Closer Settlement (Amendment) Act 1916 (NSW)
CLOSER SETTLEMENT
(AMENDMENT) ACT.
Act No. 53, 1916.
| A n | A c t to amend | the law re la t ing | to Closer S e t t l e - |
m e n t and cer ta in Ac t s in re la t ion therewi th ,
and o the r Ac t s inc identa l the re to . [Assented
to , 4 t h Oc tober , 1 9 1 6 . ]
| lative Council and Legislative Assembly of New South | BE it enacted by the King's Most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Legis- |
| Wales in Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows :— |
P A R T I .
Short title.
1 . This Act may be cited as the " Closer Settlement (Amendment) Act, 1916 , " and shall be construed with the Closer Settlement Acts.
Definitions.
2 . In this and in any other Act—
Wales Closer Settlement Debentures issued by the Governor under the Closer Settlement (Amendment) Act, 1914, as amended by Part I I of this Act. P A R T
" Closer Settlement Acts " means the Closer Settle ment Act, 1904, and any Acts now passed or hereafter to be passed amending that Act. " Closer Settlement Debentures " means New South
P A R T I I .
AMENDMENT OF C L O S E R S E T T L E M E N T ACTS.
Purchase of certain leases.
3 . (1) The following new section and short heading are inserted next after section four of the Closer Settle ment (Amendment) Act, 1912 : —
4A. "Where any such advisory hoard reports to the
Minister that any land, being the whole or part of
the land comprised in an improvement lease or scrublease granted under the Crown Lands Acts, or a lease granted under section eighteen of the Crown
Lands Act Amendment Act, 1903, is suitable to be acquired for closer settlement, it shall be lawful
for the Minister to purchase by agreement with the lessee the said lease of such land : Provided that
the purchase money to be paid to the lessee shall not exceed the advisory board's valuation of thelessee's interest in the lease of the land and in the
improvements thereon: Provided further that in any
case where the purchase money agreed upon exceeds fifteen thousand pounds the purchase shall be sub jec t to the approval of Parliament expressed by
resolutions passed by both Houses of Parliament.
(2) Section five of the same Act is amended by inserting the words " or purchased " next after the word " resumed " and by omitting the words " by the Crown ".
(3) Section six of the same Act is amended by
inserting the words " or purchase " next after the word
" resumption " .
4 . The following is added to section five of the same
Act :—
" Where at the time of such resumption or pur
chase any part of the land leased is bona fide undersublease by the Crown lessee, the sublessee shall be deemed to have attorned to and become the tenant
of the Minister on the terms of the sublease.
The Minister may allow—
(a)
any person who is not a lessee as aforesaid but who holds any part of such land on terms of sharing profits with his landlord (hereinafter referred to as a share-farmer);
or (b)
(b)
any person employed on such land and who has established his home and resided on any part thereof for at least two years,
to remain in occupation of such part of the land acquired for such period and upon such terms as he thinks fit.
At any time during such tenancy or occupation the Minister may, on such conditions as he thinks fit, allow such tenant, share-farmer, or employee a preferential right to apply for a settlement pur
chase or a holding under the Crown Lands Consolidation Act, 1913, of any land comprised in the
lease resumed or purchased if the local land board after inquiry reports that he is otherwise qualified
and likely to satisfactorily work and develop theland."
Payment fur land purchased or resumed.
5 . Section three of the Closer Settlement (Amend
ment) Act, 1914, is hereby repealed and the following
sections are substituted for it : Provided that such
repeal, so far as it relates to the words " Such certificate shall be negotiable only with the consent of the Minister", shall be deemed to have taken effect from the com- mencement of the Closer Settlement (Amendment) Act,
1914 :—
3. (1) Any purchase or resumption of land under the Closer Settlement Acts, and any purchase under the last preceding section shall be paid for—
(a) in cash ; or (b) with the; concurrence of the owner, vendor, or mortgagee, by closer settlement deben
tures issued as hereinafter provided.
