There shall continue to be a Board to be known as the New Zealand Milk Board which shall be the same Board as that constituted under the Milk Act 1944 and existing under the same name immediately before the commencement of this Act.

The Board shall consist of ten members, appointed by the Governor-General on the recommendation of the Minister, of whom—

No person shall be qualified for appointment as Chairman of the Board if he has a pecuniary interest in the production, treatment, distribution, or sale of milk for human consumption:

Provided that any interest in common with the public or as a member of an incorporated company in which there are more than twenty members and to which he does not supply milk or of which he is neither a director nor the general manager shall not be deemed a pecuniary interest within the meaning of this subsection.

No person shall be qualified for appointment under paragraph (d) or paragraph (e) of subsection (2) of this section if he is an employee of the Town Milk Producers’ Federation of New Zealand Incorporated or of the Dominion Federation of Milk Vendors Incorporated.

No person shall be qualified for appointment under paragraph (e) of subsection (2) of this section if he is a milk producer.

Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (2) of this section, the members of the Board in office at the commencement of this Act shall continue in office until their successors are appointed under this Act and shall then retire from office.

No member of the Board shall be personally liable for any act done or omitted by the Board or by any member thereof in good faith and in pursuance or intended pursuance of the powers and authority of the Board.

The Board shall be a body corporate with perpetual succession and a common seal, and shall be capable of holding real and personal property, of suing and being sued, and of doing and suffering all such other things as bodies corporate may lawfully do and suffer.

Except as otherwise provided by this Act, every member of the Board shall be appointed for a term of three years, but may from time to time be reappointed.

The term of office of each member continued in office by subsection (6) of section 3 of this Act shall expire with the day on which it would have expired had this Act not been in force.

Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this Act, every member of the Board, unless he sooner vacates his office under section 5 of this Act, shall continue to hold office until his successor comes into office.

Any member of the Board may at any time be removed from office by the Governor-General for disability, bankruptcy, neglect of duty, or misconduct proved to the satisfaction of the Governor-General, or may at any time resign his office by written notice given to the Minister.

The office of a member of the Board shall become vacant, and the vacancy shall be deemed to be an extraordinary vacancy, if he—

An extraordinary vacancy shall be filled in the same manner in which the appointment to the vacant office was originally made.

If the member who vacated office was the Chairman, the person appointed Chairman in his place shall be appointed for a term of three years. In every other case the person appointed to fill an extraordinary vacancy shall be appointed for the residue of the term for which the vacating member was appointed.

The powers of the Board shall not be affected by any vacancy in the membership thereof.

At the first meeting of the Board after the commencement of this Act the Board shall elect one of its members to be Deputy Chairman.

Any person elected as Deputy Chairman shall hold office as such until he vacates office as a member of the Board or until an appointment or reappointment to the office of Chairman is made, but may from time to time be re-elected.

At the first meeting of the Board after a vacancy occurs in the office of Deputy Chairman, the Board shall elect one of its members to be Deputy Chairman.

Subject to the provisions of this Act, the Deputy Chairman shall have and may exercise all the powers and duties of the Chairman during the absence or incapacity of the Chairman or while there is a vacancy in the office of Chairman.

No acts done by the Deputy Chairman acting as the Chairman shall in any proceedings be questioned on the grounds that the occasion for his so acting had not arisen or had ceased.

In any case in which the Minister is satisfied that any member of the Board is incapacitated by illness, absence, or other sufficient cause from performing the duties of his office, the Minister may appoint a deputy to act for that member during his incapacity.

In the case of the incapacity of the Chairman, his deputy shall be the member holding office as Deputy Chairman under section 6 of this Act.

Every deputy appointed under this section to act for any member whose appointment to the Board was made on the nomination of any person or body of persons under subsection (2) of section 3 of this Act shall be appointed on the nomination of that person or body, and shall be a person who would be qualified for appointment in accordance with that section.

Any deputy appointed under this section shall, while he acts as such, be deemed for all purposes to be a member of the Board.

No appointment of a deputy and no acts done by him as such, and no acts done by the Board while any deputy is acting as such, shall in any proceedings be questioned on the ground that the occasion for his appointment had not arisen or had ceased.

Meetings of the Board shall be held at such times and places as the Board or the Chairman from time to time determines.

At all meetings of the Board six members, of whom one shall be the Chairman or, in his absence, the deputy of the Chairman, shall constitute a quorum.

The Chairman, or other person presiding at a meeting, shall have a deliberative vote and, in the case of an equality of votes, shall also have a casting vote.

All or any of the following persons may attend any meeting of the Board, and may speak at the meeting on any matter before the Board, namely:

Any person attending any meeting pursuant to paragraph (a) of subsection (4) of this section may also vote as a member of that meeting if the Chairman or the member appointed under paragraph (g) of subsection (2) of section 3 of this Act is absent from the meeting.

Except as provided by this section, no person attending a meeting under subsection (4) of this section shall take any part in the proceedings of the Board.

All questions before the Board shall be decided by a majority of the valid votes recorded thereon.

Subject to the provisions of this Act and of any regulations thereunder, the Board may regulate its procedure in such manner as it thinks fit.

The Board may from time to time appoint committees consisting of two or more persons, whether members of the Board or not; and may from time to time, with the prior approval of the Minister, delegate to any such committee, either generally or particularly, any of the functions or powers of the Board.

Every such committee shall be subject in all things to the control of the Board, and shall carry out all directions, general or special, of the Board in relation to the committee or its affairs.

Subject to the provisions of subsection (2) of this section, the committee may exercise or perform any function or power so delegated to it in the same manner and with the same effect as if it had been conferred on the committee directly by this Act and not by delegation.

Any delegation under this section may in like manner at any time be revoked.

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

No delegation under this section shall prevent the exercise of any functions or powers by the Board.

Subject to the provisions of this Act and of any regulations thereunder, every committee may regulate its procedure in such manner as it thinks fit.

The general objects for which the Board is established are—

The general functions of the Board shall be—

The Board shall have all such powers, rights, and authorities as may reasonably be necessary or expedient to carry out its functions.

