11. RAHUI KATENE (Māori Party—Te Tai Tonga) Link to this
to the Minister for Land Information
Has any land no longer required for public works been offered back to its former owners; if so, at what increase of value?
Hon MAURICE WILLIAMSON (Minister for Land Information) Link to this
Yes; in accordance with the Public Works Act 1981, land is offered back to the former owners at the current market value.
Why has there been such little progress made since the last round of consultation reviewing the Public Works Act in 2001; and when can New Zealanders expect to see the prompt return of any such land as soon as it is no longer required for a public work?
Hon MAURICE WILLIAMSON Link to this
There has been a reasonably long litany of deferrals here, as the member quite rightly points out. The Public Works Act was actually reviewed, the review was conducted in 2001, and the Cabinet then considered a review of that and the proposed legislative changes in 2003, but then that review and those changes were deferred. A further paper considering policy proposals was considered in February 2005 but consideration of that was further deferred. A review of the Public Works Act and the Land Act 1948 was put before the Cabinet in 2008 and a legislative programme bid was made for the Land (Acquisition, Management, and Disposal) Bill, but again that was deferred and not put through. So there has been a long history from 2001 of proposals and reviews but nothing happening from them. I can assure that member that all land that qualifies to be sold back to the original owner is indeed sold back.
What response can be made to the submissions to the 2001 review that suggested that compensation provisions for the offer back of land were deficient in that they did not take into account spiritual, cultural, and social values associated with land?
Hon MAURICE WILLIAMSON Link to this
I am told—and given I have been in the portfolio for only 24 hours I am struggling with some of this—that as part of phase 2 of the reforms to the Resource Management Act this Government is investigating whether compensation for landowners under the Public Works Act 1981 needs to be more generous. Similarly the Government is keen to streamline and better integrate the process under the Public Works Act and other legislation such as the Resource Management Act. That work is currently going on.