This Act may be cited as the Christchurch District Drainage Act 1951.

This Act shall come into force on 1 January 1952.

In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires,—

The area described in Part A of Schedule 1 shall be known as the Christchurch Drainage District. The several areas described in Part B of Schedule 1 shall be known as subdistricts of the said district. Wherever in the said schedule any road, street, or avenue is mentioned as bounding any area therein described, then and in every such case, unless the contrary is stated or implied, the middle line of such road, street, or avenue shall be deemed to be the boundary line.

The said district shall be deemed to be a land drainage district within the meaning of the Land Drainage Act 1908, and, subject to the provisions of this Act, the provisions of that Act shall apply thereto in the same manner as if the said district had been declared a district under that Act and the Board were a Land Drainage Board within the meaning of that Act.

Any area adjacent to the district of the Board may be added to the district in manner provided by this section.

The local authority of the locality in which any such area as aforesaid is situated may of its own motion, and shall on the petition of not less than one-tenth of the electors within the area, cause a poll of the electors to be taken on a proposal that the area be added to the district.

Every person who signs a petition under subsection (4) shall state against the signature the person’s name and address with sufficient particularity to enable the person to be identified as an elector whose address is within the area.

Such poll shall be taken in the manner prescribed by the Local Elections and Polls Act 1976.

For the purposes of a poll under this section, every person shall be qualified to be enrolled as an elector who, if the area to which the proposal relates were a borough, would be qualified to be enrolled as an elector of the borough or, if the area to which the proposal relates were a county, would be qualified to be enrolled as an elector of the county.

A proposal under this section shall be deemed to be carried if a majority of the valid votes recorded at the poll is in favour of the proposal.

If a proposal under this section to add any area to the district is carried, the Governor-General may, by Proclamation, declare that such area shall, as from a date to be specified in the Proclamation, form part of the district; and may, by that or a subsequent Proclamation, add that area to an existing subdistrict, or may apportion the area among 2 or more existing subdistricts, or may declare the area to form 1 or more new subdistricts, and may make provision for representation on the Board of any such new subdistrict, including if he thinks fit, an alteration in the number of members of the Board.

Every Proclamation under this section shall have effect according to its tenor.

If a petition under subsection (4), praying that a poll be taken on a proposal that any area adjacent to the district of the Board be added to the district, is signed by all the electors within the area, the proposal shall for the purposes of the said section be deemed to be carried without the necessity of taking a poll.

Any area, whether adjacent to the district of the Board or not, which may hereafter be included in the borough of the City of Christchurch by the alteration of boundaries or union of boroughs or union with districts in pursuance of the provisions of Part 12 of the Municipal Corporations Act 1933, or otherwise, shall be added to the district of the Board, and the provisions of subsections (8) and (9) of this section shall apply in like manner as if a proposal to add the area to the district had been carried at a poll of electors taken on a proposal that the area be added to the district.

When any area is added to the district, the Board shall be at liberty upon a date to be determined by the Board to assume liability for all loans raised prior to such adding by the local authority theretofore responsible therefor for the purposes of drainage and sewerage in and from the said area or from any other area already within the district but within the boundaries of such local authority and to this end all debentures and other securities issued or executed by such local authority shall be deemed to have been issued or executed by the Board and the assets of the Sinking Fund Commissioners of such local authority in respect of such loans shall be transferred to the Sinking Fund Commissioners of the Board.

There shall be for the district a Board, consisting of 15 persons, to be elected as hereinafter mentioned; and such Board shall be a body corporate under the name of the Christchurch Drainage Board, with perpetual succession and a common seal, having a capacity to acquire and hold land for all or any of the purposes of its constitution under this Act, and also to sell, lease, or otherwise dispose of any land so acquired which in the opinion of the Board may not be required for the purposes of the Board.

The Board shall be deemed to be a local authority for the purposes of the Public Works Act 1928, the Health Act 1920, the Local Bodies’ Finance Act 1921–22, the Local Bodies’ Loans Act 1926, the Local Government Loans Board Act 1926, and, subject to the provisions of this Act, the provisions of those Acts shall extend and apply to the Board.

For the purposes of the Soil Conservation and Rivers Control Act 1941, the Board shall be deemed to be a Drainage Board under the Land Drainage Act 1908.

All property and rights of every nature, kind, or description acquired by the Board as constituted under the Acts hereby repealed, or any of them, shall by virtue of this Act pass to, become vested in, and belong to the Board as constituted under this Act.

Those persons respectively who are members of the Board at the time of the passing of this Act shall continue to be members thereof until the date of the first general election of members to be held after such passing, or until they resign, die, or otherwise cease to be members of the Board:

provided that the Board in office at the commencement of this Act and elected in pursuance of the provisions of the Christchurch District Drainage Act 1907 shall be deemed to be the Board elected hereunder until the date of the first general election of members to be held after 1 January 1952.

In each of the several subdistricts of the district of the Board, the electors shall for their subdistrict elect a person or persons (being an elector of any parliamentary electorate whether within or outside the district who is not disqualified by virtue of section 12(3) of the Local Elections and Polls Act 1976 or section 8A of this Act and not being a person who is disqualified for election by section 112 of the Local Elections and Polls Act 1976) to be a member of the Board. The number of persons to be so elected in respect of the several subdistricts shall be as follows:

for the City subdistrict, 9 persons:

for the Waimairi subdistrict, 3 persons:

for the Paparua subdistrict, 1 person:

for the Heathcote subdistrict, 1 person:

for the Riccarton Middleton subdistrict, 1 person.

