QueenslandSUGARMILLINGRATIONALISATIONACT1991Reprinted as in force on 24 April
1994(includes amendments up to Act No. 11 of
1994)Reprint No. 2This reprint is
prepared bythe Office of the Queensland Parliamentary
CounselWarning—This reprint is not an authorised
copy
Information about this reprintThisActisreprintedasat24April1994.AsrequiredbytheReprintsAct1992,section 5,
it—•showsthelawasamendedbyallamendmentsthatcommencedonorbeforethat day;
and•incorporatesallnecessaryconsequentialamendments,whetherofpunctuation,numbering or
another kind.As required by the Reprints Act 1992, section
6, the reprint includes a reference tothelawbywhicheachamendmentwasmade—seeListoflegislationandListofannotations in
Endnotes.This page is specific to this reprint.See
previous reprint for information about earlierchanges made under
the Reprints Act 1992.A Table of previous reprints is
includedin the Endnotes.Also see Endnotes
for—•details about when provisions
commenced; and•anyprovisionsthathavenotcommencedandarenotincorporatedinthereprint.
s13s2Sugar
Milling Rationalisation Act 1991SUGAR MILLING
RATIONALISATION ACT1991[as amended by all amendments that
commenced on or before 24 April 19942]AnActtoprovideforcertainrationalisationofsugarmillingoperations, and for other purposes†PART 1—PRELIMINARY˙Short
title1.ThisActmaybecitedastheSugarMillingRationalisationAct19913–5.˙Definitions2.In
this Act—“closedmill”meansamilltheclosureofwhichisapprovedbytheCorporation under section 9;“closing mill”meansamill,theclosureofwhichhasbeenappliedforunder Part 2;“closure”means a permanent closure;“easement”, in respect of
Crown land and reserves within the meaning oftheLand
Act 1962, means an authority (by whatever name used)
thatprovides a right of way over land to the
owner of a mill;“leasehold land”means Crown land
within the meaning of theLand Act1962over
which the Crown has granted any lease or licence (otherthan
an occupation licence);“new mill”means the mill
or mills that the Corporation determines under
s34s7Sugar
Milling Rationalisation Act 1991section 13 is or
are to carry on the business of a closed mill;“register”means the appropriate register maintained by
the Registrar ofTitles for the purposes of recording
dealings relating to easements andrights of
way.˙Interpretation—time of mill
closure3.A mill is taken to have closed at the
last moment of the day on whichit closed.˙Relationship with Sugar Industry
Act4.(1)This Act is to
be read as one with theSugar Industry Act 1991.(2)Words and
expressions used in theSugar Industry Act 1991have
thesame respective meanings in this Act.(3)If a provision of this Act is
inconsistent with a provision of theSugarIndustry Act 1991, the provision
of this Act is to prevail and the provisionof theSugar Industry Act 1991, to the extent
of the inconsistency, is of noeffect.˙Act does not apply to road
crossings5.This Act does not apply to permits or
authorities issued in respect ofroads (other than
private roads).˙Act binds the Crown6.This
Act binds the Crown.†PART
2—APPLICATION FOR MILL CLOSURE˙Applications for closure7.(1)The
owner of a mill may apply in writing to the Corporation for
its
s85s9Sugar
Milling Rationalisation Act 1991consent to close
a mill.(2)An application to close a mill must be
made on or before the last dayof December
before the start of the crushing season from which the
closureis sought or such later day as the
Corporation allows.˙Notice to interested parties8.(1)The applicant
must, at the same time as the application to close amill
is made to the Corporation, give written notice of the application
to—(a)each holder of an assignment to the
closing mill; and(b)the owners of any adjacent mills;
and(c)themillsuppliers’committeesfortheclosingmillandanyadjacent
mills.(2)Each notice given under subsection (1)
must contain full details of theapplication.(3)After receiving the application, the
Corporation must, by notice in anewspaper
circulating in the relevant district, advise that an application
toclose a mill has been made.(4)The notice must—(a)specify the name of the closing mill;
and(b)contain an invitation to any person
interested in the closure topresent, by a
specified day, a written submission that will assistthe
Corporation in the determination of the application.˙Application and submissions to be
considered9.(1)The Corporation
must consider the application and each submissionreceivedundersection8(2)andmayeitherconsenttoorrefusetheapplication.(2)If
the Corporation is satisfied—(a)that
the closure of the mill is reasonable in the circumstances;
and(b)that any consequential economic
detriment to existing holders ofassignments to
the closing mill has been minimised by adequate
s106s12Sugar
Milling Rationalisation Act 1991provision being
made for—(i)the assignment holders to have their
sugar cane transported,with reasonable efficiency, to another
mill for crushing; and(ii)payment under
theSugar Industry Act 1991; and(c)that adequate provision has been made
or will be made by theowner of the new mill for crushing the
additional sugar cane; and(d)if the assets of
the closing mill are to be transferred to the ownerof
the new mill—that provision has been made for the paymentof
adequate compensation to the owner of the closing mill;theCorporationmustgrantitsconsentsubjecttosuchconditionsasitconsiders appropriate.(3)IftheCorporationissatisfiedthatnomillisabletocarryonthebusinessoftheclosingmill,theCorporationistoconsider,whendetermining the application, the impact the