The Board shall have all such powers as are conferred on it by this Act or otherwise.

Without limiting the generality of subsection (1) of this section, the Board shall have power, with the prior approval of the Minister, to purchase any land or building required for the purpose of providing office accommodation or otherwise for the purpose of exercising any of its functions or powers, and to sell or otherwise dispose of the same when no longer required.

In the exercise of its functions and powers the Board shall comply with the general policy of the Government in relation to the objects for which the Board is established and to the functions and powers of the Board, and shall comply with any general or special directions given by the Minister pursuant to the policy of the Government in relation thereto.

The Board may appoint such officers and employees as it deems necessary for the efficient carrying out of its functions and powers.

Any person in the service of the Crown may be appointed to be an officer or employee of the Board, but no person shall be entitled to hold office concurrently as an officer or employee of the Board and as a servant of the Crown except—

The Board may out of its funds subsidise the National Provident Fund or any other fund or scheme established with the approval of the Minister of Finance for the purpose of providing superannuation or retiring allowances for its officers and employees.

All persons who at the commencement of this Act are officers or employees of the New Zealand Milk Board established under the Milk Act 1944 shall be deemed to become officers or employees of the Board established under this Act, and for the purposes of any fund or scheme established for the purpose of providing superannuation or retiring allowances, the service of any such persons as officers or employees of the New Zealand Milk Board established as aforesaid shall be deemed to have been service as officers or employees of the Board established under this Act.

Part II of the First Schedule to the Public Bodies Contracts Act 1959 is hereby amended by inserting in its appropriate alphabetical order the following item:

The Governor-General may from time to time by Order in Council constitute and declare any part or parts of New Zealand as a milk district under this Act, with such name and from such date as may be specified in the Order.

The Governor-General may from time to time by Order in Council declare any two or more milk districts to be united, and to form one district, with such name as he thinks fit.

Every such united district shall be deemed to be a milk district constituted under this Act, and the provisions of this Act shall apply thereto accordingly.

The Governor-General may from time to time by Order in Council alter and redefine the boundaries of any milk district by the inclusion therein or the exclusion therefrom of any area and may in like manner abolish any milk district.

Every Order in Council under this section shall be made on the recommendation of the Minister after consultation with the Board.

All milk marketing districts constituted at the commencement of this Act under the Milk Act 1944 shall continue to exist as if constituted as milk districts under this Act.

All references to a milk marketing district in any Act, regulation, order, or other enactment or in any agreement, deed, instrument, application, notice, or other document whatsoever in force at the commencement of this Act shall, unless the context otherwise requires, be read as references to a milk district.

As from the commencement of this Act no person shall carry on the business of a milk vendor within a milk district except with the written approval of the Board and subject to such terms and conditions as may be specified in the approval or for the time being prescribed by regulations under this Act.

The Board may from time to time add new terms or conditions to those specified in any approval under this section and any terms or conditions for the time being specified in any such approval may from time to time be varied by the Board.

The Board may, in its discretion, refuse, suspend, revoke, or refuse to renew any approval under this section, or grant or renew any approval under this section either unconditionally or upon or subject to such conditions or for such period as the Board thinks fit.

Subject to the provisions of any regulations under this Act, it shall be a condition of any approval granted or renewed under this section that the holder of the approval shall be responsible for the proper conduct of the milk round to which the approval relates and that no lease, contract, or other arrangement is entered into by the holder whereby he is absolved from that responsibility:

Provided that nothing in this subsection shall apply to any milk round in respect of which both an approval and a temporary approval is in force under subsection (9) of this section during the period when the temporary approval is in force.

In any case where, by reason of the breach of any conditions attached to an approval, the Board has revoked the approval or refused to renew the approval, it shall be lawful for, but not obligatory upon, the Board to compensate the holder of the approval by the payment of such amount as the Board thinks fit or in such other manner as may be agreed upon.

In any case where, for reasons other than the breach of conditions attached to an approval, the Board has revoked the approval or refused to renew the approval, the Board shall compensate the holder of the approval by the payment of such amount as the Board thinks fit or in such other manner as may be agreed upon.

No compensation paid under subsection (5) or subsection (6) of this section shall exceed the amount fixed under section 32 of this Act as the maximum amount that may be charged for the goodwill of the business.

In any case to which subsection (5) or subsection (6) of this section applies, the Board may, if it thinks fit, require any milk vendor to whom it subsequently grants an approval in respect of the area or part of the area referred to in the approval revoked or not renewed to pay to the Board an amount determined by the Board after having regard to the market value of the goodwill of similar classes of businesses.

All persons who at the commencement of this Act are licensed as roundsmen under the Milk Act 1944 shall be deemed to be approved as milk vendors by the Board under this Act and the provisions of this Act, with the necessary modifications, shall apply accordingly in all respects as if the approval had been originally given by the Board:

Provided that where at the commencement of this Act the owner of a milk round who is not also the operator of the round does not hold a licence as a roundsman, he shall, within ninety days after the commencement of this Act declare to the Board his interest in the milk round, and if the Board is satisfied that he is the owner of the round he shall be granted an approval accordingly as a milk vendor as though he had been a roundsman licensed under the Milk Act 1944:

Provided also that where under this subsection more than one person is entitled to an approval in respect of the same milk round, the approval of any person who is the operator but not the owner of the round shall be a temporary approval under section 20 of this Act:

Provided further that any such temporary approval shall not remain in force for a period longer than two years after the date of the commencement of this Act, or than the unexpired period of any contract between the operator and the owner providing for the carrying on of the milk round, whichever period is the lesser.

Where pursuant to subsection (9) of this section a milk vendor is deemed to be approved by the Board and the licence granted to him under the Milk Act 1944 provided for the sale or delivery of a specified gallonage of milk, the Board shall, for a period of three years after the commencement of this Act, have all the powers of a Milk Authority under section 65a of the Milk Act 1944, and, notwithstanding the repeal of that section, the provisions of the said section 65a shall, with the necessary modifications, apply accordingly during that period.

The Board may institute and administer schemes providing for a system of zoning of milk rounds in any milk district or part thereof.