Notwithstanding the provisions of section 1, the Board shall have power from time to time, after the passing of this Act, to appoint an Electoral Commission consisting of 3 commissioners for the purposes of—

The report of any such Electoral Commission appointed under subsection (2) shall be published in the Gazette within 28 days after the said report shall be communicated to the Board and upon such report being so published the district shall ipso facto be divided into the subdistricts named in and with the boundaries specified in such report, and with the right to representation on the Board as is therein set out.

Where 1 or more members of the Board are to be elected by all or some only of the electors of a county or borough (herein referred to as a constituent district) the election shall be held in the same manner as the ordinary general election of members of the local authority of that constituent district and all the provisions of the Local Elections and Polls Act 1976 and of all other Acts affecting the mode of election of members of that local authority shall so far as they are applicable and are not inconsistent with this Act and with the necessary modifications apply accordingly and the returning officer of the constituent district shall be the returning officer for the purposes of the election:

provided that where any such election is to be made by electors of 2 or more local authorities forming a constituent district, the Board may select and appoint 1 of those local authorities to be the principal authority for the purposes of such election, in which event the returning officer of such principal authority shall be the returning officer of the constituent district.

The existing roll or rolls of any city, borough, or county shall be used for the purposes of any election hereunder.

The reasonable cost of every election under this Act that is not held simultaneously with the election of members of a local authority shall be paid by the Board. Any dispute as to the amount to be paid to any local authority under this subsection shall be determined by the Auditor-General after such inquiry as it thinks fit, and the decision of the Auditor-General on any such dispute shall be final.

The cost of every election under this Act that is held simultaneously with the election of members of a local authority shall be paid by the Board in accordance with section 118 of the Local Elections and Polls Act 1976.

The following persons shall not be capable of being elected or appointed as a member of the Board:

Every member of the Board going out of office shall, unless otherwise ineligible, be eligible for re-election.

During any vacancy in the Board the continuing members may act, and no act of the Board shall be invalid on account of the vacancy being unfilled.

The office of a member shall become vacant, and the vacancy shall be an extraordinary vacancy, if the member—

In any case to which subsection (1)(d) applies—

If any person does any act as a member after the person’s office has become vacant under this section (other than under subsection (1)(c)) or while on leave of absence under subsection (2), the person commits an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $100.

Any person who acts as a member of the Board without being duly qualified or after he has become disqualified is liable to a fine not exceeding $100; and in any proceeding for the recovery of any such fine the burden of proving qualification shall be upon the person against whom the proceeding is taken.

All acts done at any meeting of the Board or of any committee of the Board, or by any person acting as a member of the Board, shall, notwithstanding it may be afterwards discovered that there was some defect in the election or appointment of the Board, committee, or person acting as aforesaid, or that they were or any of them was disqualified, be as valid as if every such person had been duly elected or appointed and was qualified to be a member.

If from any cause whatever all the seats on the Board become vacant, the Board shall not thereby be dissolved, but members thereof shall be forthwith elected for the said several subdistricts respectively as aforesaid, at such times and places and in such manner as may be prescribed by the Governor-General in that behalf.

Every person who is qualified as an elector of any local authority in respect of an address within the district shall be qualified as an elector of the Board.

Every elector shall have only 1 vote in any subdistrict and shall not be entitled to vote in more than 1 subdistrict.

The meetings of the Board shall be held at such time and place and in such manner as the Board thinks fit.

The Secretary shall give notice in writing to each of the members of the Board of the time and place appointed from time to time for holding meetings.

The Board shall meet together for the despatch of business, and shall from time to time make such regulations with respect to the summoning, notice, place, management, and adjournment of such meetings, and generally with respect to the transaction and management of business, as it thinks fit, subject to the following conditions:

Subject to subsection (2), the Board shall, at its first meeting after its election and thereafter in each successive year at its monthly meeting nearest the anniversary of such election, appoint from its members for the year following such appointment, a Chairman, a Deputy Chairman, and Chairmen of Standing Committees.

The number of Chairmen of Standing Committees who may receive allowances or remuneration in that capacity shall not exceed 4. If more than 4 Chairmen of Standing Committees are appointed the Board shall determine which 4 of them shall be entitled to receive allowances or remuneration in that capacity.

The Board is hereby declared to be a statutory board within the meaning of the Fees and Travelling Allowances Act 1951.

The Board may pay to the Chairman and to the members of the Board or any committee thereof travelling allowances and expenses in accordance with the Fees and Travelling Allowances Act 1951, and the provisions of that Act shall apply accordingly.

Where any maximum annual allowance or remuneration is determined under section 214B or section 214C of the Local Government Act 1974 in respect of the Chairman, Deputy Chairman, Chairmen of Standing Committees, or members of the Board, there may, subject to the conditions of that determination and sections 214K and 214L of that Act and section 19(2) of this Act, be paid to each of those persons such annual allowance or remuneration, not exceeding that maximum allowance or remuneration, as the Board determines.

Where any actual annual allowance or remuneration is determined under section 214B or section 214C of the Local Government Act 1974 in respect of the Chairman, Deputy Chairman, Chairmen of Standing Committees, or members of the Board, there shall, subject to the conditions of that determination, sections 214K and 214L of that Act, and section 19(2) of this Act, be paid to each of those persons the annual allowance or remuneration so determined.

The Deputy Chairman may with the consent of the Chairman or, in the event of the Chairman becoming incapable of acting, without that consent, until the Chairman resumes his duties or a new Chairman comes into office, have all the authority of the Chairman.