closure would have on holdersof assignments to
the closing mill.˙Valuation may be sought10.For the purposes of section 9(2)(d),
the Corporation may request awritten valuation
of the assets of the closing mill prepared—(a)by
an independent valuer; and(b)at the expense
of the owner of the closing mill.˙Written reasons to be given for
refusal11.If the Corporation refuses the
application, it must give the applicantwritten reasons
for the refusal.˙Appeals12.If—(a)the holders of
20 or more assignments to the closing mill; or(b)theowneroftheclosingmill(insofarasitrelatestoanyconditionstheCorporationmayhaveimposedunder
s137s15Sugar
Milling Rationalisation Act 1991section 9(2));
or(c)the mill suppliers’ committee of the
closing mill;areaggrievedbyadeterminationoftheCorporationrelatingtoanapplication to
close the mill, the holders, owner or committee may apply tothe
Tribunal for a review of the determination under Part 12 of
theSugarIndustry Act
1991.˙Corporation to
determine new mill13.If no commercial arrangements have
been entered into between theowner of the
closing mill and the owner of any adjacent mill, in relation
tothetransferofthebusinessoftheclosingmilltheCorporationmustdetermine which adjacent mill (if any) is to
carry on the business of theclosing
mill.˙Notification of consent14.(1)IftheCorporationconsentstotheclosureofamill,theCorporation must, by Gazette notice,
notify—(a)its consent to the closure of the
mill; and(b)the day the closure is to take effect;
and(c)the mill or mills that will carry on
the business of the closingmill.(2)TheCorporationmustalsogivetheMinisterwrittennoticeofitsconsent to the closure of the
mill.†PART 3—NEW RIGHTS AND
ENTITLEMENTS˙Reassignment of assigned land15.(1)Despite Part 9,
Division 3 of theSugar Industry Act 1991, on theclosureofamill,thelands,thatimmediatelybeforetheclosurewereassigned to the closed mill for the purposes
of theSugar Industry Act 1991,
s168s17Sugar
Milling Rationalisation Act 1991are assigned to
the new mill.(2)The reassignment under subsection (l)
is taken to be an assignment ofthe lands within
the meaning of theSugar Industry Act 1991.˙Transfer of statutory rights and
obligations16.(1)Subject to
subsections (2) and (3), on the closure of a mill, theowner
of the new mill stands in the place of the owner of the closed mill
inrespect of all statutory rights and
obligations under theSugar Industry Act1991that
relate to the closed mill.(2)Subsection (1)
does not apply to the debts of the owner of the closedmill
accruing immediately before the closure in favour of the holders
ofassignments to the closed mill.(3)The owner of the new mill is only
liable for obligations accruing inrespect of the
closed mill after the closure.˙Effects of closure of mill17.(1)Subject to
subsection (2), on the closure of a mill—(a)theLocalBoardfortheclosedmillceasestoexistanditsmembers cease to hold office;
and(b)proceedings started by or against the
Local Board, or that mighthave been started by or against the
Local Board had it remained inexistence, may
be continued or started by or against the LocalBoard for the
new mill; and(c)any reference in a document to the
Local Board for the closedmill is taken to be a reference to the
Local Board for the new mill.(2)A
matter before the Local Board for the closed mill concerning
anaward is transferred to the
Corporation.(3)For the purposes of subsection (2),
the Corporation is taken to be theLocal Board for
the closed mill and may discharge all the functions of aLocal
Board.(4)If a Local Board is constituted for
both the closed mill and the newmill, subsection
(1) does not apply and the Local Board continues as theLocal
Board for the new mill.
s189s19Sugar
Milling Rationalisation Act 1991(5)If a
Local Board is constituted for both the closed mill and a
millother than the new mill, subsection (1) does
not apply and the Local Boardcontinues as the
Local Board for the other mill.˙Transfer of assignments18.(1)On
the closure of a mill—(a)eachassignmentrelatingtotheclosedmillisanassignmentrelating to the
new mill; and(b)an application for assignment that is
before the Local Board forthe closed mill immediately before the
closure is an applicationfor assignment before the Local Board
for the new mill.(2)If more than 1 adjacent mill is to
carry on the business of the closedmill, the
assignments are to be apportioned to the new mills in
accordancewith commercial arrangements made between the
owner of the closed milland the owners of the new mills and
approved by the Corporation.(3)If
there are no commercial arrangements between the owner of
theclosedmillandtheownerofthenewmillinrespectofthetransferofassignments,theCorporationistodeterminetheapportionmentofassignmentsinthesamewayasitdetermineswhichadjacentmillistocarry on the
business of the closed mill.(4)TheCorporationistoensurethatthetransfersofassignmentsmentioned in
subsections (1)(a), (2) and (3) are noted in the Sugar CaneAssignment Register.˙Farm
peaks19.(1)Ontheclosureofamill,thefarmpeaksassociatedwiththetransfer of assignment entitlements to
a new mill are farm peaks associatedwith the new
mill.(2)The Corporation must ensure that the
farm peaks transferred undersubsection (1)
are noted in the Sugar Cane Assignment Register.
