Public Works Act 1981

17

Acquisition by agreement

(1)        The Minister or a local authority may enter into an agreement to purchase any land for any public work for which the Crown or local authority, as the case may be, is responsible.

(2)        Any agreement to sell land to the Crown or a local authority for public work under this section may be implemented by a declaration under section 20 or by a memorandum of transfer under the Land Transfer Act 1952 for the stated public work.

(3)        [Repealed]

(4)        If the land sought is—

(a)        Māori freehold land as defined in section 2 of Te Ture Whenua Māori Act 1993; and

(b)       beneficially owned by more than 4 persons; and

(c)        not vested in any trustee or trustees—

the Minister, or any person authorised generally or particularly in writing by him, or the local authority, as the case may be, may apply to the Māori Land Court for the district in which the land is situated for an order under the provisions of Part 9 of the Māori Affairs Amendment Act 1974. The Māori Land Court shall deal with the application as if a notice under an enactment had been issued to the owners.

(5)        If an agent is appointed by the Māori Land Court, he shall, subject to the terms of the appointment, be deemed to be the owner of the land for the purposes of entering into an agreement under this section and of executing any transfer or conveyance.

...

18

Prior negotiations required for acquisition of land for essential works

...

(5)        If the land required is—

(a)        Māori freehold land as defined in section 4 of Te Ture Whenua Māori Act 1993; and

(b)       beneficially owned by more than 4 persons; and

(c)        not vested in any trustee or trustees—

the Minister, or any person authorised generally or particularly in writing by him, or the local authority, as the case may be, before complying with the provisions of subsection (1), may apply to the Māori Land Court for the district in which the land is situated for an order under the provisions of Part 10 of Te Ture Whenua Māori Act 1993. The Māori Land Court shall deal with the application as if a notice under an enactment had been issued to the owners.

(6)        If an agent is appointed by the Māori Land Court, he shall, subject to the terms of the appointment, be deemed to be the owner of the land for the purposes of this section.

23

Notice of intention totake land

...

(2)      The provisions of this section requiring the names of the owners of the land to be shown on the plan of the land shall have no application in respect of any Māori land unless title to the land is registered under the Land Transfer Act 1952, but instead the plan shall be  endorsed with the advice that the names of the owners may be obtained at the appropriate Māori Land Court. Entry on the Provisional Register shall not be deemed to be registration within the meaning of this subsection.

40

Disposal to former ownerof land not required for publicwork

(1)        Where any land held under this or any other Act or in any other manner for any public work—

(a)        is no longer required for that public work; and

(b)       is not required for any other public work; and

(c)        is not required for any exchange under section 105—

the chief executive of the department within the meaning of section 2 of the Survey Act 1986 or local authority, as the case may be, shall endeavour to sell the land in accordance with subsection (2), if that subsection is applicable to that land.

(2)        Except as provided in subsection (4), the chief executive of the department within the meaning of section 2 of the Survey Act 1986 or local authority, unless—

(a)        he or it considers that it would be impracticable, unreasonable, or unfair to do so; or

(b)       there has been a significant change in the character of the land for the purposes of, or in connection with, the public work for which it was acquired or is held—

shall offer to sell the land by private contract to the person from whom it was acquired or to the successor of that person—

(c)        at the current market value of the land as determined by a valuation carried out by a registered valuer; or

(d)       if the chief executive of the department within the meaning of section 2 of the Survey Act 1986 or local authority considers it reasonable to do so, at any lesser price.

(2A)   If the chief executive of the department within the meaning of section 2 of the Survey Act 1986 or local authority and the offeree are unable to agree on a price following an offer made under subsection (2), the parties may agree that the price be determined by the Land Valuation Tribunal.

(3)        Subsection (2) shall not apply to land acquired after 31 January 1982 and before the date of commencement of the Public Works Amendment Act (No 2) 1987 for a public work that was not an essential work.

(4)        Where the chief executive of the department within the meaning of section 2 of the Survey Act 1986 or local authority believes on reasonable grounds that, because of the size, shape, or situation of the land he or it could not expect to sell the land to any person who did not own land adjacent to the land to be sold, the land may be sold to an owner of adjacent land at a price negotiated between the parties.

(5)      For the purposes of this section, the term successor, in relation to any person, means the person who would have been entitled to the land under the will or intestacy of that person had he owned the land at the date of his death; and, in any case where part of a person's land was acquired or taken, includes the successor in title of that person.

41

Disposal of former Māorilandwhen no longer required

Notwithstanding anything in sections 40 and 42, where any land to which section 40(2) applies was, immediately before its taking or acquisition,—

(a)        Māori freehold land or General land owned by Māori (as those terms are defined in section 4 of Te Ture Whenua Māori Act 1993); and

(b)        beneficially owned by more than 4 persons; and

(c)        not vested in any trustee or trustees—

the chief executive of the department within the meaning of section 2 of the Survey Act 1986 or local authority, as the case may be, shall—

(d)        comply with the requirements of section 40; or

(e)        apply to the Māori Land Court for the district in which the land is situated for an order under section 134 of Te Ture Whenua Māori Act 1993.

42

Solatium payment for loss of opportunityto purchase

(1)        Where—

(a)        a recommendation made or deemed to have been made by the Waitangi Tribunal under section 8A of the Treaty of Waitangi Act 1975 for the return to Māori ownership of any land that is held for a public work takes effect as a final recommendation; or

(b)       any provision of an Act of Parliament returns to Māori ownership any land that immediately before being so returned was held for a public work,—

any person (being the person from whom that land was acquired or the successor of the person from whom that land was acquired) who would, but for section 8A(5) of the Treaty of Waitangi Act 1975 or the effect of the Act of Parliament by which the land was returned to Māori ownership, have received in respect of that land in the normal course of events an offer under section 40 or section 41 may, at the time at which the offer would have been made, apply to the Land Valuation Tribunal for a solatium payment from the Crown for the loss of the opportunity to purchase the land.

(2)        Every person who makes an application to the Land Valuation Tribunal under subsection (1) shall, as soon as practicable after making

that application, serve a copy of that application on the chief executive of the department within the meaning of section 2 of the Survey Act 1986.

(3)        Subject to subsection (4), the Land Valuation Tribunal shall, in assessing the amount of any solatium payment payable under this section, take into account—

(a)        the fact that the person from whom the land was acquired was paid, at the time of acquisition, the then market price as agreed or assessed; and

(b)       any other payments made to the person from whom the land was acquired; and

(c)        the fact that the offer under section 40 or section 41 would, in most cases, have been an offer to sell the land at the current market value of the land as determined by a valuation carried out by a registered valuer; and

(d)       the reasonable likelihood of the offeree being financially capable of accepting the offer; and

(e)        the degree of attachment that the offeree has to the land, including, in particular, the degree of attachment that exists by reason of the offeree or members of the offeree's family or both having been associated with the land over a considerable period of time; and

(f)        the likely market value of the opportunity to purchase the land.

(4)        No solatium payment payable under this section in respect of the loss of the opportunity to purchase any land shall exceed $20,000.