Where a part of a milk district is not included in a zone and that part is subsequently included in a zone, the Board, if it thinks fit, may require any milk vendor to whom it grants an approval to pay to the Board an amount determined in accordance with this section in respect of any area added to the zone in which he is entitled to operate under his approval.

Any amount payable to the Board under subsection (2) of this section shall be determined by the Board after having regard to the market value of the goodwill of similar classes of businesses.

Subject to the provisions of any regulations under this Act, if at any time the Board is satisfied that the quantity of milk being sold or delivered by any approved milk vendor has declined owing to circumstances beyond his control, the Board may, if it thinks fit, pay to the milk vendor compensation in respect of the decline of such amount as the Board, in its absolute discretion, may determine.

Any zoning scheme instituted by a Milk Authority under the Milk Act 1944 and in force at the commencement of this Act shall enure for the purposes of this Act in all respects as if the scheme had been instituted by the Board under this Act.

Any zoning system may from time to time be varied by the Board and, for the purpose of administering zoning schemes during the period of rezoning, the Board may purchase, for such consideration as may be agreed upon, the whole or any part of the business of a milk vendor, together with the goodwill of the business and any other assets belonging to the business.

Except as provided by this section and by section 21 of this Act, no milk round shall be purchased by the Board.

Where no milk vendor is for the time being approved by the Board in respect of any area within a zoning system, the Board may grant a temporary approval to a milk vendor in respect of that area.

Any temporary approval under this section shall be subject to such terms and conditions as the Board thinks fit and, in addition, each such approval shall be subject to the following terms and conditions:

Any rental payable under a temporary approval shall constitute a debt owing by the milk vendor to the Board and may be recovered accordingly.

All persons who, immediately before the commencement of this Act, are the holders of temporary licences issued by Milk Authorities under the Milk Act 1944 shall be deemed to be the holders of temporary approvals under this section.

No milk vendor or other person entitled to dispose of a milk round carried on wholly or partly within a milk district shall sell or enter into any contract, agreement, or undertaking to sell to any person (in this section referred to as the purchaser) the goodwill of the milk round or of any portion thereof without first offering in writing to sell the same to the Board on at least as favourable terms as those on which he is willing to sell to the proposed purchaser.

The offer shall remain open until the expiration of a period of twenty-one days from the date on which it was made, and, if it is not accepted by the Board within that period, it shall be deemed to have been declined.

The person offering to sell the goodwill may at the same time offer to sell any chattels (other than leasehold interests in land) or other personal property belonging to or pertaining to the business at a price to be fixed as hereinafter provided and, if the Board accepts the offer to sell the goodwill of the milk round, it shall be deemed to accept the offer to sell the chattels or other personal property.

The price to be paid by the Board for any such chattels or personal property shall be such amount as may be agreed upon or, failing agreement, as may be determined by arbitration under the Arbitration Act 1908 and, for the purposes of any such arbitration, this subsection shall be deemed to be a submission within the meaning of that Act.

Where an offer under this section is declined or is deemed to have been declined by the Board, the provisions of this section shall apply to any subsequent sale or any subsequent contract, agreement, or undertaking, entered into by the milk vendor or person entitled to dispose of the goodwill unless the Board, within the immediately preceding three months, has declined or is deemed to have declined an offer made to it under this section in respect of the milk round.

Any offer made to the Board to which this section applies shall not include or be deemed to include any real property.

The Board may, in its discretion, refuse to grant an approval in respect of a milk round to any person if the provisions of this section have not been complied with by the person who has disposed of the milk round.

Nothing in this section shall be construed to permit the sale to the Board or to any other purchaser of the goodwill of any milk round at a price in excess of the maximum amount fixed by the Board under section 32 of this Act in relation to the class of milk round.

No appeal, and no action or other proceeding against the Board, shall lie in respect of any refusal referred to in subsection (7) of this section.

Nothing in the foregoing provisions of this section shall apply to the sale or any contract, agreement, or undertaking for the sale—

Where the Board has purchased the goodwill of a milk round or any portion thereof under this section and, by an instrument or instruments executed within three months after the purchase, sells that goodwill or any portion thereof to a purchaser or purchasers, the instrument by which the Board purchased the goodwill shall thereupon become exempt from ad valorem conveyance duty under the Stamp Duties Act 1954 in respect of that goodwill to the extent to which it is transferred by the subsequent instruments, and shall be charged instead with a duty of thirty cents in respect thereof; and any stamp duty paid in excess on the instrument may be refunded out of the Consolidated Revenue Account without further appropriation than this section.

The Board may, on such terms as it thinks fit, sell, bail, or otherwise dispose of any business, milk round, goodwill, chattels, or other property purchased under section 19 or section 21 of this Act or otherwise acquired by the Board.

In any case where the Board has revoked an approval or has refused to renew an approval or has not granted an approval in respect of any area included in a zone or has purchased the whole or any portion of a milk round, the Board, pending the grant of an approval, may make such provision as it thinks fit for the service of customers residing in any area for the time being not served by an approved milk vendor.

Where no approval is for the time being in force in respect of any area which has been or is intended to be served by an approved milk vendor, the Board shall, as soon as practicable, make arrangements for the service of the area by an approved milk vendor, and, except so far as may be necessary to ensure the continuity of supplies of milk to consumers in milk districts or to complete the rezoning of any area, the Board shall not carry on a milk round.

Except as provided by section 49 of this Act, no person shall treat any milk, or establish or operate any plant for the treatment of milk, or use any premises for the treatment of milk except with the prior consent in writing of the Board:

Provided that any person who, at the commencement of this Act is licensed under section 65 of the Milk Act 1944 to treat milk or to operate any plant for the treatment of milk shall be deemed to have been granted a written consent from the Board under this section.

For the purposes of this section milk shall be deemed to be treated if, but only if, it is pasteurised or bottled or packaged for sale for human consumption.

There shall from time to time, in accordance with this section, be notified—

The prices, margins, and allowances payable to milk producers and associations of milk producers in respect of milk supplied to any such associations shall be fixed by the Minister, by notice published in the Gazette, after consultation with the Board.

