There is hereby established a Council, to be called the New Zealand Urban Public Passenger Transport Council.

The Council shall consist of—

The following provisions shall apply with respect to every member of the Council under paragraph (d) of subsection (2) of this section, namely:

The Governor-General may, on the recommendation of the Minister, appoint any person to be the deputy of any member of the Council appointed under paragraph (d) of subsection (2) of this section, to act, pursuant to the terms of his appointment, in the event of the absence from any meeting of the Council of the member whose deputy he is.

Except in special circumstances, the Minister shall not recommend for appointment as a member of the Council under paragraph (d) of subsection (2) of this section, or as the deputy of any such member, any person who has any pecuniary interest, other than an interest in common with the public, in any urban public passenger transport undertaking.

In the absence from any meeting of the Council of the Secretary for Transport or the Secretary to the Treasury or the Secretary for Internal Affairs, any other officer of his department nominated by him as his deputy may attend the meeting in his stead. While any person is attending any meeting under this subsection, he shall be deemed for all purposes to be a member of the Council, and, in the case of the deputy of the Secretary for Transport, to be the Chairman.

The fact that any member appointed or nominated as the deputy of any member of the Council attends and acts at any meeting thereof shall be conclusive evidence of his authority to do so.

In the absence of the Chairman and his deputy from any meeting of the Council, the members present shall appoint one of their members to be Chairman of that meeting.

Three members shall form a quorum at any meeting of the Council.

The Chairman of any meeting shall have a deliberative vote, and in the case of an equality of votes shall have a casting vote.

The powers of the Council shall not be affected by any vacancy in its membership.

The Council may make rules consistent with this section governing its own procedure.

The provisions of sections 6, 7, and 8 of the Local Authorities (Members’ Interests) Act 1968 shall apply with respect to every meeting of the Council or of any committee of the Council and the consideration by the Council or any such committee under sections 13d and 13e of this Act of any application for a loan or grant, as if the meeting were a meeting of members of a local authority within the meaning of the first-mentioned Act.

The Council shall have and undertake such functions as are necessary for the administration of Government assistance to urban public passenger transport operators in New Zealand (other than the operators of taxicab services), and such other functions as the Minister may direct by notice in the Gazette.

Without limiting the general functions specified in subsection (1) of this section, the Council shall have the following functions:

The Council shall have all such powers as are reasonably necessary to enable it to exercise its functions.

Every Regional Transport Authority and every person or body who or which provides urban public passenger transport (other than taxicab services) in areas other than Regional Transport Districts and proposes to borrow any money from the Council for capital expenditure or to seek a grant from the Council towards capital expenditure shall submit to the Council an application and statement giving such information and particulars as may be required by the Council, which information and particulars shall be verified in such manner as may be required by the Council.

Every person or body who or which provides urban public passenger services (other them taxicab services) in any Regional Transport District and proposes to borrow any money from the Council for capital expenditure or to seek a grant from the Council towards capital expenditure shall submit to the Regional Transport Authority for that district an application and statement giving such information and particulars as may be required by the Council, which shall be forwarded forthwith by that Authority to the Council together with any recommendations or comments that the Authority may wish to make.

Upon receipt of the application and statement, the Council may of itself, or by any of its members, or by any other person authorised by it in that behalf, make such investigations in respect of the application as the Council thinks fit.

The Council, or any person authorised by it in that behalf, shall when making investigations in respect of any such application have all the powers of a Commission under the Commissions of Inquiry Act 1908.

In respect of every such application made to the Council, the Council may,—

Without limiting the generality of the powers conferred by subsection (1) of this section, it is hereby declared that in exercise of its powers conferred by paragraph (a) of that subsection in relation to any loan, the Council may—

The Council shall duly notify the applicant of every decision made by the Council (with the approval of the Minister of Finance, where required by this section) with respect to the application or in relation to the loan or grant.

Where any such notification purporting to be signed by any person as Secretary or acting Secretary of the Council is given, no person shall be concerned to inquire whether the decisions specified therein have been duly made by the Council, or, as the case may be, by any member acting pursuant to a delegation under section 13f of this Act, or whether, where required by this section, the decisions have been made with the approval of the Minister of Finance.

The Council may from time to time delegate to any of its members all or any part of the Council’s powers under this Act. No such delegation shall prevent the exercise by the Council of any of its powers.

Where any delegation under this section is made to 2 or more members of the Council those members shall be deemed to be a committee of the Council for the purposes of section 13b of this Act.

There may from time to time be paid out of the Consolidated Revenue Account, from money appropriated by Parliament for the purpose, such sums by way of grant or loan as the Council determines, in accordance with this Act.

There may also from time to time be paid out of the Consolidated Revenue Account, from money appropriated by Parliament for the purpose, all fees, salaries, or allowances and other expenditure incurred by the Council in the performance and exercise of its functions and powers under this Act, and travelling allowances and expenses, in accordance with the Fees and Travelling Allowances Act 1951, and the provisions of that Act shall apply accordingly and the Council shall be deemed to be a Statutory Board for the purposes of that Act.

The Council shall as soon as practicable after the close of each financial year ending with the 31st day of March prepare and submit to the Minister a report on its operations under this Act. The report shall include a statement showing the payments made during the year out of the money appropriated by Parliament for the purposes of sections 13a to 13h of this Act, together with a statement of the amounts recovered in respect of loans made in that or in any previous year.

The report shall be laid before Parliament as soon as practicable after it has been received by the Minister.”