This Act may be cited as the Industries and Commerce Act 1956.

This Act shall come into force on the first day of April, nineteen hundred and fifty-seven.

In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires,—

There shall be a Department of State to be called the Department of Industries and Commerce, which shall be the same Department as that existing under the same name at the commencement of this Act.

There shall from time to time be appointed under the Public Service Act 1912 a Secretary of Industries and Commerce who shall be the administrative head of the Department.

There shall from time to time be appointed under the Public Service Act 1912 such other officers and employees of the Department as may be necessary.

The person holding office at the commencement of this Act as Secretary of Industries and Commerce shall be deemed to have been appointed to that office as aforesaid under this Act.

All other persons who at the commencement of this Act are officers or employees of the Department and have been so appointed under the Public Service Act 1912 shall be deemed to have been so appointed under this Act.

The principal functions of the Department shall be, under the control of the Minister, and with a view to fostering the economic welfare of New Zealand—

The Department may exercise all such powers as are reasonably necessary for the effective performance of its functions and duties.

Without limiting the general provisions of subsection one of this section, it is hereby declared that the Department may—

The Minister may from time to time, on behalf of Her Majesty the Queen, enter into any contract of charterparty, for such period of hire and upon such terms and conditions as the Minister thinks fit, for the hire of any ship for the carriage of goods and passengers, or of goods only, or of passengers only.

The Minister may from time to time exercise on behalf of Her Majesty all Her Majesty’s rights and powers under any such contract (whether entered into before or after the passing of this Act).

The Minister may from time to time, by writing under his hand, either generally or particularly, delegate to the Secretary all or any of the powers which are conferred on him by this Act, but not including the power to delegate under this section or the power to consent to a delegation under section eleven of this Act.

Subject to any general or special directions given or conditions attached by the Minister, the Secretary may exercise any powers delegated to him as aforesaid in the same manner and with the same effect as if they had been conferred on him directly by this section and not by delegation.

Where the Secretary purports to act pursuant to any delegation under this section, he shall be presumed to be acting in accordance with the terms of the delegation in the absence of proof to the contrary.

Every such delegation shall be revocable at will, and no such delegation shall prevent the exercise of any power by the Minister.

Unless and until any such delegation is revoked it shall continue in force according to its tenor. In the event of the Minister by whom any such delegation has been made ceasing to hold office, it shall continue to have effect as if made by the person for the time being holding office as Minister and, in the event of the Secretary to whom any such delegation has been made ceasing to hold office, it shall continue to have effect as if made to the person for the time being holding office as Secretary or, if there is no Secretary in office or if the Secretary is absent from duty, to the person for the time being directed under the Public Service Act 1912 to act in the place of the Secretary.

The Secretary may from time to time, by writing under his hand, either generally or particularly, delegate to such officer or officers or employee or employees of the Department as he thinks fit all or any of the powers exercisable by him under this Act in- including any powers delegated to him under this Act, but not including this present power of delegation:

Provided that the Secretary shall not delegate any power delegated to him by the Minister without the written consent of the Minister, or any power delegated to him under the Public Service Act 1912 without the written consent of the Public Service Commission.

Subject to any general or special directions given or conditions attached by the Secretary, the officer or employee to whom any powers are delegated under this section may exercise those powers in the same manner and with the same effect as if they had been conferred on him directly by this section and not by delegation.

Every person purporting to act pursuant to any delegation under this section shall be presumed to be acting in accordance with the terms of the delegation in the absence of proof to the contrary.

Any delegation under this section may be made to a specified officer or employee or to officers or employees of a specified class, or may be made to the holder or holders for the time being of a specified office or class of offices.

Every delegation under this section shall be revocable at will, and no such delegation shall prevent the exercise of any power by the Secretary.

Any such delegation shall, until revoked, continue in force according to its tenor, notwithstanding the fact that the Secretary by whom it was made may have ceased to hold office, and shall continue to have effect as if made by the successor in office of that Secretary.

The Minister may from time to time appoint advisory or technical committees, and define the functions and powers of any such committee.

The Minister may from time to time appoint a Committee of Inquiry, consisting of one or more persons, for the purpose of investigating and reporting to the Minister on any matters relating to industry or commerce and of obtaining any information which may be required for the exercise of his powers and functions under this Act.

For the purposes of any investigation made by a Committee of Inquiry the Committee, or any member thereof authorised in writing in that behalf by the Minister, may by order in writing, require any person carrying on any business relating to or affecting the subject matter of the investigation to produce for the inspection of the Committee any papers, books, or documents which are in the possession of that person, or to set down in writing any facts relating to the subject-matter of the investigation which are within the knowledge of that person, or to allow copies of or extracts from any such papers, books, or documents to be made by or on behalf of the Committee.