The standard rates of margins and allowances payable in respect of the treatment and delivery of milk shall be fixed by the Milk Prices Authority by notice published by the Authority in the Gazette.

All other prices, margins, allowances, and conditions to which subsection (1) of this section relates shall be fixed or determined by the Minister, by notice published in the Gazette, in accordance with the recommendation of the Board.

The Board may from time to time, by notice to the persons concerned,—

The Governor-General, on the recommendation of the Minister, may from time to time by Order in Council provide—

and may in like manner prescribe the persons or classes of persons to or by whom any such payments are to be made and the circumstances in which and the conditions subject to which they are to be made, and may make such provision as may be necessary for the recovery of amounts so payable.

Any increase of any prices, margins, or allowances prescribed under any notice under this section may be made to operate retrospectively.

The Minister or, as the case may require, the Milk Prices Authority may from time to time in like manner vary or revoke any notice under this section.

Prices, margins, rates of allowances, or conditions may be fixed or prescribed under this section in respect of the whole of New Zealand or in respect of any specified district, locality, area, or part of New Zealand, and different prices, margins, rates, or conditions may be fixed or prescribed in respect of different districts, localities, areas, or parts of New Zealand.

Prices, margins, rates of allowances, or conditions may be fixed or prescribed under this section in respect of specified persons or in respect of different classes of persons, and in respect of different classes of milk, and in respect of different circumstances or classes of circumstances.

While any notice under subsection (2), subsection (3), or subsection (4) of this section continues in force, nothing in section 6 of the Marketing Amendment Act 1937 or in section 38 of the Statutes Amendment Act 1947 (which authorise the Department to fix prices, margins, rates of allowances, and conditions in respect of certain foods) shall apply with respect to any milk to which the notice applies.

Every person commits an offence against this Act and is liable to a fine not exceeding two hundred dollars who, whether as principal or agent, and whether by himself or his employee,—

Every person who aids, abets, counsels, or procures or is in any way knowingly concerned in the commission of an offence against this section shall be deemed to have committed that offence.

Nothing in the Control of Prices Act 1947 shall be construed to affect the exercise of the powers conferred by this section.

Subject to the provisions of this Act, if the Board—

Every such appeal shall be heard and determined in the Magistrate’s Court before a Magistrate alone, and the Court, for the purposes of hearing and determining the appeal, shall have all the powers vested in it in its ordinary civil jurisdiction.

The procedure for the institution, hearing, and determination of the appeal shall be in accordance with regulations to be made under this Act, and, subject to those regulations or so far as they do not extend, shall be in accordance with the ordinary procedure of the Court.

On any such appeal the Court may award such costs as it deems just either in favour of or against the applicant.

After hearing the appeal the Court may reverse the decision of the Board or vary the decision or confirm it, either absolutely or subject to such terms and conditions as the Court thinks fit, and the decision of the Court shall be final.

No appeal shall lie against the decision of the Board in any case where the Board has refused to grant an approval under section 17 of this Act (as it shall be entitled to do) on the ground that there are already sufficient approved milk vendors to meet adequately the needs of the milk district or the portion thereof in which the applicant proposes to operate.

For the purposes of this Act there shall be established at the Reserve Bank of New Zealand an account to be known as the Milk Industry Account.

The Milk Industry Account shall be the same account as that existing under the same name at the commencement of this Act.

The Board may from time to time open at the Reserve Bank of New Zealand or at any branch or agency of the Bank of New Zealand such imprest or subsidiary accounts as it deems necessary or desirable for the exercise of its functions or powers.

Every account under this section shall be operated on only by cheque signed by such person or persons as the Board appoints from time to time for that purpose.

With the consent of the Minister of Finance, the Board may from time to time out of its funds set aside in a separate bank account any money to form a fund or funds for any special purpose or as a reserve.

The Board may from time to time apply the money so set aside to form any such fund only for the purpose for which the fund was established, and may invest in the manner specified in subsection (3) of this section any money so set aside and pay the proceeds of the investment into the fund.

The Board may invest any part of any such fund, or any other money available for investment, in the following manner:

Separate accounts shall be kept by the Board of all money paid or received by it in respect of any such fund.

There shall from time to time be payable into the Milk Industry Account all money derived from the operation of the Board or payable to the Board and any other money that may lawfully be payable to the Account.

There may from time to time be payable out of the Milk Industry Account all money payable by the Board, and all costs, charges, and expenses whatsoever incurred by the Board, in the exercise of its functions and powers.

The Reserve Bank may grant to the Board, and the Board may receive from the Reserve Bank, accommodation by way of overdraft in aid of the Milk Industry Account, and that Account may be overdrawn accordingly:

Provided that the amount of the accommodation by way of overdraft shall not at any time exceed such sum as may for the time being be authorised by the Minister of Finance, who in giving any such authority may impose such conditions in respect thereof as he thinks fit.

The grant by the Reserve Bank of accommodation by way of overdraft as aforesaid shall not, for the purposes of paragraph (d) of subsection (1) of section 9 of the Reserve Bank of New Zealand Act 1964, be deemed to be the lending of money without security.

Except as otherwise provided by this section, the Board shall not borrow any money or mortgage or charge any of its property without the prior consent in writing of the Minister of Finance.

Subject to the provisions of subsection (6) of this section, for the purpose of providing funds to enable the Board to exercise its functions and powers, the Board may from time to time impose, in accordance with this Act, a levy on milk sold in New Zealand.

Different rates of levy may be fixed under this section in respect of milk and cream.

The rate of the levy shall not exceed half a cent per gallon in the case of milk and five cents per gallon in the case of cream.

The Board shall make the levy by resolution, and subject to the provisions of subsections (3) and (6) of this section, the rates of the levy may be increased or reduced from time to time by resolution of the Board.

Any levy payable under this section shall be paid and collected in such manner as may be prescribed by regulations under this Act.

While any money is payable by way of subsidy out of the Consolidated Revenue Account in respect of town milk—

The amount which any milk vendor may charge for goodwill on the sale of his business as a milk vendor shall not exceed the amount which is for the time being fixed by the Board under this section as the maximum amount payable for the goodwill of milk vending businesses of the appropriate class.