(2) Any certificate which has been issued by the Minister before the commencement of the Closer
Settlement (Amendment) Act, 1916, under section
three of the Closer Settlement (Amendment) Act,
1914, repealed by the first mentioned Act, may, on
application, be converted into Closer Settlement
Debentures.
(3)
(3) All revenue received from land in connec tion with which payments are made in cash or by debentures as aforesaid shall be paid into the Closer
Settlement Fund.
3A. The Governor may issue debentures secured on the Closer Settlement Fund, or if the amount at credit of the Closer Settlement Funds at any time is insufficient, upon the Consolidated Revenue Fund, and bearing interest at a rate not exceeding
five per centum per annum.
Any such debentures shall be styled " New South
Wales Closer Settlement Debentures."
The debentures aforesaid may be issued at such
times and for such amounts and for such currency
as may be directed by the Governor.
All such debentures shall be numbered con
secutively, beginning with number one and
progressing arithmetically by units, and shall be
signed by—
The Colonial Treasurer,
The Minister for Lands,
The Under Secretary for Finance and Trade, and
The Auditor General.
The principal moneys for which such debenturesmay be made out shall be chargeable on and payable out of the Closer Settlement Fund or the Consolidated Revenue Fund on the maturing of such debentures.
The interest on such debentures shall be charge-
able on and payable out of the Closer Settlement
Fund.
Amendment of Closer Settlement Act, 1904. 6 . (1) Section eleven of the Closer Settlement Act,
1904, is repealed.
(2) Section twenty-two of the same Act is amended
by adding the following proviso at the end of the
section:—" Provided that the total amount of such costs shall not in any case exceed fifty pounds."
(3)
(3) Subsection two of section twenty-nine of the same Act (added to that section by section eleven of the
Closer Settlement (Amendment) Act, 1909) is amended by omitting the words " of four per centum per annum"
and inserting in lieu thereof the words " payable in
respect of the balance of purchase money ".
(4) Section thirty-six of the same Act is amended
by substituting the word " Minister " for the word
"Governor" wherever occurring.
The following words are inserted next after the words
" l i e thinks f i t " : — " A n d when the forfeiture of the holding shall have been waived and the conditions, if any, of such waiver shall have been performed the holder
of such holding shall, if otherwise entitled thereto, be
entitled to receive a certificate of conformity in respect
of the same notwithstanding that such certificate may
have previously been applied for and refused ".
(5) Section forty-six of the same Act is amended by adding at the end thereof the following words: — " Where any person not authorised in that behalf by the local land board or the chairman for such board has before or after the passing of this Act enclosed any road, the person occupying or using the land embraced by such road shall be liable to pay—so long as the road shall remain enclosed—per annum, such rent as may be determined
by the local land board upon a reference made for that
purpose by the Minister. If the amount of the rent so determined be not paid by the person liable within two months after the date of such determination the Minister may sue him therefor in any court of competent juris diction."
| Amendment of Closer Settlement (Amendment) Act, 1909. |
Subsection one of section twenty-one of the Closer
Settlement (Amendment) Act, 1909, is amended by
adding at the end thereof the following words :—" Such setting apart shall have the effect of revoking any reserves or parts of reserves made under any Act within the boundaries of the lands so set apart unless the con trary is expressly declared by the terms of the notifica tion. Such revocation shall take immediate effect on the expiration of the day next preceding the day upon which the land becomes available in pursuance of the
| notification." | Amendment |
Amendment of Closer Settlement {Amendment) Act,1914. (1) Section four of the Closer Settlement (Amend- ment) Act, 1914, is amended as follows :—
8 .