A minute appearing in the minute book of the Board’s proceedings recording the appointment of the Deputy Chairman shall, as regards all persons having any business with the Board, and acting in good faith, be deemed to be conclusive evidence of the validity of the appointment of any person as Deputy Chairman, and of his continued authority to act as such, and shall relieve all persons having business with the Board from the necessity of making any inquiries in the matter.

If any casual vacancy occurs in any of the offices of Chairman, Deputy Chairman, or Chairmen of Standing Committees, and where in the case of the Chairman there is no Deputy Chairman to act in his place, the Board shall, as soon as it conveniently can after the occurrence of the vacancy, appoint some other member to fill the vacancy for so long as the same exists; and every person so appointed shall continue in office so long only as the person in whose place he was elected would have been entitled to continue if such vacancy had not occurred.

The Board may delegate any of its powers to committees, including Standing Committees, consisting of such members as it thinks fit, whether members of the Board or not, but the Board may not delegate to any such committee power to enter into any contract except in accordance with the provisions of section 4 of the Public Bodies Contracts Act 1959.

The Board may at any time, and from time to time, discharge, alter, continue, or reconstitute any committee or discharge any member of a committee, and, if it thinks fit, appoint another member in his stead.

Any committee so formed shall, in the exercise of the powers delegated, conform to any directions that may be given to it by the Board.

A committee other than a Standing Committee may elect one of its members to be the Chairman.

If, after the exercise by the Board of its powers under subsection (2), there exists a Standing Committee without a Chairman, the Board shall as soon as practicable appoint a Chairman for that committee; and every person so appointed shall continue in office as Chairman for the period he would have been entitled to continue in office had he been appointed under section 19(1).

A committee may meet and adjourn as it thinks proper.

Questions at any committee meeting shall be determined by a majority of the votes of the members present.

At any meeting of the Board the Chairman, or in his absence the Deputy Chairman, shall act as chairman of that meeting.

At any meeting of a Standing Committee the Chairman of that Standing Committee shall act as chairman of that meeting.

At any meeting of committees other than Standing Committees the chairman of that committee shall act as chairman of that meeting.

The Board, in the absence of the Chairman and Deputy Chairman, a Standing Committee, in the absence of the Chairman of that Standing Committee, or any other committee, in the absence of the chairman of that committee, shall choose one of the members present at that meeting to be chairman of such meeting.

In case of an equality of votes at any meeting the chairman for the time being of such meeting shall have a second or casting vote.

The Board may from time to time enter into contracts of insurance insuring members of the Board against loss from personal accident arising out of and in the course of the exercise of their powers or duties as members of the Board, and pay the premiums payable in respect of those contracts.

The Board shall cause minutes to be made, in books provided for the purpose,—

Any such minutes, if signed by any person purporting to be the Chairman of any meeting of the Board or committee of the Board, shall be receivable in evidence without any further proof.

Subject to the provisions, restrictions, and conditions contained in this Act, the Board may, for the purposes of this Act, from time to time, by itself, its surveyors, agents, officers, and workmen, exercise the following powers or any of them, and execute, do, or cause to be executed or done any of the following matters, works, or acts, namely:

The Board may cause to be constructed, of such dimensions and such materials as it thinks fit, upon or under any private lands or buildings within the district all such drains or sewers as the Board from time to time thinks needful for the efficient drainage or sewerage of the district, subject to the provisions set out in subsection (2).

Before the Board constructs any such drain or sewer as is referred to in subsection (1), the following conditions shall be complied with:

Every such drain or sewer under any building shall, throughout so much of its length as passes under that building, be constructed of brick, concrete, stone, tiles, or cast iron.

Every sewer shall be wholly enclosed and covered in.

The Board may from time to time alter, renew, repair, and cleanse any such drain or sewer constructed on private land.

The Board, its agents, officers, and workmen may enter upon such private land as may be necessary for the performance of any matter or thing authorised by this section.

If any person proposes to erect any building or to carry out any works in such location and at such levels that the diversion, alteration, or replacement of any of the sewers, drains, or other structures of or under the control of the Board appears to be essential to the construction of any such building or works, that person shall notify the Board of his proposals, and if the Board is satisfied that it is practicable for its sewer, drain, or structure to be diverted, altered, or replaced without material interference with the services for which it is responsible and that it is reasonable that this be done, it may enter into an agreement with that person as to the manner and condition under which the sewer, drain, or structure shall be diverted, altered, or replaced.

The cost of diverting, altering, or replacing the sewer, drain, or other structure of or under the control of the Board, or such part of the cost as the Board shall determine and all other costs which the Board may incur in any wise incidental thereto, shall in such case be paid to the Board by that person.

The Board may enclose and cover in any watercourse or drain within the district.

Section 28A(2), with the necessary modifications, shall apply in respect of all works proposed to be carried out under subsection (1).

Where the Board incurs any expenditure in enclosing and covering in any watercourse or drain pursuant to subsection (1), each owner of land benefited or likely to be benefited from the enclosing and covering in of the watercourse or drain, shall, if the Board so requires, pay to the Board on account of betterment the amount of the increased value thereby given, or likely to be given, to his land, or such smaller amount as the Board thinks fit.

Subsections (3) to (10) of section 326 of the Local Government Act 1974, as far as they are applicable and with the necessary modifications, shall apply with respect to every claim for betterment under this section as if it were a claim for betterment under the said section 326 and as if the reference in subsection (4) of the said section 326 to the widening of a road or part of a road was a reference to the enclosing and covering in of a watercourse or drain.