For the purposes of this section the Board may from time to time fix the maximum amount that may be charged for the goodwill of milk vending businesses.

Any amount fixed by the Board under this section may relate to milk vending businesses of a specified class or classes or carried on in a specified district or districts.

Before fixing any charges under this section or altering any such charges the Board shall give any organisation of milk vendors affected an opportunity of being heard or of making representations in respect of the charges.

Public notice shall be given by the Board of any determination made by it under this section.

Any person who, after public notice has been given under subsection (5) of this section, sells or buys the goodwill of any milk vending business at a price in excess of the amount for the time being fixed by the Board under this section in respect of the business commits an offence against this Act and shall be liable to a fine not exceeding two hundred dollars or twice the amount of the excess, whichever is the greater.

All amounts fixed by the Board under section 105 of the Milk Act 1944 and in force at the commencement of this Act shall be deemed to have been fixed under this section.

The Board and the Milk Prices Authority are hereby declared to be statutory Boards within the meaning of the Fees and Travelling Allowances Act 1951.

There shall be paid by the Board from the Milk Industry Account to its members and to the members of any committee appointed by the Board and to members of the Authority 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.

It shall be lawful for the Board from time to time to enter into contracts of insurance, insuring members of the Board against loss from personal accident arising out of and in the course of the exercise of their powers and duties as members, and to pay the premiums payable in respect of any such contracts.

The Board may in any financial year expend for purposes not authorised by this or any other Act for the time being in force any sum or sums not amounting in the aggregate to more than four hundred dollars.

The Board shall keep full and correct accounts of all money received and expended by it and the accounts shall be audited by the Audit Office, which for that purpose shall have and may exercise all such powers as it has under the Public Revenues Act 1953 in respect of public money and the audit of local authorities’ accounts.

The Board shall as soon as practicable after the end of every financial year, cause the accounts of the Board for that financial year to be balanced and prepare a balance sheet of the Board as at the end of the financial year, together with an account of income and expenditure showing the financial transactions for that year.

The financial year of the Board shall end with the thirty-first day of August in each year.

There is hereby established an Authority to be called the Milk Prices Authority.

The Authority, the members of which shall be appointed by the Governor-General on the recommendation of the Minister, shall consist of:

Any member appointed under paragraph (b) of subsection (2) of this section shall act as a member only when the Authority, in the exercise of its functions, is considering matters relating to the fixing of standard rates of margins and allowances in respect of the treatment of milk and any member appointed under paragraph (c) of subsection (2) of this section shall act as a member only when the Authority, in the exercise of its functions, is considering matters relating to the fixing of standard rates of margins and allowances in respect of the delivery of milk.

Before recommending that any person be appointed as Chairman of the Authority, the Minister shall obtain the approval of the New Zealand Federation of Milk Treatment Stations Incorporated and the Dominion Federation of Milk Vendors Incorporated to the appointment.

Except as otherwise provided by this Act, every member of the Authority shall be appointed for a term of three years, but may from time to time be reappointed.

Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this Act, every member of the Authority, unless he sooner vacates his office under section 40 of this Act, shall continue in office until his successor comes into office.

In any case in which the Minister is satisfied that the Chairman or any member of the Authority is incapacitated by illness, absence, or other sufficient cause from performing the duties of his office, the Minister may appoint a deputy to act for the Chairman or for that member during his incapacity.

Every deputy appointed under this section to act for any member whose appointment to the Authority was made on the nomination of any body under subsection (2) of section 37 of this Act shall be appointed on the nomination of that body.

Any deputy appointed under this section shall, while he acts as such, be deemed to be a member of the Authority, and any deputy acting for the Chairman shall have all the powers of the Chairman.

No appointment of a deputy and no acts done by him as such, and no act done by the Authority while any deputy is acting as such, shall in any proceedings be questioned on the ground that the occasion for his appointment had not arisen or had ceased.

Any member of the Authority may at any time be removed from office by the Governor-General for disability, bankruptcy, neglect of duty, or misconduct proved to the satisfaction of the Governor-General, or may at any time resign his office by written notice given to the Minister.

If any member of the Authority dies, or resigns, or is removed from office, his office shall become vacant and the vacancy shall be deemed to be an extraordinary vacancy.

An extraordinary vacancy shall be filled by the appointment of some qualified person in the same manner as the appointment of the vacating member.

Every person appointed to fill an extraordinary vacancy shall be appointed for the residue of the term for which the vacating member was appointed.

The first meeting of the Authority shall be held on a day to be appointed in that behalf by the Minister.

Subsequent meetings of the Authority shall be held at such times and places as the Authority from time to time appoints.

Subject to the provisions of subsection (3) of section 37 of this Act, at all meetings of the Authority the presence of every member of the Authority entitled to be present, or his deputy, shall be necessary for the transaction of business.

The Chairman shall preside at all meetings of the Authority at which he is present.

All questions before the Authority shall be decided by a majority of the valid votes recorded thereon.

Subject to the provisions of this Act, the Authority may regulate its procedure in such manner as it thinks fit.

The general functions of the Authority shall be to fix the standard rates of margins and allowances payable in respect of the treatment and distribution of town milk, being the rates which the Authority considers should be the basic rates payable throughout New Zealand in the absence of special circumstances.

In fixing rates of margins and allowances the Authority shall have regard to the following matters:

The Board shall make available such administrative services as may be necessary to enable the Authority to exercise its functions.

Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this Act, the Authority shall consult with the Minister before it fixes any margins and allowances under this Act.

Subject to the provisions of this Part of this Act, every Milk Authority of every milk district constituted under section 3 of the Milk Act 1944 and in existence at the commencement of this Act is hereby dissolved:

Provided that where any such Milk Authority is a Borough Council, the provisions of this subsection shall apply only to the Milk Committee of that Council.

Every milk district referred to in subsection (1) of this section is hereby abolished.

Notwithstanding the provisions of the Auckland Regional Authority Act 1963, the Auckland Regional Authority shall cease to exercise any functions or powers conferred on it by section 45 of that Act in respect of functions or powers formerly exercised by the Auckland Metropolitan Milk Board.