Any person who fails to comply with any order made under subsection two of this section or who deceives or obstructs or attempts to deceive or obstruct the Committee of Inquiry or any member thereof authorised as aforesaid in the conduct of any such investigation commits an offence, and shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding fifty pounds.

Any Committee of Inquiry shall, within the scope of its jurisdiction, be deemed to be a Commission of Inquiry under the Commissions of Inquiry Act 1908, and, subject to this Act, the provisions of that Act shall apply accordingly.

All information obtained by any Committee of Inquiry and transmitted to the Minister or the Department shall be treated as confidential except for the purposes of this Act and subject to the right of publication conferred on the Minister by section fifteen of this Act.

There shall be paid out of money appropriated by Parliament for the purpose to the members of any advisory or technical committee or any Committee of Inquiry appointed under this Act remuneration by way of fees, salary, or allowances and travelling allowances and expenses in accordance with the Fees and Travelling Allowances Act 1951, and the provisions of that Act shall apply accordingly as if any such committee were a statutory Board within the meaning of that Act.

So far as any such publication is deemed by the Minister to be expedient in the public interest, it shall be lawful for the Minister from time to time to publish, in such manner and subject to such conditions as he thinks fit, any information obtained by him under this Act and any report, findings, recommendations, or comments made with respect thereto by the Minister, the Department, or any Committee of Inquiry.

The publication of any such matter by the Minister and the republication by any person of any matter published by the Minister under this Act or of any part of any such matter shall, if published or republished in accordance with any conditions imposed by the Minister, be absolutely privileged, and any matter so published or republished shall be a lawful subject of comment within the meaning of the law of defamation, and no action shall be brought by any person for the publication or republication of any such matter, whether on the ground of defamation or otherwise.

The powers conferred on the Minister or the Secretary or any other person by this Act are in addition to and not in derogation of any powers conferred by any other enactment and nothing in this Act shall be construed to limit or affect the powers conferred on any person or authority by any other enactment.

The Secretary shall as soon as practicable after the end of each financial year furnish to the Minister a report on the operations of the Department for that year.

A copy of the report shall be laid before Parliament within twenty-eight days after it has been furnished to the Minister if Parliament is then in session, and, if not, shall be laid before Parliament within twenty-eight days after the commencement of the next ensuing session.

No industry in respect of which a notice under section fourteen of the Industrial Efficiency Act 1936 was in force immediately before the commencement of this Act shall be carried on except pursuant to and in conformity with a licence issued in accordance with regulations made under this Act:

Provided that any person who, immediately before the commencement of this Act, was the holder of a licence issued under Part III of the Industrial Efficiency Act 1936 in respect of any business shall be deemed to be the holder of a licence under this Act in respect of the same business.

Any licence to which the proviso to subsection one of this section applies may be revoked in accordance with regulations made under this Act and, except as otherwise provided by this section, the provisions of any such regulations shall apply to any such licence.

The Minister may at any time by notice in the Gazette declare that any industry to which subsection one of this section applies shall be no longer subject to this section and, on the coming into force of any such notice, the provisions of this section shall cease to apply to the industry to which the notice relates.

The Governor-General may from time to time, by Order in Council, make all such regulations as may in his opinion be necessary or expedient for giving full effect to the provisions of this Act and for the due administration thereof.

Without limiting the general power to make regulations conferred by subsection one of this section, it is hereby declared that regulations may be made under that subsection for all or any of the following purposes:

All regulations made under this section shall be laid before Parliament within twenty-eight days after the date of the making thereof if Parliament is then in session, and, if not, shall be laid before Parliament within twenty-eight days after the commencement of the next ensuing session.

The enactments specified in the Schedule to this Act are hereby repealed.

Without limiting the provision of the Acts Interpretation Act 1924, it is hereby declared that the repeal of any provision by this Act shall not affect any document made or anything whatsoever done under the provisions so repealed or under any corresponding former provision, and every such document or thing, so far as it is subsisting or in force at the time of the repeal and could have been made or done under this Act, shall continue and have effect as if it had been made or done under the corresponding provision of this Act and as if that provision had been in force when the document was made or the thing was done.

All regulations made under the Board of Trade Act 1919 and in force immediately before the commencement of this Act shall continue and have effect, and may be amended, as if they had been made under this Act and as if the power to make the said regulations were contained in this Act and the repeal of any enactment by this section shall not affect the validity of any of the said regulations or of any amendment thereof.