LAND VALUES

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LIV, Issue 16706, 25 July 1928, Page 7

LAND VALUES

' ASSESSMENTS TOO HIGH ADJUSTMENTS IN PROGRESS (Parliamentary Reporter.) WELLINGTON, this day. Many criticisms of land valuation wete heard from members when the anmial report of the Valuation Department was tabled in the House yesterday. The main features were that valuations were too high and revisions too tardy. The Minister of Lands, Hon. A. D. McLeod, remarked in reply that lie knew it was an ideal to take one standard of values for tho Dominion, but how to achieve it was tho difficulty. There were 60,000 farms in New Zealand of over 200 acres, and if one hoard was appointed to fix their values it would cover say three farms a day and would need 60 years to complete the whole country. Mr. W. D. Lysnar: It is not suggested that one board could do it. The Minister: If it means more than one you will get just as many-differences of opinion as you get now between valuers—honest, differences regarding unimproved value. The Minister added that it was generally agreed that the unimproved value of rural lands had been placed too high in the past, nis department agreed with him on Unit point, and an adjustment was going on. It- needed care, and no attempt would be made to rush it. Otherwise, the saint inequalities would arise as occurred when values were pushed up in the last boom period owing to complaints that, land was giossly under-valued, Mr.' H. E. Holland, Learie- of the Opposition: Will the wool boom have any effect'/ Mr. McLeod replied that this was one of the troubles, but high prices might only prevail one year. Unless they worked out the value of produce over a period from seven to ten years they could not be sure of fixing a fair land value.