Closer Settlement (Amendment) Act 1907 (NSW)

Act No. 12, 1907.

A n A c t to a m e n d t h e Closer S e t t l e m e n t Ac t ,

1904, a n d t h e Closer S e t t l e m e n t ( A m e n d ­

m e n t ) Ac t , 1 9 0 6 ; and for o t h e r p u r p o s e s .

[19th December, 1907.]

BE it enacted by the K i n g ' s Most Exce l len t the advice and consent of t he Legis la t ive Council and Legislat ive

Majesty, by and with

Assembly of New South Wales in P a r l i a m e n t assembled, and by the

au thor i ty of the same, as follows : —

Preliminary.

1. This Ac t may be cited as the " Closer Set t lement (Amend­

ment ) Act , 1907," and shall be construed wi th the Closer Se t t l emen t

Act , 1904 (hereinafter referred to as t he Pr inc ipa l A c t ) , and the

Closer Se t t l emen t ( A m e n d m e n t ) Act, 1906.

Advisory boards.

2. The Governor may, for the purposes of this Act , const i tute th ree boards to be called Closer Se t t l ement Advisory Boards, and may dissolve and recons t i tu te any such board. A n y such board is herein­ after in th is A c t referred to as an " Advisory Hoard."

E a c h such board shall consist of th ree members to be appointed

by the Governor .	One of such members shall be so appointed
cha i rman of t he board.

I n case of the absence or illness of a member of any such board, t he Governor may" appoint a depu ty , who, du r ing such absence or illness, shall have the power of a m e m b e r of such board.

(a)	Whether any, and if so what, land (not being, in the opinion of the board, of a value less t h a n t en thousand pounds , exclusive of the value of the improvement s thereon) wi th in an area to be specified by the Minis ter is sui table to be
acquired for closer se t t lement .
(b)	The estimated value of such laud and of the improvements thereon respectively.
(c)	The price at which the board recommends the acquisition of the land, and the method of a r r iv ing at such price.
(d)

3. (1) Eve ry such board shall , at the request of the Minis ter and w i t h i n such t ime or ex tended t ime as he may appoint , report to h im as follows :—

(d)	In the event of the board recommending the acquisition of part only of any property, the value of the residue, and whe the r it will be deprecia ted in value by such acquis i t ion,
and, if so, by what a m o u n t .
(e)	The use to which the land may be put, and the capacity of the land for ca r ry ing stock, or for agr icu l tu re or o ther profitable use, the n u m b e r of farms into which if could be sui tably subdivided, and the possibilities of i r r igat ing, and such other par t icu lars as the Minis ter requires .
(f)	On any m a t t e r as to which the Minis te r requires a report .

(2) For the above purposes the board, or any m e m b e r of t he board, or any person authorised in wr i t ing by the cha i rman of the board, may , on giving the prescribed notice to t h e owner, en ter any land and inspect the same, and any improvement s thereon.

Purchase and resumption of land.

4 . ( I ) W h e r e an advisory board reports t h a t any land is sui table

to be acquired for closer se t t lement , the Governor m a y , —

(a)	subject to this Act, purchase it by agreement with the owner ; or, failing such agreement ,
(b)	where the value of the land, without the improvements thereon, as es t imated by the advisory board, exceeds twen ty thousand pounds, resume it under this Act : Provided tha t this l imita t ion of va lue shall not apply to land referred to in the next following section.

(2) E v e r y purchase or resumpt ion shal l be subject to

approval by resolut ions of both Houses of Pa r l i amen t .

(3) Before resuming any land, the Governor shall, by proclamat ion in the Gazet te , no t i fy that he proposes to acquire such land for the purposes of closer se t t lement .

5. (1) W h e r e , after the sixth day of November, one thousand

n ine h u n d r e d and seven, an A c t has been passed sanct ioning the

construct ion of a line of railway, the Governor may, within six

m o n t h s after t h e passing of such Act , by proclamat ion in the Gazet te ,

notify that he proposes to acquire for the purposes of closer set t lement the land there in specified, be ing land s i tuate wi th in fifteen miles on ei ther side of the line of the proposed rai lway, be ing the property of one owner, and exceeding ten thousand pounds in value, exclusive of the value of any improvements thereon.

