Northern Territory Consolidated Acts

PASTORAL LAND ACT - SECT 34

(1) Subject to section 135, unless:

(a) the Minister was, at the time the land or interest was or was to be acquired, of the opinion that it was or would be in the interest of the Territory and advised the person, in writing, accordingly; or

(b) the land or interest was lawfully held at the commencement of this Act,

a person shall not:

(c) hold, either alone or together with an associate, pastoral land that exceeds in aggregate an area of 13,000 square kilometres;

(d) have a direct or indirect beneficial interest, either alone or together with an associate, in pastoral land that exceeds in aggregate an area of 13,000 square kilometres;

(e) hold, either alone or together with an associate and, at the same time, have a direct or indirect beneficial interest either alone or together with an associate in, pastoral land the total area of which lands exceeds in aggregate 13,000 square kilometres; or

(f) hold, either alone or together with an associate, or have a direct or indirect beneficial interest either alone or together with an associate in, pastoral land, that in either case or together at the same time is worked in association with other pastoral land, whether as one station or otherwise, the total area of which lands exceeds 13,000 square kilometres.

(2) For the purposes of this section:

(a) a person whose holding of pastoral land or a direct or indirect beneficial interest in pastoral land comprises land or an interest in land held jointly or in common with one or more other persons (not being an associate or associates), shall be deemed to hold or have a beneficial interest (as the case may be) in an area of the land that bears the same proportion to the total area the subject of the joint or common holding or interest as the share of the person bears to the totality of the holding or interest;

(b) a direct beneficial interest in pastoral land shall include a vested equitable interest in the ownership of any leasehold or under-leasehold estate in respect of pastoral land, however that interest may arise, whether as beneficiary under or pursuant to a trust, whether express, implied or constructive, or as purchaser under an uncompleted contract for sale, and accordingly may include units in a unit trust estate;

(c) an indirect beneficial interest in pastoral land includes, where a company holds the pastoral land or has itself a direct beneficial interest in the pastoral land, the holding of a controlling power or interest in relation to the company, such controlling power or interest comprising:

(i) the ability or capacity to control or procure the composition of the board of directors of the company;

(ii) the ability or capacity to cast or control, or procure the casting of, not less than 50% of the maximum number of votes that may be cast at a general meeting of the corporation; or

(iii) the holding of legal title to, or of a beneficial interest, direct or indirect, whether by medium of interposed corporations and/or trusts or otherwise, in, not less than 50% of the shares in the corporation carrying voting rights in respect of any one or more subject matters capable of resolution at a general meeting of the company;

(d) an indirect interest in pastoral land also includes, where a trustee or any one of 2 or more trustees of a trust estate, having a discretion as to the disposition of income or corpus of the trust estate, holds the pastoral land or an interest in the pastoral land for and on behalf of the trust estate:

(i) in the case of a trustee being a corporation, the holding of a controlling power or interest in relation to the corporation of any one or more of the kinds referred to in paragraph (c); and

(ii) in the case of a trustee being a natural person, the holding of an ability or capacity to control, or procure the removal of, the trustee or the appointment of additional trustees or the exercise of the discretion as to the disposition of income or corpus of the trust estate;

(e) a mortgagee under a mortgage of pastoral land shall not be taken to hold or to have a beneficial interest in the pastoral land unless and until:

(i) the mortgagee is and has been in possession of the land for more than 2 years; or

(ii) the mortgage has been foreclosed by order of a court or otherwise; and

(f) an associate of a person means:

(i) a lineal or adoptive ancestor of any degree, sibling, uncle, aunt, nephew, niece, lineal descendant or adopted child of the person, or a spouse or de facto partner or former spouse or de facto partner of the person or of any of the persons listed in this subparagraph;

(ii) a trustee of a trust estate, where the person or an associate referred to in subparagraph (i) of the person benefits or is capable of benefiting under the trust or under a subtrust in relation thereto;

(iii) a partner of the person, or a person who was within the preceding 2 years a partner of the person;

(iv) a company where:

(A) the company is, or the majority of its directors are, accustomed or under an obligation or arrangement, whether formal or informal, to act in accordance with the directions, instructions or wishes of the person or of an associate referred to in subparagraph (i), of the person; or

(B) the person is, the persons who are associates of that person by virtue of subparagraphs (i), (ii) and (iii) are, or the person and the persons who are associates of the person by virtue of those subparagraphs are, in a position to cast, or control, or procure the casting of, 50% or more of the maximum number of votes that might be cast at a general meeting of the company;

(v) in the case of the person being a corporation:

(A) a director or secretary of the corporation, or an associate referred to in subparagraph (i), of a director or secretary of the corporation;

(B) a corporation that is a related body corporate to the first-mentioned corporation within the meaning of the Corporations Act 2001; or

(C) a director or secretary of such a related body corporate, or an associate referred to in subparagraph (i), of a director or secretary of such a related body corporate; or

(vi) also, in the case of the person being a corporation ( the first corporation ), another corporation the second corporation ), where:

(A) the ability or capacity to control or procure the composition of the board of directors of the second corporation is held by not less than 50% of the persons comprising or having the ability or capacity to control or procure the composition of the board of directors of the first corporation;

(B) the ability or capacity to cast or control or procure the casting of not less than 50% of the maximum number of votes that may be cast at a general meeting of the second corporation is held by persons having the ability or capacity to control or procure the control of not less than 50% of the maximum number of votes that may be cast at a general meeting of the first corporation; or

(C) the holding of legal title to, or of a beneficial interest, direct or indirect, whether by medium of interposed corporations and/or trusts or otherwise in, not less than 50% of the shares in the second corporation carrying voting rights in respect of one or more subject matters capable of resolution at a general meeting of the second corporation, is held by persons holding legal title to, or a beneficial interest, direct or indirect, whether by medium of interposed corporations and/or trusts or otherwise in, not less than 50% of the shares in the first corporation carrying voting rights of the same kind.

(3) For the purposes of this section corporation has the same meaning as in the Corporations Act 2001.