The provisions of this Part of this Act relating to Milk Authorities shall, as far as they are applicable and with the necessary modifications, apply to the Auckland Regional Authority so far as that Authority exercises any function or power under section 45 of the Auckland Regional Authority Act 1963 in respect of the Auckland Metropolitan Milk District:

Provided that the provisions of section 46 of this Act shall not apply to the Auckland Regional Authority.

The provisions of section 48 of this Act shall apply to employees of the Auckland Regional Authority exercising jurisdiction in respect of the Auckland Metropolitan Milk District as if that Authority were a Metropolitan Milk Board.

For the purposes of sections 49, 51, and 52 of this Act the term “local authority” shall be deemed to include the Auckland Regional Authority.

As soon as practicable after the commencement of this Act, the local authorities situated within or partly within each milk district abolished by section 44 of this Act shall, by agreement, apportion all property (including any amount payable by the Board under section 47 of this Act for equitable interests in milk rounds) and all debts, liabilities, and engagements of the Milk Authority for the district amongst those local authorities.

Where no agreement is reached under subsection (1) of this section, the Controller and Auditor-General, or such other person as the Governor-General may appoint for the purpose, shall hold an inquiry in respect of each milk district abolished by section 44 of this Act and shall make an award apportioning the property of the Milk Authority and the debts, liabilities, and engagements thereof amongst the local authorities situated within, or partly within, the district so abolished.

Any award under this section may provide for all or any of the matters included in the subject for inquiry, and may declare in whom any property shall be vested and by whom any money shall be paid or other acts or things done, including the payment by any party of the whole or any part of the expenses of the inquiry; and the person making the award may make and give such directions as may be necessary to give full effect to the objects of the inquiry.

Every such award shall be final, and to such extent as may be necessary for its operation and enforcement, shall be deemed to be a judgment of the Supreme Court.

Neither the Controller and Auditor-General nor any other person appointed under this section to hold an inquiry and make an award shall be deemed to be an arbitrator within the meaning of the Arbitration Act 1908, and nothing in that Act shall apply to any such inquiry or award.

Every agreement under subsection (1) of this section shall be in writing executed under the seals of the local authorities concerned and, upon the execution of any such agreement, all property and all debts, liabilities, and engagements of the Milk Authority shall become the property, debts, liabilities, and engagements of the local authority to which they are apportioned by the agreement.

For the purpose of enabling any property, debts, liabilities, and engagements of a Milk Authority to be transferred in accordance with this section, every Milk Authority, notwithstanding its dissolution, shall be deemed to have retained its corporate identity until all necessary transfers have been completed and is hereby authorised and empowered to execute such documents, pass such resolutions, and do all such other acts and things as may be necessary to give effect to any such transfer.

As soon as practicable after the commencement of this Act, the value, as at the thirty-first day of August, nineteen hundred and sixty-eight, of the equitable interests in milk rounds owned by each Milk Authority shall be determined in accordance with this section.

The amount of the value shall be an amount agreed upon between the Milk Authority concerned and the Board or, failing agreement, such amount as may be determined by arbitration under the Arbitration Act 1908 and, for the purposes of any such arbitration, this subsection shall be deemed to be a submission within the meaning of that Act.

Any amount agreed upon or fixed by arbitration under subsection (2) of this section shall not exceed the amount for the time being fixed by the Board under section 32 of this Act as the maximum amount payable for the goodwill of milk vending businesses of the appropriate class.

All equitable interests in milk rounds owned by any Milk Authority immediately before the commencement of this Act shall, on the commencement of this Act, become the property of the Board.

Provided that where a Milk Authority was a Borough Council which owns a milk treatment station and carries on milk rounds, the milk rounds shall remain the property of the Borough Council, and the Council may continue to carry on the milk rounds in all respects as if it were a milk vendor approved by the Board under this Act.

The amount determined under this section as the value of the equitable interests in milk rounds owned by a Milk Authority shall be paid by the Board to the appropriate local authorities in accordance with an agreement or award under section 46 of this Act as and when funds become available to the Board from the disposal of those equitable interests:

Provided that, whether or not any such funds are available, all amounts payable by the Board under this subsection shall be paid by the Board before the thirty-first day of August, nineteen hundred and seventy-three.

For the purposes of this section the expression “equitable interests in milk rounds” means,—

Every person permanently employed by a Metropolitan Milk Board or a District Milk Board immediately before the commencement of this Act shall, at the commencement of this Act, be deemed to be transferred to the service of the Milk Board unless he notifies the Milk Board in writing that he does not wish to be so transferred.

The provisions of paragraphs (b) to (d) of subsection (2) and subsections (3) to (6) of section 3, and sections 6 to 8 of the Local Authorities (Employment Protection) Act 1963 shall apply with respect to all persons deemed to be transferred to the service of the Board under this section in all respects as if the Board were a local authority within the meaning of that Act.

For the purposes of this section, a person shall be deemed to have been permanently employed by a Metropolitan Milk Board or a District Milk Board if he was, immediately before the commencement of this Act, in the full-time employment of that Board and had been so employed for a period of not less than one year.

Every local authority (including the Auckland Regional Authority) shall have power to carry on the business of a milk vendor, to buy and sell milk, and to provide for the storage in cool chambers of milk and milk products in accordance with the provisions of this Act.

Every local authority shall have power from time to time to acquire and hold shares and stock in the capital of any company incorporated under the Companies Act 1955 the principal object of which is the treatment of milk.

For the purposes of subsection (2) of this section the principal business which a company for the time being carries on shall be deemed to be the principal object of the company, notwithstanding that it may have authority to carry on any other business.

Every local authority shall have power from time to time to guarantee the repayment of money borrowed by a company in which it holds shares or stock under this section and the payment of interest on any money so borrowed.

Every local authority shall have power to acquire, establish, maintain, or operate a plant for the treatment of milk, and in connection therewith to carry on the business of a dealer in milk, and to conduct such operations as are reasonably incidental to any such business:

Provided that a local authority shall not establish a plant for the treatment of milk without the prior consent in writing of the Board.