(2) On such proclamat ion , the following provisions shall

app ly to any purchase or resumption of such land :—

(a)	The Governor may purchase or resume such land, and any land not exceeding ten thousand pounds in value, exclusive of the value of any improvements thereon, forming the residue of the same proper ty and worked wi th it and s i tua te
outside t he said dis tance from the l ine of ra i lway. (b)

(b)	The advisory board, or the court determining the value of any such land, shall, in e s t ima t ing or de te rmin ing such value, exclude any added value which would accrue to the land
from the const ruct ion of t he l ine of ra i lway.
(c)	Where the land is resumed, the owner may require the Governor to include in t he r e sumpt ion any land not exceeding ten thousand pounds in value, exclusive of the value of any improvements thereon, forming the residue of the same property and worked with it and s i tuate inside or outside t h e said dis tance from the line of railway, or forming a part of such residue which by the resumpt ion may be so severed from the rest of t he area, not resumed as, in t he opinion of the advisory board, to render it unworkab le w i th such area.

6 . W h e r e the Governor, by proclamat ion under e i ther of the

two last p receding sections, notifies t h a t he proposes to acqui re any land for t h e purposes of closer se t t l ement , no disposition of such land shall opera te to defeat the power of the Governor to r e sume the same unde r this Ac t . Such restr ict ion shall cease after t he expira t ion of twelve m o n t h s from the date of such proclamat ion.
7. The resumpt ion of land under this Act shall be effected by notification in the Gazet te .

On such notification being made, the land shall, subject to t h e r igh t of re ta iner hereinaf ter provided, vest in His Majesty for t he

purpose's of the Principal Act, the Closer Se t t l ement ( A m e n d m e n t )

Ac t , 1906, and this Act, and be dealt with thereunder .

8. ( I ) W h e r e unde r this Act or the Principal Act a resumpt ion

is m a d e of par t only o f land which before such resumpt ion formed and was owned and worked as one proper ty , the following provisions shall apply :—

(a)	Unless otherwise agreed be tween t h e Minis te r and the owner, t he land resumed shall be in one cont inuous block, or in
areas separated only from each other by lands not owned by the person owning the area resumed.
( b )	T h e advisory board, or the court d e t e r m i n i n g the value o f such land, shall have regard not only to the value of t he land resumed, but also t o the d a m a g e ( i f any) caused by the severing of the land resumed from such of the residue as does not inc lude land re ta ined by the owner in pur suance of th is Act , or land agreed to be sold, or which was leased wi th an option to purchase .

(2) For t he purposes of th is section, a block m a y be

con t inuous a l though some par ts thereof are separated from other

ar ts by roads, rivers, or watercourses .

9 . I f t he owner or mor tgagee is dissatisfied with t h e a m o u n t

at which the Governor has offered to purchase the land and improve­ men t s , or where no such oiler has been made , the va lua t ion of the same by the advisory hoard, he may apply to have the fair m a r k e t va lue of the land and improvements de te rmined by a cour t as here inaf ter provided by lodging wi th the Minis te r a not ice of appeal in t he prescribed form, wi th in twenty-eight days after the notification of the resumpt ion , or within such further t ime as may he allowed by the Minis ter , or as may, on application in a s u m m a r y way, be allowed by a Supreme Court judge .

10. The ma t t e r of such appeal shall be heard and determined by a court const i tu ted as provided in section e ighteen of t he Principal Act , and the decision of the judge and of one of t he assessors of such court shall be the de terminat ion of the Court , and shall he final.

11. The Governor may , n o t w i t h s t a n d i n g the r e sumpt ion of

any land and any proceedings consequent thereon, a t any t ime agree wi th the owner as to the price to be paid for the l a n d : Provided tha t the condit ions and restr ict ions of this Act shall apply to such agree­ m e n t as if the same were a purchase under this Act .