For the purposes of any inspection, survey, or inquiry directed as necessary under any of the provisions of this Act, the Board may, by itself, its agents, officers, and workmen, enter upon any lands or premises in the district within or upon which it is proposed that any works shall be executed under this Act, or any lands and premises adjoining thereto; and, if necessary, dig or bore therein, and also examine any weir, sluice, or floodgate erected in or upon any river or stream which it deems to be necessary to examine; and open or raise any such floodgate or sluice for the purposes of any such inquiry, and make any soundings or bore the bed or channel of any part of any such river or any mill course connected therewith.

The Board, its agents, officers, and workmen may enter upon such lands as aforesaid and do all necessary matters and things authorised by this Act previously to or pending the decision upon any claim for compensation in respect of such matters as aforesaid.

The Board may take, in the manner provided by the Public Works Act 1928, and hold any lands within or without the district which in its opinion are required for the purposes authorised by this Act.

The Board may from time to time provide and maintain public offices, within or without the district, with fitting furniture for the same, for holding its meetings and transacting its business and for the use of its officers and for any other purposes, and may take, purchase, or take on lease land or buildings for such purpose, or may cause buildings to be erected on any land belonging to the Board, or may add to, alter, or improve any such building.

The Board may, in addition to the powers hereby conferred or in lieu thereof, as it may determine, enter into such arrangements as it may deem necessary with any local authority for the use on such terms as may be agreed upon of portion of the offices of that local authority and of furniture for the same for the purposes of transacting the business of the Board or holding its meetings.

The Board may from time to time:

The Board may dispose of any dwelling and the land appurtenant thereto to any person in the employment of the Board by way of sale or lease, or upon any tenancy.

If any dwelling acquired or erected or converted by the Board for the purposes of this Act is no longer required for such purposes, the Board may sell, let, exchange, or otherwise dispose of it in such manner and on such terms as the Board thinks fit.

The purposes specified in subsection (1) shall be deemed to be purposes for which the Board may borrow money pursuant to section 63.

If any land within the district is not, as to the drainage of surface and storm water and water beneath the surface, drained by some efficient drain communicating with some public sewer or public drain used or made under the authority of this Act, the Board may construct, through any land lying between such first mentioned land and the nearest such public sewer or drain, an efficient drain suited for draining therefrom and from the intermediate land such surface and storm water and water beneath the surface as aforesaid, but so that such drain shall not pass through or under any house, building, or other like structure.

The expenses of the construction and maintenance of any such drain shall be borne—

in proportion to the degree of benefit conferred on the separate owners by such drain. The Board shall by resolution apportion to each such separate owner the amount of such expenses payable by him as aforesaid.

The decision of the Board under subsection (2) as to the apportionment among the owners referred to in the said subsection (2) of the expenses of the construction and maintenance of any drain constructed by the Board shall be final and binding on each separate owner, and the amount of the expenses so apportioned by the Board to such owner shall be a debt due to the Board from the owner. If the amount is not paid within 14 days after demand for payment thereof has been made by the Board, it shall be deemed to have been advanced to the owner by the Board.

Any resolution of the Board apportioning the expenses of the construction and maintenance of such drain may be proved for the purposes of any judicial proceedings by the production of a copy of the resolution certified as correct by the Chairman of the Board for the time being.

If after giving notice of its intention to take any land, or if after entering into any contract for the purchase, acquisition, or user of land, or otherwise in respect of land, the Board upon further consideration, or within 6 months after any such notice or contract was given or entered into, thinks that it will be unnecessary or inexpedient to acquire, take, or injure the whole or any part of any land named or described in such notice or contract, it may cause a notice (in this section referred to as the second notice) to be served upon the person or persons who is or are, or appear by the said notice or contract to be, interested in the land stating that the same or what part (if any) thereof will not be acquired, taken, or injured, as the case may be; and the notice or contract, or such part thereof as is mentioned in the second notice, in so far as the same relates to land not required to be acquired, taken, or injured as aforesaid, shall be void and of no effect; and in case a part only of any such notice or contract becomes void as aforesaid, the Board shall fix and ascertain the portion of the sum mentioned in any such notice or contract which it claims should be deducted on account of the land not required to be taken or injured, and, if necessary, apportion the residue amongst the persons entitled thereto, and the Board shall amend such notice or contract accordingly; and such amended notice or contract shall be deemed to be the original notice or contract, as the case may be, entered into by the Board:

provided that in all cases where the Board serves any such second notice, the person or persons interested in the land therein mentioned or affected thereby, and incurring any loss or expense in consequence of the Board having previously required the same, shall be entitled to compensation for such loss and expense; and if the amount thereof cannot be agreed upon, the same shall be ascertained and fixed by any District Court Judge or 2 Justices within the district.

The Board may from time to time open the ground for the purpose of making or changing the level of or otherwise amending or enlarging any sewer or drain under any public or private streets or roads within the district, with a view to improving the drainage of the said district:

provided that before interfering with any such public or private street or road the Board, except in cases of emergency, of which the Board shall be the sole judge, and except so far as concerns the laying and construction of a cross-sewer, shall give 1 week’s notice in writing to the local authority having control thereof, and shall in any case with all convenient speed reinstate and make good any such street or road that may be broken up or, at the option of the local authority, pay to it the cost of such reinstatement and making good, and shall indemnify such local authority in respect of any action, suit, claim, or demand arising directly or indirectly out of the work of the Board under this section:

provided also that the Board shall not interfere with any main highway within the meaning of the Main Highways Act 1922 without the prior consent of the Main Highways Board, which may be granted subject to such conditions, whether as to reinstatement or payment of any cost of reinstatement or otherwise, as the Main Highways Board thinks fit.

