LOCAL BODY LEASES

Hawke's Bay Tribune, Volume XXII, Issue 269, 28 October 1932, Page 7

LOCAL BODY LEASES

REMOVAL OF EXEMPTION hardship caused lessees. LEGISLATION TO BE INTRODUCED (From Our Special! Parliamentary Reporter.) Pant. Buildings, Oct. 28. Legislation will be introduced this session removing the partial exemption that local body leases have enjoyed from the rent reducing provisions of the National Expenditure Adjustment Act. Under section 37 of the Act no ground rent is to be reduced below 5 per cent, per annum of the unimproved value as shown by the district valuation roll as at April 1 last, but according to a statement made in the House of Representatives this morning by the Rt. Hon. G. W. Forbes hardship has been caused lessees as a result of the operation of the exemption and amending legislation js to be promoted to enable evidence to be heard from both sides affected. Although Mr Forbes did not disclose the precise nature of the amendment it is understood that the proposal js to repeal the section in question. His statement was made in reply to an urgent question by MrF. Jones (Dunedin South) who, in seeking an assurance that the section would not be repealed, declared that removal of the exemption would bring particular hardship to local bodies in Otago in that the valuations of Port Chalmers and Dunedin were made respectively in 1907 and 1920. The Prime Minister replied that the question had been raised by a number of members who had received communications from local bodies in their constituencies and, in addition, the Government had received a good many protests and representations from lessees. “It is the intention of the Government this session to furnish an opportunity of having the matter cleared up,” added Mr Forbes. “It is proposed to introduce an amendment to the Act and refer the Bill to a select committee to enable evidence to be heard both for and against the proposed alteration of the law. When the clause was inserted in the Bill originally it was incorporated on the representations of some Bocal bodies likely to be affected by the provisions of the legislation. They made out quite a strong case in that connection, but since the passage of the legislation a number of representations have been received from the other side—lessees who claim that hardship has resulted for them. The amending Bill will give an opportunity for both sides to state their case in full.”