of March 1977 may be carried forward and deducted from, or set off against, the assessable income derived in the income year commencing on the 1st day of April 1977, and in subsequent income years, in accordance with section 137 of the Land and Income Tax Act 1954, and in the same manner as if the Corporation had not been exempt from income tax during the said period.
7 New sections (as to reserve funds and profits of Corporation) substituted
The principal Act is hereby further amended by repealing section 25, and substituting the following sections:
“25. Reserve funds
“(1)
The Corporation may establish any general or special reserve fund for the purpose of contributing to the cost of capital works and renewal of capital assets, and may in any financial year carry to the credit thereof such sums as it thinks fit.
“(2)
Any such sums may at any time be expended by the Corporation on capital works or the renewal of capital assets.
“25a. Profits of Corporation
“(1)
The Corporation may, out of the excess of revenue over expenditure in any financial year (including expenditure in the form of taxes, contributions to any reserve fund under section 25 of this Act, and provision for repayment of loans), declare a dividend on its paid-up capital.
“(2)
Any such dividend shall be paid into the Public Account.”
This Act is administered in the Mines Department.