The Board shall cause all watercourses, drains, or sewers vested in it or under its management to be constructed and kept so as not to be a nuisance or injurious to health, and to be properly cleared, cleansed, and emptied.

All public drains and public sewers now made or hereafter to be made within the district, and all watercourses within the district, shall be and the same are hereby vested in the Board:

provided that this section shall not operate and shall be deemed never to have operated so as to vest the fee simple of any land in the Board.

The Board may from time to time, in writing, require any person causing any noxious matters to be discharged, whether within or from within the district, into the sea, or into any estuary, watercourse, or stream, to supply correct information as to the volume, composition, and rate of discharge of such noxious matters, and failure by the person concerned to supply such information shall be an offence within the meaning of this section.

No person shall cause any noxious matters to be discharged, whether within or from within the district, into the sea, or into any estuary, watercourse, or stream, without the consent in writing of the Board and otherwise than in accordance with such conditions as to prior treatment of the effluent or as to maintenance of purity of the water into which such effluent is discharged as the Board may impose:

provided that where at the commencement of this Act any person is causing the discharge of noxious matters, no offence shall arise under this section until there has been failure for not less than 6 months to comply with any request or conditions notified in writing by the Board to the person concerned in respect of such discharge.

The Board may from time to time, and, if the Minister of Works so directs, shall, by notice in writing to the person concerned, vary or add to any conditions imposed under this section in respect of the discharge of any effluent:

provided that no offence shall arise under this section in respect of any varied or new conditions until there has been failure for not less than 6 months from the date of notification thereof to comply with such varied or new conditions.

Every person who offends against any provision of this section is liable to a fine not exceeding $2,000 and, in the case of a continuing offence, to a further fine not exceeding $100 for every day or part of a day during which the offence is continued.

The Board shall from time to time supply to the Commissioner of Works, at his written request, correct information as to the location, volume, composition, and rate of discharge of any effluents by which noxious matters are discharged within or from within the district, into the sea or into any estuary, watercourse, or stream.

The Board shall not itself cause any noxious matters to be discharged, whether within or from within the district, into the sea or into any estuary, watercourse, or stream, except with the consent in writing of the Minister of Works and in accordance with such conditions as to prior treatment of any such effluent or as to maintenance of purity of water into which such effluent is discharged as the Minister may impose:

provided that where at the commencement of this Act the Board is causing the discharge of noxious matters, no offence by the Board shall arise under this section in respect of any such discharge, until there has been failure for 6 months to comply with a request or conditions notified in writing by such Minister in respect of such discharge.

The Minister of Works may from time to time, by notice in writing to the Board, vary or add to any conditions imposed under this section in respect of the discharge by the Board of any effluent:

provided that no offence shall arise under this section in respect of any varied or new conditions until there has been failure by the Board for 6 months from the date of notification thereof to comply with such varied or new conditions.

The Minister of Works may at any time make application to the High Court or a Judge thereof, by summons, for an order requiring compliance with the provisions of this section or any conditions fixed as aforesaid, and the infliction of such penalties as the court or Judge may deem appropriate for failure to so comply. Without prejudice to or limitation of any other remedy, any such failure shall be an offence within the meaning of this Act.

Any person (not being authorised by the Board for that purpose) who, without the written consent of the Board,—

any watercourse, sewer, drain vested in the Board, or private drain commits an offence and is liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $500.

The Board may cause any drain, connection, stoppage, or obstruction made or caused in contravention of subsection (1) to be disconnected, remade, or removed in such manner as it thinks fit.

If any person acts in contravention of subsection (1) then, whether or not that person has been convicted of an offence under that subsection, the amount of all expenditure reasonably incurred by the Board under subsection (2) in relation to that contravention shall constitute a debt payable by that person to the Board and shall be recoverable accordingly.

Nothing herein shall be construed to render the Board liable for any consequential damage which may happen to any land or other property through or by the accidental or tidal overflowing of any river, stream, estuary, or watercourse, or by the sudden breaking (not being due to any negligent act on the part of the Board in carrying out any work under this Act) of any bank, dam, sluice, or reservoir whatsoever, which under the provisions of this Act the Board may take upon itself the duty of regulating, maintaining, or making:

provided that if the owner or occupier of such land has given notice in writing to the Board warning it of the probability of such damage, or of the weakness or deficiency of any such dam, reservoir, bank, or sluice, and requiring the Board to strengthen, amend, or repair the same, and the Board has not within a reasonable time after the delivery of the said notice taken proper precautions to prevent such damage, then and in such case the amount of the consequential damage which shall happen through the neglect of the Board to take precautions shall be made good out of the rate revenue of the Board from rates set and assessed under the Local Government (Rating) Act 2002.

The Board may, by order in writing under the hand of the Chairman or Secretary or Engineer, require the occupier, or the owner, of any land abutting upon any drain, watercourse, or sewer within the district to do any of the following acts:

Within 10 days after service of any such order, the occupier or owner may, by complaint under the Justices of the Peace Act 1927, require the Board to appear before a District Court Judge to show cause why the order should not be set aside, altered, modified, or amended.

On the hearing of the complaint the District Court Judge (whose decision shall be final) shall determine whether the order should or should not be set aside, or in what respect it should be altered, modified, or amended.

In any case where the District Court Judge alters, modifies, or amends any such order, the order so altered, modified, or amended shall be and be deemed to be the order originally ordered by the Board.

If the occupier or owner fails within 2 months from the service of any order made by the Board or by the District Court Judge, as the case may be, to do any act thereby required to be done, the owner or occupier shall be liable to a fine not exceeding $100 for every day thereafter during which such failure continues; and the Board may at any time thereafter enter on the land and carry out the provisions of the order and recover the cost from the owner or occupier. Payment of the cost is a debt owing to the Board and, if unpaid, may be recovered in a court of competent jurisdiction.

