LAND ACT 1933 - SECT 47

This legislation has been repealed.

LAND ACT 1933 - SECT 47

47 .         Conditional purchase with residence

                Land declared open for selection under this Part may be disposed of subject to the following conditions: —

        (1) (a)         A person shall not be competent to acquire either as lessee or transferee, an area of land exceeding in the aggregate 5 000 acres; but on the recommendation of the Minister and with the approval of the Governor, it shall be competent for a person to acquire an area of land in one or more parcels exceeding 5 000 acres, but not in any event exceeding 10 000 acres, in any case where the Minister is satisfied that a holding requires an area greater than 5 000 acres in order to be of a standard deemed by the Minister an economic farm unit.

                Provided that the Governor may reduce the maximum area that may be acquired in prescribed localities.

            (b)         Where land is held in the joint names of two or more persons, each person shall, for the purposes of this subsection be deemed, unless the contrary is expressed, to hold a proportionate part of the acreage of the joint holding in ratio to the number of such persons:

                Provided that husband and wife shall not be competent to acquire jointly an area of land in excess of the area that either of them may lawfully acquire:

                Provided also, that the wife or husband of any person who acquires land under this Part, shall not be qualified to acquire land thereunder so far as the acreage of their holdings would exceed the maximum area that may be lawfully acquired by either of them.

            (c)         Land acquired by any person on conditional purchase under Parts V., VI., or VIII. of the Land Act 1898, and so held at the commencement of this Act shall, for the purpose of computing the area that may be acquired under this Act, be deemed to have been acquired under this Act.

        (2) (a)         The price shall be fixed by the Governor, but shall not be less than 20 cents per acre.

                In fixing the price consideration shall be given to the quality and productiveness of the land; its distance from a railway, market, or port; the prevalence of indigenous poison plants or the harmful species of wodjil as a dominant growth; and other circumstances.

                Such price shall be exclusive of the cost of survey, and the value of improvements, if any: Provided that when the prevalence of indigenous poison plants or any harmful species or wodjil as a dominant growth is taken into consideration in fixing the price of the land, the Crown grant for the land shall not issue until the Minister is satisfied that the same has been eradicated.

            (b)         The value of any existing improvements on or affecting any land applied for, or authorized and in course of construction or intended to be constructed, shall be determined by the Minister, and (subject to section 52) the price of the land shall be increased by the value so determined of such improvements, with interest thereon at the prescribed rate, to the intent that the price of the land as increased by the value of such improvements, shall be paid by the selector by half-yearly instalments at such times and in such manner as the price of the land if unimproved would have been payable.

            (c)         If the land was surveyed before selection the prescribed cost of survey shall be deemed an improvement within the meaning of paragraph (b).

        (3)         The application shall be in the prescribed form.

        (4)         On approval of an application a lease in the prescribed form shall be issued to the applicant for the term, at the rent, and subject to the conditions hereinafter prescribed, that is to say: —

            (a)         The term shall be 25 years from the first day of the quarter next preceding the date of such approval unless extended to not exceeding 30 years under paragraph (b) (ii).

            (b)         The rent shall be fixed at such sum per annum as will, if duly paid during the currency of the lease, amount to the price of the land, and shall be payable by the lessee in equal half-yearly instalments in advance.

                Such rent shall not exceed 5 cents per acre per annum: Provided —

                  (i)         that for each of the first 5 years of the term the rent shall be a sum equal, or as nearly equal as may be practicable, to the interest at the prescribed rate on the cost of survey, and on the value of the improvements, if any, but not less than $1 per annum; and the annual rent for the remainder of the term shall be proportionately increased;

                  (ii)         that if the price of the land exceeds $1 per acre, the Minister may, so far as necessary to reduce the annual rent to 5 cents per acre, extend the term of the lease to not exceeding 30 years;

                  (iii)         that if the price of the land would not, at the rate of 5 cents per acre per annum, be fully paid within 30 years from the commencement of the lease, the rent payable after the first 5 years of the term shall be increased so far as necessary to provide for the payment of the land within such 30 years;

                  (iv)         notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained elsewhere in this proviso, if the annual rent as payable after the first 5 years, when calculated in accordance with this subsection amounts to a sum less than $2, the amount of annual rent calculated as aforesaid shall be disregarded, and after the first 5 years aforesaid the annual rent payable in respect of the lease shall be $2 until the price of the land shall, by means of the payment of such annual rent, have been paid in full.

