NEW LYNN LEASES.
TERMS OF THE FREEHOLD
LANDS COMMITTEE’S REPORT
NO LOSS TO THE STATE. £Fbom Gob Own CoKbespondent)
WELLINGTON, October 21
The report of the Lands Committee on the correspondence laid on the table of the House some weeks ago relative to the conditions under which the option of the freehold was being given under last year’s Land Act to the holders of the renewable leases in the Hetana Hamlet at New' Lynn (Auckland) was presented to the House to-day. The committee reported that after examining various official and expert witnesses as to the value of the leases it was of opinion that the State had received full value for its interest in the land, as proved by the valuation made by the most competent land valuers obtainable, and that the statements made by several newspapers to the effect that £30,000 worth of land had been parted with for £3OOO had no foundation in fact. The Chairman of the committee formally moved that the report lie on the table and be printed. Mr Witty, who stated that the report of the committee was not a unanimous one, said he had heard from several sources that the land was far more valuable and was likely to become far more valuable than had ' been represented. Nearly every witness before the committee stated that it could not be said what the value of the land would be at the expiration of the lease. Being so near the city of Auckland, the land should not have been parted with. The land near the New Lynn Station was said to be going up rapidly every day. Mr Buddo referred to the Prime Minister’s often-repeated remark regarding the value of suburban national endowments. If there ever had been a chance of putting this policy into effect it had occurred in regard to these New Lynn leases, but the opportunity had been lost. In speaking of the values of the land, he said that a section which about_ three years ago had been worth about £3O had now increased in value to about £l2O. Mr Ell said the actuarial investigation that had been made had taken no account of the prospective increase in the value of the land. The values of some of these leases had increased by 50 per cent, during * the last four years. The land was only about 10 miles from the city of Auckland, which in the not distant future would probably be carrying a population of about 250,000. Few towns in New Zealand had such a bright future in view as Auckland, and land within 10 miles of the city must be greatly increased in value. The Prime Minister, speaking as Minister of Lands, said the increase in the value of land did not always correspond with the increase in population. For instance, there was land within 40 miles of Lincoln which to-day was not so valuable as it was 50 years ago. Mr Ell: 1 know that. Mr Massey: Well, that disposes of the hon. gentleman’s argument. .The opponents of the Government’s policy in their estimates of value did not take into account the value of the lessees’ interests. It should also be remembered that the purchase money, if invested at compound interest, would at the end of the term of the lease in 99 cases out of 100 be greater than the increase in the value of the land. The of value that had been placed before* the committee had consisted not only of those of the Valuergeneral, the District Valuer, the Commissioner of Crown Lands, and the Undersecretary for Lands, but also of an experienced and impartial valuer who had been selected by the committee—Mr F. G. Ewington, of Auckland, who had had 40 years’ experience in valuing land. Mr Massey quoted from the report of Mr Ewington’s evidence, in which the latter said that the statement that freehold land at New Lynn was worth £3OO an acre was misleading. It was, Mr Ewington said, just possible that a small section or two near the railway station might be worth that, but only recently about 40 acres of the best land in the Hetana .Settlement had been sold for £4O per acre. Mr Ewington also referred to a statement that had been made to the effect that the Government was paying £SOO an acre for land for workers’ homes at Ellerslie whilst it was valuing more suitable land at New Lynn at £3O an acre. As a matter of fact, said Mr Massey, the Government was not buying land at Ellerslie or elsewhere at £3OO a*n acre. Some land had been Eurchased at Ellerslie a few years ago, ut that was at £BO an acre. "Furthermore, there was- no comparison between Ellerslie and New Lymf. This view had been by Mr Ewington, who said he believed any man would prefer a 66ft x 132 ft section 'at Ellerslie to two or three acres at New Lynn. He valued several of the 29 sections that he had inspected at New Lynn at £3O an acre, although there were'two or three instances in which the value would go very much higher than that. The original purchase value of the land, said M’ Massey, was £2585, and the total of the present valuation was £5430. He considered that this was satisfactory from the State’s point of view.
The subject was “talked out ’ till the 5.30 adjournment by Mt / Payne, and the motion was thus not put.
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Bibliographic details
Otago Witness, Issue 3111, 29 October 1913, Page 34
Word Count
915NEW LYNN LEASES. Otago Witness, Issue 3111, 29 October 1913, Page 34
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