12. W h e r e the Governor has by proclamat ion (not being a proc lamat ion under section live) notified that he proposes to acquire any land for the purposes of closer se t t lement , t h e owner of such land may , within four weeks after the date of such proclamat ion, requi re the Governor to include in any resumpt ion to be made in pu r suance of such proclamat ion any land forming the residue of the same property , and worked with it ; and the Governor shall in any such resumpt ion include such residue :

Provided t h a t the Governor shall not be compelled to r e sume—

(a)	any land agreed to be sold, or which is leased with an option to purchase , or which is subject to a lease which at the t ime of the resumpt ion has more t h a n live years to run ; or
(b)	any land forming such residue, where such residue exceeds twen ty thousand pounds in value, exclusive of the value of any improvements thereon.
13. (1) The owner of any land proposed to be r e sumed unde r

this A c t may retain out of such land a par t thereof, but so t h a t t he va lue of such par t , toge ther w i t h t he value of the land forming the residue, if any, of the same proper ty , and worked with it, shall no t exceed ten thousand pounds ; such value in each case being exclusive of the value of any improvements on the land. W h e r e more than one person is the owner of such land, only one such r igh t m a y b e exercised.

Such r igh t shall be deemed to be waived unless the owner asserts the same in the prescribed m a n n e r wi th in four weeks after the proclamation notifying tha t the Governor proposes to acquire the land for the purposes of closer se t t lement , specifying the area, s i tuat ion, boundaries , and value (wi thout improvements) of the land which he

proposes to retain. (2)

(2) The area, s i tuat ion, and boundaries of the land to be so

re ta ined shall be de te rmined	by the Minis ter on the recommenda t ion
of an advisory board.	B u t if the owner is dissatisfied wi th such
de te rmina t ion be may . within one week after	service on h i m of not ice

of such de te rmina t ion , waive t he exercise of his r igh t of re ta iner by

notice served on the Minister .

1 4 . Af ter notification of resumption under this Act, the owner

may , w i th t he consent of the Minis ter , retain the whole or any par t of his estate for such period and upon such condit ions as may be agreed upon.

1 5 . The provisions of sections twenty , twenty-one , twenty- two,

twenty- three , forty-four, and forty-five of the Pr inc ipa l A c t r e la t ing to the acquisi t ion of land under that Act , and proceedings in relat ion the re to shall apply to a similar acquisi t ion and proceedings re la t ing there to under this Act.

1 6 .    The foregoing provisions of this Act r e la t ing to the purchase!

and resumpt ion of land and the de te rmina t ion and p a y m e n t of t he value of t he same, and mat te r s consequent thereon, a re in addit ion to and not in subs t i tu t ion for a n y o ther provisions in t he Pr incipal Ac t , or

the Closer Set t lement (Amendmen t ) Act , 1906.

Amendment of Principal Act.

1 7 . Subsection four of section s ixteen of t he Principal Act is

repealed, and the following is subs t i tu ted in its p l a c e : —

(4) The owner of any land referred to the closer se t t l ement board shall have the right to requi re the Governor to include in such reference any land forming the residue of the same proper ty and worked with i t :

Provided tha t the Governor shall not be compelled to include in such reference or to r e sume—.

(a) any land agreed to be sold, or which is leased with an option to purchase , or which is subject to a lease, which at the t ime of the reference has more t h a n live years to run ; or

(b) any land forming such residue where such residue exceeds

t w e n t y thousand pounds in value , exclusive of the value of

any improvements t h e r e o n :

Provided also tha t such right shall be asserted on the prescribed form within four weeks of the notification of the intention to refer.

The power of resumption, if exercised at all, shall, unless other­ wise agreed between the parties, be exercised wi th respect to the whole of the land referred to the said board under this subsection.

Supplemental.

1 8 . The Governor may m a k e regula t ions for ca r ry ing out the

provisions of this Act.

Ac t