This Act is the Hawke's Bay Endowment Land Empowering Act 2002.

This Act comes into force on the day on which it receives the Royal assent.

The purpose of this Act is—

• (a) to provide that certain land vested in the Hawke's Bay Regional Council and the Napier City Council can be sold free from endowments; and

• (b) to provide that the Councils must hold and use all money received in relation to the land for the improvement, protection, management, or use of—

  • (i) Napier harbour; or

  • (ii) the coastal marine area in the Councils' region or district; but

• (c) to provide that—

  • (i) all money received by the Councils from the sale of the land on or after the commencement of this Act may be used for any purpose specified in their long-term plans in force under the Local Government Act 2002; and

  • (ii) one-half of all money (excluding any money referred to in subparagraph (i)) received by the Councils in relation to the land before 1 July 2003 may be used for specific regional or district projects specified in the Councils' long-term plans in force under the Local Government Act 2002; and

• (d) to clarify the terms and conditions on which the Councils may sell the land; and

• (e) to provide for the valuation of the land to be sold by the Councils.

In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires,—

(1) The land is no longer reserved and set aside for the use, benefit, and endowment of the Napier Harbour Board.

(2) The land is no longer subject to the trusts, reservations, and restrictions imposed by the enactments specified in Schedule 2.

(3) An owner holds and must use all money received in relation to the land for the improvement, protection, management, or use of—

• (a) Napier harbour; or

• (b) the coastal marine area (as defined in section 2(1) of the Resource Management Act 1991) in the district or region of the owner.

(4) However, an owner holds and may use—

• (a) all money received from the sale of the land on or after the commencement of this Act for any purpose specified in the owner's long-term plan in force under section 93 of the Local Government Act 2002; and

• (b) one-half of all money (excluding any money referred to in paragraph (a)) received in relation to land before 1 July 2003 for specific regional or district projects specified in the owner's long-term plan in force under section 93 of the Local Government Act 2002.

(1) An owner may sell the land at such price (which does not have to be the market price for the land) and on such terms and conditions as it thinks fit.

(2) However, where the land is subject to a lease, an owner may sell the fee simple estate in the land only to the lessee of the land or a person nominated by that lessee if there is a building on the land that is—

• (a) designed for residential purposes and occupied as a home; or

• (b) used as a church; or

• (c) used to provide accommodation for the elderly.

(3) Whether a building is one to which subsection (2)(a) or (b) or (c) applies is a matter for the opinion of the owner whose decision is final.

(4) If a purchaser of the fee simple estate in the land is the lessee of the land, the purchaser must (at the purchaser's cost and to the satisfaction of the owner) arrange for the leasehold interest to be extinguished.

(5) A nomination by a lessee under subsection (2), must be—

• (a) in writing and signed by the lessee; and

• (b) in a form containing terms acceptable to the owner.

(1) For the purposes of section 6(1), the terms and conditions of sale may include—

• (a) a condition for securing all or part of the purchase price by a mortgage back from the purchaser to the owner; or

• (b) a condition for the deferred purchase of the land with the rental paid by the purchaser being applied to all or part of the purchase price.

(2) This section does not limit section 6(1).

(1) If section 6(2) applies to a proposed sale of land and the lessee is not satisfied with the price sought by the owner, the owner must, if requested to do so by the lessee, have the land valued.

(2) The land must be valued on the basis of the owner's interest in the land as lessor.

(3) If, after the land has been valued, the owner and lessee cannot agree on the purchase price, the owner and lessee must agree to submit the valuation of the land to arbitration.

(4) The Arbitration Act 1996 applies to an arbitration under subsection (3) subject to the following provisions:

• (a) the owner and lessee must appoint a single arbitrator, if they can agree on a single arbitrator:

• (b) the owner and lessee must each appoint an arbitrator, if they cannot agree on a single arbitrator:

• (c) if 2 arbitrators are appointed but they cannot agree on the value of the land, the arbitrators must appoint an umpire to value the land.

(1) The Registrar is authorised and directed to make such entries in the registers and to do all such other things as may be necessary to give effect to the provisions of this Act.

(2) The presentation to the Registrar of an instrument (whether or not comprising an instrument of transfer) that complies with subsection (3) is, in the absence of proof to the contrary, sufficient evidence that the land the instrument relates to is no longer reserved and set aside for the use, benefit, and endowment of the Napier Harbour Board.

(3) An instrument complies with this subsection if the instrument—

• (a) relates to land held by an owner; and

• (b) contains a recital that section 5 applies to the land; and

• (c) is executed or appears to be executed by the owner of the land.

(1) The Governor-General may, by Order in Council, amend Schedule 1 for the purpose of—

• (a) correcting any misdescription or error in that schedule:

• (b) adding details of any land which have been omitted in error.

(2) An Order in Council may be made under subsection (1)(b) only if—

• (a) the lessee of the land has consented in writing to the Order in Council being made; and

• (b) the land—

  • (i) is owned by an owner; and

  • (ii) was, immediately before this Act was passed, subject to the Napier Harbour Board Act 1874 or the Napier Harbour Board Act 1876.

The following Acts are repealed:

• (a) Napier Harbour Board Act (1874 No 36):

• (b) Napier Harbour Board Act (1876 No 92):

• (c) Hawke's Bay Harbour Board Empowering Act (1989 No 3 (L)).