s2010s22Sugar
Milling Rationalisation Act 1991˙Mill
peaks20.On the closure of a mill, the
Corporation may, if necessary, allocateor, under section
9.38 of theSugar Industry Act 1991, adjust, any
mill peakto take account of changes in farm peaks
under section 19.˙Appeals21.(1)If—(a)the holder of an
assignment to the closing mill; or(b)the
owner of the closing mill or any adjacent mill; or(c)the mill suppliers’ committee for the
closing mill or any adjacentmill;is
aggrieved by a determination of the Corporation relating to the
closure ofthe mill, the holder, the owner or the
committee may apply to the Tribunalfor a review of
the determination under Part 12 of theSugar Industry
Act1991.(2)The
owner of and the mill suppliers’ committee for any adjacent
millmay lodge a joint appeal under subsection
(1).†PART 4—EASEMENTS˙Continuation of rights of way22.(1)Subject to
section 25(7) of this Act and section 11.9 of theSugarIndustryAct1991anddespiteanyotherActordocument,ifamillisclosed, all land that was, immediately before
the closure, used or requiredby the owner of
the closed mill as an easement, right of way or similar
right(however it was created or was used) in
connection with the harvesting ofsugar cane for or
carriage of sugar cane to the closed mill by tram or othervehicle is taken to be, for such time as the
use or right is required or used inthat connection,
an easement granted to the owner of the new mill for thebenefit of the land on which the new mill is
constructed.(2)The benefits annexed to an easement
granted under subsection (1) are
s2311s23Sugar
Milling Rationalisation Act 1991not less than the
rights and benefits that were annexed, immediately beforethe
closure, to the land on which the closed mill was
constructed.(3)Subsection (1) applies whether or not
the use or right was annexed toor used and
enjoyed together with any other land.(4)On
the closure of a mill, ownership of every bridge mentioned
insection 11.9 of theSugarIndustryAct1991, that
immediately before theclosure was vested in the owner of the
closed mill, vests in the owner of thenew mill.(5)If 2 or more mills carry on the
business of the closed mill—(a)theeasementstakentobegrantedundersubsection(1)totheowner of the new
mill and for the benefit of the land on which thenew
mill is constructed; and(b)the bridges
mentioned in subsection (4);are,wherenecessaryandwherejointlyused,tobeheldjointlybytheowners of the new
mills.(6)Compensation is not payable in respect
of an easement granted undersubsection
(1).˙Registered easements23.(1)Despite any
other Act or document, if an easement mentioned insection 22(1) is registered as an easement
under theLand Title Act 1994ortheLand Act 1962, a regulation
may declare that the easement—(a)is
no longer annexed to the dominant tenement then noted in theregister; and(b)is
annexed to the land on which the new mill is constructed, inaccordance with the regulation.(2)If more than 1 mill has taken over the
business of the closed mill, theeasementsmaybeannexedtothelandsonwhichthenewmillsareconstructed as are specified in the
regulation.(3)For the purposes of subsection (2), an
easement may have 2 or moredominant
tenements.
s2412s25Sugar
Milling Rationalisation Act 1991˙Equitable easements24.(1)Despite any other Act or document, if an
easement mentioned insection 22(1) (whether created by way
of a registered lease or otherwise) isover freehold or
leasehold land but is not registered as an easement undertheLand Title Act 1994or
theLand Act 1962, a regulation
may declare thatan easement capable of registration under
either of those Acts is annexed tothelandonwhichthenewmillisconstructedinaccordancewiththeregulation.(2)If
more than 1 mill has taken over the business of the closed mill,
theeasementmaybeannexedtothelandsonwhichthenewmillsareconstructed as are specified in the
regulation.(3)For the purposes of subsection (2), an
easement may have 2 or moredominant
tenements.(4)Aneasementdeclaredundersubsection(1)tobecapableofregistration under theLand
Title Act 1994or theLandAct1962mayberegistered under section 25.˙Registration of easements25.(1)The owner of a
new mill may request the Registrar of Titles torecord a
declaration mentioned in section 23 or 24 in the register.(2)The request is to be in the
appropriate form under theLand Title Act1994for
such requests.(4)On receipt of—(a)a
duly completed request; and(b)any
other documentation required by the Registrar of Titles;the
Registrar of Titles is to record the vesting in the
register.(5)Noinstrumentoftitleforthelandconcernedisrequiredtobeproduced when the request is lodged
with the Registrar of Titles.(7)The
vesting of an easement in the name of the new mill owner
takeseffect on the day the Registrar of Titles
records the vesting in the register.
