Section 17

The Consolidated Fund shall be liable to make good all sums required to discharge any liability which the Public Trustee, if he were a private trustee, would be personally liable to discharge, except where the liability is one to which neither the Public Trustee nor any of his officers has in any way contributed and which neither he nor any of his officers could by the exercise of reasonable diligence have averted, and in that case the Public Trustee shall not, nor shall the Consolidated Fund be subject to any liability.