No Compusory Taking Of Single Unit Farms

Northern Advocate, 6 July 1945, Page 2

No Compusory Taking Of Single Unit Farms

(Special) WELLINGTON, This Day A statement that the Government had given an undertaking not to operate the powers of compulsory acquisition contained in section 51 of the Servicemen’s Settlement and Land Sales Act so far as single unit farms were concerned, was made by the Minister for Lands (Hon. C. F. Skinner) in the House of Representatives yesterday. . . The Minister added that if six months’ experience did not justify the hope that this would result in a great increase in the number of farms foi servicemen the former practice would be again followed. Mr. F. Hackett (Govt.—Grey Lynn) raised the point when he asked the Minister an urgent question whether this undertaking had been given. He asked if the Minister I’ealised that the effect of such an undertaking would

be to permit the vendor to withdraw from a contract of sale if he was dissatisfied with the basic valued fixed by a land sales committee. The Minister stated that only two or three single unit farms had been taken compulsorily in the past, and then only at the request of the serviceman purchaser. The probable effect of the undertaking therefore would only

be small. Mr. Skinner explained that he had been informed that for some time past vendors had been unwilling to offer farms to ex-servicemen for fear of having their properties taken compulsorily'when the vendor was not satisfied with the basic value fixed. Although Mr. Skinner did not believe that this was the ease, he had recently given the Whangarei branch of the Returned Services’ Association a written assurance that compulsion would not apply.