In any case where the Board might make any such order as aforesaid in respect of any land, any ratepayer may by notice in writing request the Board to do so; and if for the space of 28 days after the receipt of such notice the Board fails to comply therewith, the ratepayer may, by complaint under the Justices of the Peace Act 1927, call upon the Board to appear before a District Court Judge and show cause why such notice should not be complied with. Upon the hearing of any such complaint the District Court Judge shall determine whether and to what extent the notice should be complied with by the Board, and his decision shall be final, and the Board shall make an order in terms of such decision. Any order made by the Board pursuant to the District Court Judge’s decision shall be subject to the provisions of subsections (2) to (5).

For the purposes of this section—

The Board may by notice in writing require the ratepayer for a rating unit under the Local Government (Rating) Act 2002 to do all or any of the following things, namely:

The Board may, in the exercise of the powers conferred upon it by subsection (1), instead of requiring several owners each to provide, construct, and lay a private drain, and to connect that private drain with any public drain or sewer as provided in that subsection, require those owners—

The powers conferred upon the Board by paragraphs (b), (c), (d), (e), and (g) of subsection (1) may also be exercised with respect to private drains provided, constructed, and laid under subsection (1A), whether provided, constructed, and laid before or after the commencement of this subsection.

Notwithstanding anything contained in subsections (1), (1A), and (1B), no owner shall be required—

Every such notice as aforesaid shall specify the works, materials, and things to be executed, provided, and done thereunder, and the public drain or sewer with which any private drain or sewer shall be required to be connected, and shall specify a time within which the said works, materials, and things shall be so executed, provided, and done.

Any notice, order, or direction purporting to be given or made by or with the authority of the Board or any officer thereof shall be deemed to be a notice within the meaning of this Act without proof of such authority, and the issue thereof by any officer of the Board shall be conclusive evidence of the authority of the officer to issue it, unless it is proved to have been issued contrary to the directions of the Board.

Any person who fails to comply with the requirements of the Board, as set out in any such notice, in the manner and within the time stipulated in such notice shall be liable to a fine not exceeding $200.

Whenever under this Act or under any other Act, or under any bylaws of the Board, the owner of any premises in the district is required by the Board or is otherwise liable to execute, provide, or do any works, materials, or things on or in connection with the premises with respect to the drainage, sewerage, or sanitation thereof, and makes default in executing, providing, or doing the works, materials, or things, or any of them, or any part thereof, within the time specified for that purpose by any notice served on such owner by the Board, then the Board may itself execute, provide, or do, or cause to be executed, provided, or done, such works, materials, or things, or such of them or such part thereof as shall not have been executed, provided, or done by the owner; and in connection therewith the following provisions shall apply, namely:

Where any private drain, whether provided, constructed, and laid before or after the commencement of this section, passes through or serves several separately owned premises, or any new private drain is required by the Board so to pass through or serve such premises, the Board may, pursuant to a resolution in that behalf of which notice shall be given to the owners of the lands affected, execute, provide, and do all or any of the works, materials, and things which the Board deems necessary in order that the drain shall be efficient and without nuisance.

The Board may impose upon the owners of the several premises all or any part of the cost of the works, materials, or things in such proportions as the Secretary certifies to be reasonable.

Subject to the provisions of the Soil Conservation and Rivers Control Act 1941 and of the Resource Management Act 1991, the Board may, by order in writing under the hand of the Chairman or Secretary or Engineer, require the carrying out within a time specified in such order (being not less than 24 hours after the service of the order) of all or any of the following works:

Any such order may be directed—

If the person to whom such order is directed fails to comply with the same within such time as is specified in the order he shall be liable to a fine not exceeding $100, and to a further fine not exceeding $10 for every day or part of a day during which such failure continues; and the Board may itself carry out the works specified in such order and recover the cost of so doing from the person to whom the order was directed.

The Board may, by notice in writing under the hand of the Chairman, Secretary, or Engineer, require the occupier or, in the case where there is no occupier, the owner of any land within the district to cut down or remove any tree on that land the roots of which in the opinion of the Board enter or are likely to enter any watercourse under the control of the Board.

Within 28 days after the service of the notice, the occupier or owner, as the case may be, may object in writing to the Board against the requirements of the notice, and the notice shall thereupon be deemed to be suspended pending the determination of the objection or, where application is made to the court to confirm the notice, pending the decision of the court.

Where any such objection is received by the Board, the Board shall forthwith inquire into and dispose of the objection.

Where on inquiry into the objection the Board reaffirms its requirements, it may enter into an agreement with the occupier or owner, as the case may be, for the cutting down or removal of the tree at the expense, in whole or in part, of the Board.

Where the Board reaffirms its requirements and no such agreement has been entered into, the Board shall apply to the District Court for an order confirming the notice.

On the hearing of the application, the court, whose decision shall be final, may—

Where—

the Board may enter upon the land and do that act and recover the cost from him.

The said cost shall be a charge on the land.

Wherever any premises are to be connected with any sewer of the Board, the Board shall construct all cross sewers.

The Board shall construct a cross sewer in any road or street in the district to the boundary of any land abutting on the road or street when requested so to do in writing by the owner of that land.

The cost of such cross sewer as aforesaid shall be fixed by the Board, whose decision in that respect shall be final, and shall be a debt due to the Board from the owner of the land to the boundary of which the cross sewer is made, and, if the debt is not paid within 14 days after demand has been made by the Board for payment thereof, shall be deemed to be an advance made by the Board under the provisions of section 49.