s2613s28Sugar
Milling Rationalisation Act 1991˙Details in regulation26.A
regulation under sections 23 and 24 is to show, in respect of
eacheasement—(a)the
owner of the current dominant tenement; and(b)the
owner of the new dominant tenement; and(c)the
real property descriptions of the dominant tenement and theservient tenement; and(d)the
real property description of the land over which the
easementis to exist; and(e)the
dealing number of the relevant easement (if any).˙Recording of changes to
easements27.(1)When a request
is lodged under section 25 and it relates to aneasement
registered under section 11.7 of theSugar Industry
Act 1991, thenew mill owner is
to give a copy of the request to the Corporation.(2)If an easement—(a)taken to be granted under section 22(1);
or(b)extinguished under section 28;isaneasementregisteredundersection11.7oftheSugarIndustryAct1991, the Corporation is to record in the
Register of Easements maintainedby it under the
section all entries necessary to record—(c)the
change of the dominant tenement; or(d)the
extinguishment of the easement.˙Extinguishment of easements28.(1)If an easement
used in connection with the harvesting of sugarcane for, or
carriage of sugar cane to, a mill has not been used for thatpurpose for 2 years or more, the owner of the
servient tenement may applyto the
Corporation to have the easement extinguished.(2)The
owners of the dominant and servient tenements of an easementusedinconnectionwiththeharvestingofsugarcanefor,orcarriageof
s2914s32Sugar
Milling Rationalisation Act 1991sugar cane to, a
mill may apply to the Corporation to have the easementextinguished.(3)Onreceivinganapplicationundersubsection(1)or(2),theCorporation must—(a)give
written notice of the application to the persons, who in theCorporation’s opinion, have a sufficient
interest in the matter; and(b)givethepersonsareasonableopportunitytomakewrittensubmissions and be heard in relation to the
application.(4)TheCorporationmustnotdeterminetheapplicationuntilithasconsidered all
submissions made under subsection (3).(5)If
the Corporation refuses to consent to the application, it must
givewritten notice to the applicant stating the
reasons for the refusal.(6)Any person
aggrieved by a determination of the Corporation underthis
section may apply to the Tribunal for a review of the
determinationunder Part 12 of theSugar Industry
Act 1991.(7)Unless the
Corporation consents under this section, an easement usedin
connection with the harvesting of sugar cane for, or carriage of
sugarcane to, a mill is not extinguished.(8)If the Corporation consents to the
extinguishment of an easement,written
notification by the Corporation—(a)of
its consent to the extinguishment; and(b)that—(i)noappealhasbeendulylodgedagainstthegivingoftheconsent; or(ii)if
an appeal has been lodged—the appeal has been dismissed;producedwithsuchdocumentationastheRegistrarofTitlesrequiresinsuch cases, is sufficient authority for
the Registrar of Titles to remove theeasement from the
register.(9)Apersonmustnotlodgearequestfortheextinguishmentofaneasement under subsection (8) unless
the written consent of the Corporationhas been
obtained.(10)Section 181 of
thePropertyLawAct1974does not apply
to an
s3215s32Sugar
Milling Rationalisation Act 1991easement to which
this Part relates.˙Permits to pass29.A
reference in a permit granted under section 11.13 of theSugarIndustry Act
1991to a closed mill, includes a reference to
the new mill.˙Obstruction of easement30.(1)A person must
not obstruct or attempt to obstruct a mill owner orany
person authorised by a mill owner in the use of an easement used
inconnection with the harvesting of sugar cane
for, or carriage of sugar caneto, a
mill.Maximum penalty—(a)if a
body corporate—100 penalty units;(b)if a
natural person—40 penalty units.(2)If a
person removes or attempts to remove rail line in an
easementusedinconnectionwiththeharvestingofsugarcanefor,orcarriageofsugar
cane to, a mill, it is an obstruction under subsection (1).†PART 5—MISCELLANEOUS˙Hambledon Mill closure31.Part 3 (other than section 21) and
Part 4 applies to the closure of theHambledon
Mill.˙Regulations32.TheGovernorinCouncilmaymakeregulations,notinconsistentwith this Act,
with respect to any matter that—(a)is
required or permitted to be prescribed by this Act; or(b)is necessary or convenient to be
prescribed for carrying out or
s3216Sugar Milling
Rationalisation Act 1991giving effect to this Act.s32
