THE Hauraki Plains Gazette With which is Incorporated THE OHINEMURI GAZETTE. MONDAY, WEDNESDAY, FRIDAY. “Public Service.” WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 11, 1943. SALES OF PROPERTY

Hauraki Plains Gazette, Volume 52, Issue 3299, 11 August 1943, Page 4

THE Hauraki Plains Gazette With which is Incorporated THE OHINEMURI GAZETTE. MONDAY, WEDNESDAY, FRIDAY. “Public Service.” WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 11, 1943. SALES OF PROPERTY

The Servicemen’s Settlement and Land Sales Bill which appeared in the House of Representatives on Wednesday night last is a comprehensive attempt to deal with one of the greatest problems of rehabilitation. It is far-reaching and demands .very careful consideration by the House. It imposes a severe restriction on speculation and gives the Government power to acquire compulsorily land which is regarded as suitable for soldier settlement. It goes further and “prevents undue increases in the prices of land, the undue aggregation of land and its use for speculative or uneconomic purposes, and provides for incidental matters.” In other words, landholders’ will find that all their transactions will be subjected to the closest scrutiny by the land sales committees, with the right of appeal to the Land Sales Court. With a few exceptions all sales or leases must be subjected to this procedure, and in addition land considered suitable for the settlement of servicemen will be liable to compulsory acquisition by the Government. The machinery of the legislation is reasonably simple, but the difficulties will lie in its practical application. Most difficult will be the computation of a fair value and the decision on what land should be acquired compulsorily. The method of computation is set out in the Bill; Committees are to take into account the amount of purchase money or rent to be paid, and the extent to which it exceeds consideration in any previous transaction; the suitability of the purchaser or lessee, having regard to the use to which the land is being or ought to be put, and to the area of any other land held by him; the suitability of the land for settlement by a discharged serviceman. The “basic value” is defined as the productive value, increased or reduced by such amount as the committee deems necessary to make it a fair value, having regard to the nature and extent of the estate or interest of the vendor or lessor; the extent to which the value of the improvements exceeds or is less than the value of the improvements normally required; any special locality value; any other relevant factor. The “productive value” is arrived at by capitalising at 4| per cent, the net annual revenue derivable from, the land by an average efficient farmer. The net value is to be calculated by deducting from the gross income, based on prices of produce at December 15, 1942, all the expenses required to be incurred in the production of the income. These expenses include, among other things, rates, land taxes, maintenance, wages of all labour concerned in the production of the income, together with interest on the stocks and chattels computed at the rate of 5 per cent, per annum. Memories of the attempt under the guaranteed price scheme to arrive at a fair return suggest endless argument before the committees and the Land Sales Court. Such terms as “average efficient farmer” are open to many interpretations and it may be that the opinions of the vendors and the committee or the court will seldom coincide. With regard to house property also there will be much occasion for argument. Urban land, which includes house property, is to have its value feted as at December 15, 1942, “increased or reduced by such amount as the committee thinks fit in order to make it a fair value to-day.” If the measure becomes law the position of the landholder or householder will undergo a substantial change. The “Englishman’s castle’ will be a limited asset.