The Board shall undertake the structural maintenance of all cross sewers in the district.

The Board, without being liable to pay any compensation or damages in respect of so doing, may from time to time at the request and cost of any person or local authority and with the prior consent of the Minister of Transport, make and erect, or cause to be made and erected, dams across and in the bed of the River Avon or any other river within the Board’s district, notwithstanding that they may not be required for the purposes of this Act.

The top of any dam constructed in the River Avon under the authority of this section shall not be more than 6 inches above the level of the river at the site of the dam in the month of June 1927 as determined by a series of levels taken by the Board in that month and duly recorded by the Board.

All dams shall be so constructed as to be movable or capable of being opened to allow the free passage of boats or other water craft which owing to their size or weight are not able to pass over the dam, or to allow the free flow of the river, or for other purposes.

The Board shall provide suitable facilities to enable row boats or other small water craft to pass over such dam.

The Board may from time to time alter the position of or remove any dam whether or not the dam was made or erected by the Board in exercise of the powers conferred on it by section 45 or otherwise or by any other person.

Without limiting the provisions of section 56, it is hereby declared that every person having any estate or interest in any land damaged or injuriously affected by the exercise of the powers given by subsection (1) of this section shall be entitled to full compensation from the Board, and sections 56 and 57 shall apply accordingly with all necessary modifications.

The maintenance, repair, and upkeep of dams shall be borne and paid for by the person or local authority at whose request the dams were erected by the Board.

The Board is hereby empowered to charge fees for the opening and closing of or haulage over dams, and may, with the prior consent of the Minister of Transport and subject to such conditions and restrictions as he may impose, make bylaws to regulate the use of dams and for fixing the fees to be paid to the Board for the opening and closing of or haulage over dams.

The Board may from time to time make advances, out of any fund at its disposal (including money borrowed for the purpose under the authority of this Act), to the owner or tenant of any land rateable under this Act for the purpose of enabling that owner or tenant—

Every advance made under subsection (1) shall be subject to the following conditions:

For the purposes of this section the term tenant means—

The Board may, by order or certificate in the form of Schedule 2, or as near thereto as conveniently may be, declare the amount due in respect of moneys so advanced or paid.

Upon receiving any such order or certificate as aforesaid under the seal of the Board, certifying to the amount due in respect of moneys so advanced under the authority of section 49, it shall be the duty of the District Land Registrar or the Registrar of Deeds, as the case may require, of the Canterbury District to register the order or certificate against the lands and premises therein described.

Upon the registration of the order or certificate the amount therein shown to be due to the Board shall become and be a charge upon the lands and premises, and the rights, easements, members, and appurtenances thereto belonging and appertaining; and such charge shall have priority both at law and in equity over all mortgages, encumbrances, liens, and interests then existing or which may thereafter arise or be created in respect of any such land and premises; and payment of any moneys or any instalment shown by such order or certificate to be due, owing, and payable to the Board may be enforced against the said land and any estate or interest therein in the same manner as and by any of the modes in which any person being a mortgagee or encumbrancer of the said land might upon default enforce payment of the amount due under a mortgage or encumbrance duly registered against the said land. If the consent in writing of the appropriate Minister on behalf of the Crown as mortgagee is obtained, the priority given to such charges shall bind the Crown in respect of all instruments to which the Crown is a party.

If any land or other property subject to a charge created by this section is also subject to a charge created by any other Act, then, notwithstanding anything to the contrary in that other Act, the charges shall rank equally with each other unless by virtue of that other Act the charge created thereby would be deferred to the charge created by this section.

Where an advance is made under the provisions of section 49 to an owner, at the request in writing (containing a reference to this section) of a tenant under him, the owner may recover from the tenant, in like manner as if the same were rent reserved under the tenancy, each and every sum paid by the owner to the Board.

For the purposes of this section, the term tenant includes a purchaser under section 16 of the Housing Act 1955, and a licensee under section 17 of that Act, where the agreement for sale or licence, as the case may be, has been registered under section 18 of that Act; and also includes a lessee or licensee under section 63 or section 65 of the Land Act 1948.

The Board may in every financial year, out of its general revenue, expend for purposes not authorised by this Act or any other Act or law for the time being in force any sum or sums not amounting in the whole to more than 1% of the general rate struck for that year by the Board, nor in any case to more than $20,000.

Where the owner of any land within the district sells that land or any part thereof (not having a frontage to an existing road, street, or private street), and in pursuance of the provisions of the Public Works Act 1928, or any other Act provides and dedicates part of the land as a public road or street, he shall, if so required by the Board, provide and lay drains and sewers in that road or street to the satisfaction of the Board:

provided however that it shall be a sufficient compliance with the provisions of this section if the owner shall provide and lay the drains and sewers in some part of the land being so subdivided other than in a public road or street to the approval of the Board or shall make provision for the drainage and sewerage of the said land to the satisfaction of the Board whether by way of easement over adjoining lands or otherwise or shall pay to the Board such amount as it shall determine (being the estimated cost of complying with its requirements) in which last event the Board shall itself lay such drains and sewers at such time as is convenient to it.

The District Land Registrar or the Registrar of Deeds, as the case may require, of the Canterbury District shall refuse to register any instrument affecting the said land unless and until he is satisfied that the owner thereof has complied with the requirements of this Act.

The Board may from time to time, by resolution specifying the purposes of the fund, establish 1 or more funds for the purpose of providing for the cost of any activity or matter which the Board is authorised to undertake.

