GENERAL OUTLINE

The purpose of this Bill is to:

§	change the name of the Northern Territory Tourist Commission to Tourism Northern Territory;
§	establish the organisation as a statutory authority that is constituted by the Chief Executive of Tourism Northern Territory to operate as an autonomous entity under the same portfolio as the Department of Business, Economic and Regional Development, with the authority and responsibilities for performance, external accountability and corporate governance vested in the Chief Executive of Tourism Northern Territory;  and
§	create a Tourism Advisory Board that has a minimum membership of six.

NOTES ON CLAUSES

Clause 1.	Short Title

This is a formal clause which provides for the citation of the Bill.  The Bill, when passed, may be cited as the Northern Territory Tourist Commission Amendment Act 2005. 

The short title refers to 2005 because that is the year in which the Bill will be introduced.  Once passed in February, the year will be changed to 2006 by Clerk’s amendment under the Standing Orders of the Legislative Assembly (SO202).

Clause 2.	Commencement

This clause details how and when this Act will become operational. Commencement will be delayed, however, to allow Board Members to be appointed between assent and commencement.

Clause 3.	Principal Act amended

This clause describes the purpose of this Act which is to amend the Northern Territory Tourist Commission Act as detailed above (refer General Outline). 

Clause 4.	Repeal and substitution of long title

The clause provides for this Act to repeal the long title of the Northern Territory Tourist Commission Act and substitute it to establish Tourism Northern Territory and the Tourism Advisory Board.

Clause 5.	Repeal and substitution of Part I heading

This clause will change the current heading of Part 1 of the NT Tourist Commission Act to read ‘Part 1 – Preliminary Matters’.

Clause 6.	Amendment of section 1 (Short title)

This clause will change the current short title of the Northern Territory Tourist Commission Act to read ‘This Act may be cited as the Tourism Northern Territory Act.’

Clause 7.	Repeal and substitution of section 4

This clause provides for section 4 of the current Northern Territory Tourist Commission Act to be repealed and substituted with definitions to describe the intent of the terms ‘appointed member’, ‘Board’, ‘Chairperson’, ‘Chief Executive Officer’, ‘member’, ‘member of the staff of Tourism Northern Territory’ and ‘Tourism Northern Territory’. 

Clause 8.	Repeal and substitution of Part II heading

This clause will change the current Part II heading of the Northern Territory Tourist Commission Act to read ‘Part 2 – Tourism Northern Territory’, ‘Division 1 – Establishment and constitution’.

Clause 9.	Amendment of section 5 (Establishment)

This clause will amend terms within section 5 of the current NT Tourist Commission Act to reflect the name change to Tourism Northern Territory and the constitution of the organisation no longer being vested in a Board but within the Chief Executive of Tourism Northern Territory. 

Clause 10.	Repeal and substitution of section 6

This clause changes to the constitution of the organisation from a structure comprising the chief executive officer and ministerially appointed Board members to being solely vested in the Chief Executive Officer of Tourism Northern Territory. 

Clause 11.	New Part 3 heading and sections 6H to 6M

This clause provides for the establishment of the Tourism Advisory Board and details its functions and powers.  The Board will comprise a minimum of six ministerial appointed members, including the Chief Executive of Tourism Northern Territory, and its role will be to provide advice to the Minister for Tourism on strategic issues impacting the tourism industry. 

Clause 12.	Amendment of section 8 (Chairperson)

This clause provides for the appointment of a Chairperson by the Minister to officiate at all Board meetings. 

Clause 13.	New Part 4 heading

This clause is a cosmetic change to the format of the current NT Tourist Commission Act and will result in Part 4, which relates to miscellaneous matters, appearing earlier in the layout.

Clause 14.	Repeal of section 16

This clause repeals section 16 of the current NT Tourist Commission Act which levies penalties for inappropriate disclosure of information by Board members and employees.  Penalties relating to inappropriate disclosure of information are prescribed later in the draft Bill at clause 17. 

Clause 15.	Repeal and substitution of section 20

This clause reflects the investiture of the organisation in the Chief Executive and allows for the delegation of powers or functions pursuant to the Act. 

Clause 16.	Repeal of Part IV heading

This clause removes the heading of Part IV of the current NT Tourist Commission Act to reflect the cosmetic change made by Clause 13 (refer above).  

Clause 17.	Repeal and substitution of section 27A

This clause deletes the current wording of section 27A of the NT Tourist Commission Act titled ‘Protection of members’.  It is replaced by two sub-clauses (27A and 27B) with revised wording to give a more comprehensive description of the protection from liability that the Act provides for Board members and staff of Tourism Northern Territory, and the responsibilities of these persons in relation to confidentiality.  

The revised wording prescribes penalties for inappropriate disclosure of information based on the Department of Justice’s penalty policy as at 30 October 2004.  The prescribed penalties translate to a) for an individual $22 000 or 12 months imprisonment, and b) for a body corporate $110 000.  Note: this section of the draft Bill replaces the repealed clause 16 of the current NT Tourist Commission Act as detailed in Clause 14 above. 

Clause 18.	Further amendments

This clause allows for further amendments as detailed in the draft Bill’s Schedule which changes all other references to the ‘Commission’ within the NT Tourist Commission Act to ‘Tourism Northern Territory’ or ‘Board’ as appropriate. 

Clause 19.	Relocation and renumbering of sections 17 to 22

This clause is a cosmetic change to the format and layout of the Act allowing for the relocation and renumbering of various sections. 
 
Clause 20.	New Part 2, Division 2 heading

This clause is another cosmetic change allowing for revised sections to be appropriately titled. 

Clause 21.	New Part 2, Division 3 heading

This clause is another cosmetic change allowing for revised sections to be appropriately titled.  

Note: Section 45(2) of the Interpretation Act will apply to ensure that the amendments made by clause 17 to 21 occur in the correct order. 

Clause 22.	Amendment of Public Sector Employment (Interim Arrangements) Act

This clause amends other legislation where the name Northern Territory Tourist Commission appears to reflect the name change to Tourism Northern Territory. 

Clause 23.	Amendment of Superannuation Regulations

This clause amends other legislation where the name Northern Territory Tourist Commission appears to reflect the name change to Tourism Northern Territory and establishment of the Tourism Northern Territory Act.