            (c) (i)         The lessee shall, within 2 years from the date of the approval of application for the lease, take in his own person possession of the land, and shall reside upon it and make it his usual home without any other habitual residence, during at least 6 months in each year for the following 3 years of the lease, and if possession is not taken as aforesaid the lease shall be forfeited:

                Provided that, if the lessee is already the beneficial owner of rural land for an estate of freehold or of land under conditional purchase, or is the holder of a lease of any such lands from the owner, or is the holder of a homestead farm within 50 miles of the land applied for, residence on such freehold, or conditional purchase land or homestead farm shall be sufficient residence under this paragraph:

                Provided also that the residence of the wife or a parent of the lessee, or a child of the lessee of the age of over 16 years, or other near relative approved by the Minister, may be accepted in lieu of the personal residence of the lessee:

                Provided also that the Minister may grant to the lessee permission to absent himself from his holding for such time as the Minister may think fit, but the Crown grant shall not be issued until the holder has performed in the aggregate the residence conditions required to be performed.

                  (ii)         The Minister may, notwithstanding the first 5 years of the term have expired, require satisfactory evidence of residence to be adduced by the lessee, and, failing such evidence, may require expenditure on improvements to the extent of not exceeding double the amount which otherwise would have sufficed, before the issue of a Crown grant.

                  (iii)         Notwithstanding anything contained in this subsection to the contrary, the Governor may prescribe that personal residence by the lessee shall be obligatory.

            (d)         If the Minister is satisfied that any land acquired under this section is suitable only for grazing, or more suitable for grazing than cultivation, he may permit residence by the servant or agent of the lessee in lieu of residence as hereinbefore prescribed, but in such case such residence by a servant or agent must be for not less than 9 months in each year of the first 5 years of the term of the lease.

            (e)         Where land held jointly by 2 or more lessees is subject to the condition of residence, it shall suffice if, with the Minister’s approval, the residence condition is fulfilled by one of the joint lessees.

            (f)         The lessee —

                  (i)         shall provide an adequate water supply within the first 2 years of the term of the lease, if required by the Minister to do so, but where the lease is issued after the coming into operation of the Land Act Amendment Act (No. 2) 1969 the lessee if required by the Minister to do so shall provide an adequate water supply before a Crown grant is issued to the lessee under subsection (5);

                  (ii)         shall effect improvements by way of progressively sowing to pasture or crop, or to both, such that by the end of 2 years from the date of approval of the application for the lease at least 10% of the total area of the land is or has been so sown, by the end of 5 years from that date at least 20% of the total area of the land is or has been so sown, and by the end of 11 years from that date at least 50% of the total area of the land is or has been so sown. Provided that the Minister in his discretion may vary either or both the percentage or type of improvements required to be effected within any time.

        [(iii)         deleted]

                It shall be obligatory on the part of the lessee to commence within 6 months from the date of approval of the application for the lease and thereafter to continue and maintain the improvements to the satisfaction of the Minister.

                If from any cause deemed by the Minister to be sufficient, a lessee has been prevented from improving his land within the time prescribed, the Minister may, with the approval of the Governor, grant an extension of such time, not exceeding 12 months, to complete such improvements.

        (5)         At the expiration of the lease, or at any time after 5 years from its commencement, if the conditions in respect of the total period of the lease have been complied with, the improvements maintained, and the price of the land fully paid, rent being deemed payments on account of the price, a Crown grant of the land shall be issued to the lessee in the prescribed form on payment of the prescribed fee:

                Provided that any portion of the land lawfully resumed prior to the issue of the grant may be excluded therefrom.

        [Section 47 amended by No. 39 of 1937 s.2; No. 36 of 1939 s.4; No. 58 of 1950 s.15; No. 41 of 1962 s.3; No. 60 of 1963 s.4; No. 65 of 1965, s.4; No. 113 of 1965 s.8; No. 55 of 1969 s.7; No. 73 of 1977 s.12; No. 79 of 1982 s.10; No. 14 of 1986 s.4; No. 126 of 1987 s.68.]

[ 48.         Repealed by No. 36 of 1939 s.5.]