The provisions of Part XI of the Municipal Corporations Act 1954 (relating to accounts) shall, with the necessary modifications apply as if each local authority were a Borough Council and its operations under this section were a trading undertaking within the meaning of the said Part XI.

Notwithstanding the provisions of this Act, the Wellington City Council shall be deemed to be a milk vendor duly approved by the Board under this Act and may continue to carry on the business of a milk vendor in the Wellington Milk District in accordance with this Act.

For the purpose of providing funds for the payment of any amount payable by a local authority—

the local authority may raise a special loan under the Local Authorities Loans Act 1956, by special order, and, notwithstanding anything in section 34 of that Act, without the prior consent of the ratepayers.

For the purposes of this Act any local authority may, in such manner and on such terms as it thinks fit,—

The Board may for the purposes of this Act approve in respect of any milk district any association of milk producers which conforms with the requirements of this section and of any regulations made for the purposes of this section as an association of producers which is entitled to supply milk for use or consumption in that district.

In any case where only one association of milk producers is approved in respect of any milk district and the Board is satisfied that the association is able to supply throughout the whole of each year all the milk required to be brought into the district for use and consumption therein (other than milk to which section 55 of this Act applies) the Governor-General may, by Order in Council, approve the association as the Supply Association for that milk district.

In any case where more than one association of milk producers is approved in respect of any milk district and the Board is satisfied that those associations can together supply all the milk required to be brought into the milk district for use or consumption therein (other than milk to which section 55 of this Act applies) the Board may direct the approved associations to form a committee of supply and, when that committee has been duly formed in accordance with the directions of the Board, the Governor-General may by Order in Council approve the committee as the Supply Association for that milk district.

The Governor-General may at any time by Order in Council revoke any approval of a Supply Association under this section.

While there is a Supply Association for any milk district, no further associations of producers shall be approved under subsection (1) of this section in respect of that milk district.

There shall not be more than one Supply Association in respect of any milk district.

The Board may at any time revoke any approval of an association of milk producers under subsection (1) of this section or recommend to the Minister that any approval of a Supply Association under this section be revoked if the Board is satisfied that the association of milk producers or the Supply Association, as the case may be, has ceased to comply with the requirements of this section or of any regulations made for the purpose of this section or has failed to carry out any directions of the Board or is not carrying out the conditions of the approval or is not observing the requirements of this Act or of any other Act relating to milk.

Regulations may be made under this Act, in accordance with recommendations made by the Board to the Minister, for all or any of the following purposes:

Every Supply Association and association of milk producers approved under section 92 of the Milk Act 1944 at the commencement of this Act shall be deemed to have been approved under this section:

Provided that the Minister shall, by notice in the Gazette, specify the milk district for which any such Supply Association or association of milk producers is deemed to be approved as aforesaid.

In any case where there is an approved Supply Association in respect of any milk district, no person shall bring any milk into the milk district for sale therein, except such milk as may be supplied by or through an approved association of milk producers:

Provided that if the Board is satisfied that the approved Supply Association cannot supply sufficient milk to meet the requirements of the milk district, the Board may, subject to any regulations under this Act, authorise to be brought into the milk district, or to be sold therein, sufficient other milk to meet the deficiency:

Provided also that in special circumstances the Board may, subject to such conditions as it thinks fit to impose, authorise milk to be brought into a milk district for sale therein otherwise than by or through an approved association of milk producers.

Notwithstanding the provisions of this Act, any milk producer may, with the written authority of the Board and subject to such conditions as may be imposed by the Board, sell any milk produced by him directly to consumers or to commercial users for use or consumption in a milk district, whether or not any such sale takes place in a milk district.

Where any association of milk producers has, whether before or after the commencement of this Act, with the consent of any milk producer erected or placed any milk vat or any appliance that is accessory thereto or any appliance for the cooling of water or for controlling the temperature of milk on any land occupied by the milk producer, then, after the commencement of this Act, so long as the association has not done or suffered anything which deprives it of its ownership of the vat or appliance,—

In any case where a dispute or difference arises between persons or bodies of persons whether corporate or unincorporate (including Supply Associations, associations of milk producers, associations of milk vendors, and persons operating milk treatment stations) as to any matter relating to the production, supply, collection, treatment, storage, distribution, delivery, or sale of milk, any party to the dispute or difference may refer it to the Board.

Where the Board is of the opinion that a dispute or difference referred to it under subsection (1) of this section should properly be settled by legal action in a Court of competent jurisdiction, or is of so trivial a nature as not to merit an inquiry being held, the Board shall decline to appoint a committee in respect of the dispute or difference.

The Board may appoint two or more of its members, of whom one shall be appointed as Chairman, either with or without some other person or persons, to be a committee of the Board to conduct an inquiry—

The Board may appoint any qualified person in an advisory capacity to assist any committee appointed under this section.

Every committee appointed under this section shall, for the purpose of enabling it to conduct the inquiry, be deemed to be a Commission of Inquiry under the Commissions of Inquiry Act 1908, and the provisions of that Act shall apply accordingly.

Where any committee appointed under this section conducts an inquiry into any dispute or difference referred to the Board under subsection (1) of this section, it shall determine the dispute or difference. The decision of the Committee, which shall be final and binding on the parties thereto, shall be notified to the parties and to the Board.

In every inquiry held under this section the decision of the majority shall be the decision of the committee, and, if the members are equally divided in opinion, the decision of the Chairman of the committee shall be the decision of the committee.

Where any committee appointed under this section conducts an inquiry into any matter, not being a dispute or difference referred to the Board under subsection (1) of this section, it shall, after the inquiry, report its findings to the Board and the Board may thereupon make such recommendations to the Government, or to any person or bodies of persons, as it thinks fit.

Nothing in the Arbitration Act 1908 shall apply to any inquiry, finding, or decision under this section.

The Board and any member or authorised officer thereof may, for the purpose of carrying out any of the objects and functions of the Board, at any reasonable time enter and inspect any premises believed to be used in connection with the production, supply, collection, treatment, storage, distribution, delivery, or sale of milk and may examine any equipment and may examine and take notes from any books, documents, or papers relating to any of the said activities and may take or purchase samples of milk from any such premises.

