General policy statement
This Bill repeals the Carter Observatory Act 1938 (the Act), which established an astronomical observatory in the city of Wellington (the Carter Observatory), and dissolves the Board established to manage the Carter Observatory. The Bill also provides for the transfer of the assets of the Carter Observatory Board to the Wellington City Council and vests in the Wellington City Council the liabilities incurred by the Carter Observatory Board on or after 20 December 2007.
Function of Carter Observatory as national observatory
Under the Act, the Carter Observatory was to function as the national astronomical observatory of New Zealand. The observatory no longer fulfils this function and, as such, the continued operation of the Board is no longer necessary.
The public policy objective of this Bill is to terminate the statutory responsibilities of the Crown in relation to the Carter Observatory as it no longer meets the national interests of the public of New Zealand.
Repositioning of Carter Observatory
Since December 2007, the Wellington City Council has been effectively managing the Carter Observatory. The Council has agreed to take full responsibility for the Carter Observatory, to which the Crown agrees. This Bill gives effect to that agreement by—
repealing the Carter Observatory Act 1938:
dissolving the Carter Observatory Board:
providing for the transfer of the assets (including land) of the Carter Observatory Board to the Wellington City Council:
vesting in the Crown the liabilities incurred by the Carter Observatory Board prior to 20 December 2007:
vesting in the Wellington City Council the liabilities incurred by the Carter Observatory Board on or after 20 December 2007.
Binding on the Crown
The repeal of the Act will complete the transition of the Carter Observatory from dependence on the Crown. The Crown will bear responsibility for the liabilities relating to the Carter Observatory prior to 20 December 2007.
Clause by clause analysis
Clause 1 is the Title clause.
Clause 2 provides that the Bill comes into force on the day after the date on which it receives the Royal assent.
Part 1
Preliminary provisions
Clause 3 sets out the purposes of the Bill, which are to—
repeal the Carter Observatory Act 1938; and
dissolve the Carter Observatory Board; and
transfer the assets of the Carter Observatory Board to the Wellington City Council; and
vest the liabilities incurred by the Carter Observatory Board in the Crown and in the Wellington City Council; and
provide for incidental matters.
Clause 4 is the interpretation clause. It defines terms used in the Bill, including Board and Council.
Clause 5 provides that the Bill binds the Crown.
Part 2
Repeal and related matters
Clause 6 repeals the Carter Observatory Act 1938.
Clause 7 dissolves, on the day the Bill comes into force, the Carter Observatory Board established by section 4 of the Carter Observatory Act 1938 and ends the term of office of every member of the Board.
Clause 8 provides that, on and from the day the Bill comes into force,—
the property and all rights of the Carter Observatory Board vest in the Wellington City Council:
all liabilities incurred by the Carter Observatory Board prior to 20 December 2007 vest in the Crown:
all liabilities incurred by the Carter Observatory Board subsequently vest in the Wellington City Council:
all money payable to the Carter Observatory Board is payable to the Wellington City Council:
proceedings pending by or against the Carter Observatory Board may be carried on, completed, or enforced by or against the Wellington City Council.
Clause 9 provides that anything transferred to the Wellington City Council under clause 8 is not—
a dutiable gift for the purposes of the Estate and Gift Duties Act 1968:
a supply of goods and services for the purposes of the Goods and Services Tax Act 1985:
a sale, disposition, distribution, or transfer of property or liability for the purposes of the Income Tax Act 2007.
Clause 10 provides that the person who holds office as the Chairman of the Carter Observatory Board immediately before the day the Bill comes into force must arrange for a final report of the Board to be completed. The report must be submitted to the Minister last responsible for the administration of the Carter Observatory Act 1938 who must present a copy of the report to the House of Representatives.
Clause 11 provides that Board members are not entitled to compensation for loss of office.
Clause 12 makes consequential amendments to the following enactments as set out in the Schedule:
Regulatory impact statement
Executive summary
This regulatory impact statement addresses the transfer of assets and liabilities of the Carter Observatory, held by the Carter Observatory Board, to the Wellington City Council, and the proposed Bill to repeal the Carter Observatory Act 1938.
With the repeal of the Carter Observatory Act 1938, the ownership of the land will revert to the Wellington City Council. The Crown has no ownership interest in the land that the Carter Observatory occupies. Once the transfer of assets and liabilities is approved, it is proposed to introduce legislation to repeal the Carter Observatory Act 1938. The legislation will vest the assets in the Wellington City Council at the time of its enactment, and will vest the liabilities post-2007.
Adequacy statement
The Ministry of Research, Science and Technology has compiled this regulatory impact statement and confirms that it meets the requirements for regulatory impact statements.
Status quo and problem
The outputs offered by the Carter Observatory no longer meet the requirements of a national observatory and do not align with government priorities for Vote Research, Science and Technology. In December 2006, the Crown appropriated capital funding of $2.2 million for the Carter Observatory redevelopment project, as a one-off payment to transition the Carter Observatory from dependence on the Crown.
The Carter Observatory Trust (the Trust) was established as a charitable trust, with the purpose of transferring the assets and liabilities of the Carter Observatory Board to the Trust. On 20 December 2007, the Wellington City Council (not the Trust) took over the management of the Carter Observatory, with the intention of taking over the assets and liabilities from that time. Currently the assets and liabilities of the Carter Observatory are held by the Carter Observatory Board, as per the Carter Observatory Act 1938. A Bill to repeal the Carter Observatory Act 1938 will complete the transfer of assets to the Wellington City Council, and will dissolve the Carter Observatory Board at the same time.
Objectives
The objectives of this Bill are to repeal the Carter Observatory Act 1938, and to transfer the assets and liabilities of the Carter Observatory Board to the Wellington City Council. The Bill to repeal the Carter Observatory Act 1938 will address—
the dissolution of the Carter Observatory Board:
the transfer of the Board’s assets to the Wellington City Council:
the vesting in the Wellington City Council of liabilities incurred by the Board on or after 20 December 2007:
the vesting in the Crown of liabilities incurred by the Board prior to 20 December 2007.
Options
The options for consideration are—
to issue drafting instructions to the Parliamentary Counsel Office for the repeal of the Carter Observatory Act 1938; or
to transfer the assets and liabilities of the Carter Observatory Board to the Carter Observatory Trust; or
to close the Carter Observatory.
Preferred option
The preferred course of action is to repeal the Carter Observatory Act 1938. The repeal will address the dissolution of the Carter Observatory Board, the transfer of the Board's assets to the Wellington City Council, the vesting in the Crown of liabilities incurred by the Board prior to 20 December 2007, and the vesting in the Wellington City Council of liabilities incurred by the Board on or after 20 December 2007.
The Wellington City Council has indicated it may elect to terminate the management agreement reached with the Carter Observatory Board and Carter Trustees if the Carter Observatory Act 1938 is not repealed by 31 December 2009.
Consultation
The Minister of Finance was informed. The Treasury and the Parliamentary Counsel Office were consulted. The Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet was advised. The Wellington City Council, Carter Observatory Board, and Carter Observatory Trustees were consulted during the process on the proposed transfer of assets and liabilities of the Carter Observatory and they agree with this proposal.