Royal Commission on the Navigation Bill
29 June 1904 – 14 June 1906
A commission of members of Parliament that examined the Commonwealth Navigation Bill, which was to regulate merchant shipping, seamen’s wages and conditions, and the coastal trade.
How it came into existence
Appointed by Letters Patent dated 29 June 1904, during the Watson government. W. M. Hughes chaired it; its members included Senator R. S. Guthrie and Dugald Thomson MHR, and Senator Hugh de Largie also sat on it. It took evidence on the bill, which had been drafted by the Department of Trade and Customs.
How it ended
Its report was presented on 14 June 1906, and the commission then ended. Its work shaped the Navigation Act 1912, which was assented to on 24 October 1913 and was sometimes called the “Guthrie Act” after the commissioner who had pressed for it.
Main functions
- Provisions of the Navigation Bill
- Seamen’s wages, accommodation and safety
- Regulation of the coastal trade
Lineage
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