“LAW EVADED”

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXXIV, Issue 22439, 20 September 1947, Page 3

“LAW EVADED”

LAND SALES ACT REMEDY SUGGESTED REPLY BY MINISTER (P.R.) WELLINGTON, Sept. 20. The prevalence of black marketing operations in land and property sales transactions was commented upon strongly in the House of Representatives yesterday bv Mr. A. Sullivan (Oppos., Bay of Plenty) during the discussion of the Estimates. It was pretty well acknowledged, he said, that there was a tremendous amount of black-marketing throughout the country and it had been stated that black-market transactions might be as high as 80 per cent. Every member of Parliament had had cases brought to his notice where perhaps there was not sufficient evidence to justify an action against the original vendor, but nevertheless it was apparent that there was a great deal of black-marketing. “Kept Off Market” The legislation in operation today, he said, was keeping farm land and house properties olf the market. Also, it was holding up commercial develop inent. When it came to a question of property for rehabilitation purposes, said Mr. Sullivan,, lie believed that if the legislation were amended to, give some fair recognition of the values of properties at the present time, more land would be made available tor rehabilitation purposes and there would be a greater turnover in house properties. Mr. Sullivan suggested that commercial properties valued at over .LSUOU or £OOOO might well be excluded from the provisions of the Act.

"The Act may be keeping properties oil the market but more properties are changing hands today than at any other time when the market was com pteteiy free, so the situation is not very serious," said the Minister ol Lands, Mr. C. F. Skinner. The Act had served the purpose ot keeping property values more stable here than anywhere else in the world, he claimed.

‘‘lf there weie no restrictions, with the amount of money available at present no doubt more property would be sold, but that would have a disastrous effect on our economy," tile Minister continued. It, as had been suggested, commercial properties were not governed by the Act, firms would be competing tor desirable siLes, values would sky-rocKet and firms of manufacturers would recover from the consumer the extra costs. Greed of Some Vendors

'lf the higher prices the farmers are receiving today for their produce is only covering the increased costs of production, as the Opposition has repeatedly maintained, then the value of those farm properties has not increased," he added. The argument that the Act was preventing industrial expansion had been used in Christchurch and Franklin, but actually it was not the Act but .the greed and avarice of some vendors that was preventing expansion.

‘I know of no case at all that has not been referred to the police, and every member opposite should be able to say the sam," said Mr. Skinner, re ferring to the allegations of black market operations. "If members know of specific breaches of the Act they should inform the police," he declared. Mr. J. N. Massey said the State Advances Corporation had its own valuers separate from the Valuation Department In the old days the State Advances lent money on two-thirds of the valuation, but under rehabilitation they were at times lending at lull valuation. It was evident that the State Advances today was reducing the valuation to two-thirds to cover that position, and it was imperative that where money was advanced the Valuation Department should set the values.