It shall be lawful for the Board, by arrangement with any Government Department or local authority, to authorise any inspector or officer of the Department or local authority to exercise on behalf of the Board any of its powers under this section.

The Board may from time to time require any proprietor of a milk treatment station, milk producer, milk vendor, Supply Association, or association of milk producers or milk vendors to supply to the Board such information or returns, and within such time, as may be specified in that behalf by the Board.

Any determination, notice, direction, requirement, consent, or other instrument made, given, imposed, or issued by or on behalf of the Board shall be sufficiently authenticated if it is signed by the Chairman or any other member of the Board or by any officer of the Board on behalf of and by direction of the Board.

Every instrument purporting to have been executed in accordance with subsection (1) of this section shall, in the absence of proof to the contrary, be deemed for all purposes to have been duly executed.

The Board may publish notice of any determination, direction, requirement, condition, or consent made, given, or imposed by it either in the Gazette or in a daily newspaper circulating in the locality in which the matter of the determination, direction, requirement, condition, or consent arises or to which it relates, and all persons shall be bound thereby.

The Board may, without publishing notice of any such determination, direction, requirement, condition, or consent, give notice thereof to any person, and every person to whom notice is given shall be bound thereby.

In the month of November in each year, or as soon thereafter as is practicable, the Board shall furnish to the Minister a report of its proceedings for its preceding financial year together with a copy of its accounts and balance sheet for that year certified by the Audit Office.

A copy of the report and of the accounts and balance sheet so certified shall be laid before Parliament if then sitting, and, if not, within twenty-eight days after the commencement of the next ensuing session.

Every person commits an offence against this Act and shall be liable to a fine not exceeding two hundred dollars who directly or indirectly by himself, his servant, or agent—

If any person is convicted of an offence against paragraph (d) of subsection (1) of this section that fact shall not prevent the revocation, variation, or suspension of any approval in respect of which the offence was committed.

All proceedings in respect of offences against this Act shall be taken in a summary way under the Summary Proceedings Act 1957.

A copy of any resolution of the Board certified by the Secretary of the Board to be correct, shall, until the contrary is proved, be sufficient evidence of the resolution in any proceedings under this Act.

A certificate signed by the Secretary of the Board to the effect that any approval or consent required under this Act has or has not been given by the Board or is or is not for the time being in force shall, until the contrary is proved, be sufficient evidence of the matters stated therein.

Any certificate purporting to have been signed by the Secretary of the Board shall, in the absence of proof to the contrary, be deemed for all purposes to have been duly signed.

It shall be the duty of every milk vendor or other person entitled to dispose of a milk round who enters into or proposes to enter into any contract with any person (in this section referred to as the purchaser) for the sale or other disposition of the milk round or the goodwill thereof to disclose to the purchaser, before entering into the contract, full particulars of any special allowance, concession, or subsidy which is being received by him in respect of the milk round pursuant to this Act and to which the purchaser is not or may not be entitled if the milk round is so disposed of.

If on the making of any such contract the provisions of this section are not complied with, the contract shall be voidable at the instance of the purchaser.

Nothing in this section shall be construed to limit or affect any other right or remedy to which the purchaser may be entitled in respect of the contract under any enactment or rule of law.

Every person carrying on any business that includes the production, collection, treatment, storage, distribution, or sale of milk shall, for the purposes of this Act, keep proper books and accounts and such other records as may from time to time be required by notice in writing given to that person by the Board, and shall, except as otherwise authorised by the Board, preserve all such books, accounts, and records for a period of not less than five years.

All such books, accounts, and records may be inspected during office hours by any officer of the Board authorised in writing by the Board in that behalf.

Except as otherwise expressly provided by this Act or any regulations thereunder, any notice required or authorised under this Act to be given to any person may be delivered to him either personally or by sending it to his last known place of abode or business by messenger or by post.

If the person is absent from New Zealand, the notice may be delivered as aforesaid to his agent in New Zealand. If he is deceased the notice may be delivered as aforesaid to his personal representative.

If the person is not known, or is absent from New Zealand and has no known agent in New Zealand, or is deceased and has no personal representative, the notice may be delivered in such manner as may be directed by a Magistrate or, if the notice relates to any land or building, it may be delivered by being delivered to the occupier thereof, or left with some inmate of his abode, or, if there is no occupier, either by being affixed in a conspicuous place on or to the land or building or by being publicly notified.

Notwithstanding anything in the foregoing provisions of this section, a Magistrate may in any case make an order directing the manner in which any notice is to be delivered, or dispensing with the delivery thereof.

Where a notice is sent by post, it shall be sent so as to arrive in due course of post on or before the latest time on which the notice is to be served.

Where anything is omitted to be done or cannot be done at the time required by or under this Act, or is done after that time, or is otherwise irregularly done in matter of form, the Governor-General may, by Order in Council, at any time before or after the time within which the thing is required to be done, extend any such time, or validate anything so done after the time required, or so irregularly done in matter of form, or make such other provision for the case as he thinks fit.

The Governor-General may from time to time, by Order in Council, make regulations for all or any of the following purposes:

Any regulations made under this section may apply generally throughout New Zealand, or within any specified part or parts thereof and may from time to time by notice in the Gazette be applied by the Minister, in accordance with the recommendations of the Board, to any specified part of New Zealand; and any such notice may at any time in like manner be varied or revoked.

The operation of any regulations made under this section may, if it is so provided in the regulations, be wholly suspended until they are applied by the Minister under subsection (2) of this section.

Any regulations made under this section may be general or may be limited in their application to any specified class or classes of persons.

Nothing contained in this Act shall relieve any person from the obligation of complying with any of the provisions of the Dairy Industry Act 1952, the Health Act 1956, the Food and Drugs Act 1947, or of any regulations made under any of those Acts.

The enactments specified in the Schedule hereto are hereby repealed.

All references to a milk district constituted under the Milk Act 1944 in any Act, regulation, order, or other enactment in force at the commencement of this Act or in any instrument, notice, or other document whatsoever, shall, unless the context otherwise requires, be read as references to a milk district constituted under this Act.