The words " or for lease " are inserted next after
the words " offered for sale " and " offering
for sale "The words " or tender " are inserted next after the
words " by auction "
The words " or leased " are inserted next after the
words " not sold "
The words " or the Minister may lease " are inserted
next after the words " may grant "
The words " or rentals" are inserted next after the
word " prices "
The following words are added at the end of the section :—" In the case of a lease the application shall be accompanied by the amount of the upset rental; and
upon approval of the application by the Minister the
lease shall be subject to such terms and conditions aswere notified in the Gazette in connection with the
aforesaid offering for lease."(2) Section fourteen of the same Act is amended as follows :—The words " The foregoing provisions shall apply to postponed instalments granted in connection with settlement purchases which have been or shall be converted into homestead farms, except that the indebtedness in respect of such postponed instalments shall comprise the interest portion only of such post poned instalments " are added at the end of the section.
Lands may be disposed of as suburban holdings.
9 . Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in the
Closer Settlement Acts, where anv land within a settle-
ment purchase area has been offered for sale by auction and not sold (whether such offering for sale was before
or after the commencement of this Act) , the Minister
may set apart such land for disposal as suburban holdings under and subject to the provisions of the Crown Lands Consolidation Act, 1913 : Provided that any amounts
received as rent for such suburban holdings shall becredited to the Closer Settlement Fund.
Good
Good faith required of applicant.
1 0 . (1) Every application for a settlement purchase
is hereby required to have been and to be made in good
fai th; and an application shall be taken to have been and to be made in good faith when the sole object of the applicant in making the application was, or is, to obtain the land in order that he may hold and use it for his own exclusive benefit.
The local land board in dealing with an application for a settlement purchase shall refuse the same unless it is satisfied that, the application was or is made in
good faith, but shall not refuse any application as not having been made in good faith merely because the applicant has been or is to be assisted financially in
connection with such holding by a parent of such
applicant.
Where the local land board, in dealing with any such application, is satisfied that the same has been made otherwise than in good faith, it may declare that any moneys lodged with such application shall be forfeited to the Crown, and the same shall be forfeited accordingly.
(2) Where an application for a settlement pur-
chase has been allowed whether before or after the
commencement of this Act, and it appears to the satis-
faction of the local land board—
(a) that the application was not made in good faith; or (b) that the land is not held or used for the exclusive benefit of the purchaser or apparent
owner thereof,
such settlement purchase, together with all moneys paid
| in respect thereof, shall be liable to be forfeited. |
The allowing of stock not owned by the holder of the land to depasture thereon without having first obtained the Minister's consent thereto shall be prima facie evidence that the land is not so held or used.
Naturalisation of alien applicants and holders. 1 1 . (1) No person other than a natural born subject
or a naturalised subject of His Majesty who was
previously the subject of an allied power shall be qualified to apply for a settlement purchase : Provided
that
that an unnaturalised subject of such allied power shall
be qualified to so apply if he has resided in New SouthWales for one year, and if at the time of making such
application he lodges a declaration of his intention to
become a naturalised subject of His Majesty within
two years from the time of making such declaration.
I f such person fails to become a naturalised subject
within the period aforesaid, he shall absolutely forfeitall land the subject of his application.
(2) Nothing contained in the Closer Settlement
Acts shall prejudice the rights of any of the subjects of
a foreign power between which and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland there is now subsisting, or
may hereafter, subsist, any treaty of commerce whereby the reciprocal civil rights of the subjects of such treaty powers are reserved, granted, or declared, and which treaty is or may hereafter be applicable to the State of New South Wales.
Regulations.
1 2 . The Governor may make regulations not incon- sistent with this Part of this Act prescribing all matters which by the said Part are required or permitted to be prescribed, or which are necessary or convenient to be prescribed, for giving effect to this Part of this Act.
Such regulations shall—
(1) be published in the Gazette ;
(2) take effect from the date of publication or from
a later date to be specified in such regulations ;
and
(3) be laid before both Houses of Parliament within
fourteen days after publication if Parliament is
in Session ; and if not, then within fourteen days after the commencement of the next session. I f either House of Parliament passes a resolution at any time within fifteen sitting days after such regulations have been laid before such House disallowing any regulation, such regulation shall thereupon cease to have effect.
D E N T I S T S
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