The Board shall, not later than 30 June in every year, pay into a separate bank account or invest all money allocated to any such fund during the financial year that ended with the immediately preceding 31 March:

The Board may from time to time invest any money so allocated to any such fund in securities referred to in section 4 of the Trustee Act 1956 and pay the proceeds of the investment into the fund.

The Board may from time to time apply the money in any such fund only to the purposes for which the fund was established.

On the completion of the purposes for which any such fund was established, or when in the opinion of the Board with the concurrence of the Auditor-General the circumstances are such that it is unnecessary to retain the whole of the fund or the whole or any part of the surplus of the fund, the Board may, by resolution, appropriate the fund or, as the case may be, the whole or any part of that surplus to the General Account.

The Board shall make to the owners of, and to all other persons having any less estate or interest in, any land or water taken or used for the purposes of this Act, or which may be damaged or injuriously affected by the construction or maintenance of any work for any purpose of this Act, compensation for such land, water, occupation, damage, or injury. The compensation may be claimed and shall be determined in the manner provided by the Public Works Act 1928.

The amount of any such compensation shall, unless the parties can agree thereon, be ascertained in the manner provided in the Public Works Act 1928, which Act, so far as it is applicable and not inconsistent with the provisions of this Act, is incorporated with and shall be deemed to form part of this Act.

The Board shall annually make an estimate of the expenditure incurred or to be incurred for the benefit of the several sewerage and drainage areas constituted by the Board; and for that purpose the rates to be set and assessed under the Local Government (Rating) Act 2002 in respect of each such sewerage and drainage area, respectively, shall be in proportion to and sufficient for the purpose of meeting the several estimates of expenditure.

The Board may from time to time by resolution define the boundaries of the several sewerage areas and drainage areas respectively.

The said boundaries shall be marked on a map or maps, which shall be kept at the office of the Board and shall be available for inspection by any elector during the ordinary office hours of the Board.

Moneys belonging to or held by or in trust for the Board, or for the holders of debentures issued or to be issued by the Board may be invested in any of the securities mentioned in the Trustee Act 1908.

The Board may contract with and employ such engineers, contractors, surveyors, agents, and workmen as it thinks fit, and may enter into contracts with any such persons for the execution of any works directed or authorised by this Act to be done by the Board, or for furnishing materials, or for any other thing necessary for the purposes of this Act.

Every such contract for the execution of any work shall be in writing, and shall specify the work to be done, the materials to be furnished, the price to be paid for the same, the time or times within which the work is to be completed, and the penalties to be suffered in case of non-performance thereof.

The Board may from time to time appoint and employ a secretary, treasurer, clerks, surveyors, engineers, valuers, collectors, and all such other officers to assist in the execution of this Act as it thinks proper and necessary; and may from time to time remove any such officer, and appoint others in the place of such as are so removed or as may die, resign, or discontinue their office; and may pay such salaries and allowances to the said officers as the Board thinks reasonable. The said officers shall, before they act in the execution of their respective offices, give such security for the due execution thereof as the Board may require.

It is hereby declared that for the purposes of subsection (1) the expression salaries and allowances shall be deemed to include allowances and travelling expenses in respect of attendances at any conference or meeting or any course of study or training that in the opinion of the Board will render such officers better fitted to carry out their duties.

The Board shall be deemed to be a local authority for the purposes of the Local Authorities Superannuation Act 1908, the National Provident Fund Act 1950, and section 6 of the Finance Act (No 2) 1941.

The Board may from time to time pay by way of subsidy such sums as it thinks fit to the funds of any sick, death, or funeral benefit society or other like institution established by its employees, or any section of them, the benefits of which are confined to such employees and their dependants.

The Board shall cause books to be provided and kept, and true and regular accounts to be entered therein of all sums of money received and paid for and on account of this Act, and of the several purposes for which such sums of money have been received and paid.

Such books shall at all reasonable times be open to the inspection of any of the members of the Board, or any ratepayer, or any holder of debentures or other creditor of the Board, without fee or reward, and the members and persons aforesaid or any of them may take copies of or extracts from the said books without paying anything therefor.

Every clerk or other person having the custody of the said books who on the reasonable demand of any member, ratepayer, holder of debentures, or creditor as aforesaid does not permit him to inspect the said books or to take such copies or extracts as aforesaid is liable to a fine not exceeding $10 for every such offence.

Before the end of June in each year the Secretary shall prepare and send to the Auditor-General a yearly balance sheet, being an abstract of the transactions in each of the accounts of the Board during the preceding financial year ended 31 March then last past, together with the statements following:

The accounts of the Board so balanced as aforesaid and audited, and either allowed or disallowed by the Audit Office, together with the said statement and account, shall be produced at the next meeting of the Board after the audit, at which meeting all such holders of debentures, creditors, and ratepayers, and other persons interested as aforesaid may be present, and the accounts shall be then finally examined and settled by the Board, and if found just and true they shall be allowed by the Board and certified accordingly under the hand of the chairman of the meeting; and after the accounts have been so allowed and signed by the chairman and also by the auditors as hereinbefore provided they shall be final in regard to all persons whomsoever.

The Board may, pursuant to a resolution in that behalf, establish an Imprest Account, which shall be kept at such bank as the Board from time to time appoints.

The Imprest Account may be held jointly in the names of and be operated on by the Secretary and one other person to be appointed in that behalf by the Board, or may, with the express approval in writing of the Auditor-General but not otherwise, be in the sole name of and be operated on by the Secretary or other approved officer of the Board. Where the Imprest Account is held jointly in the names of the Secretary and of one other person as aforesaid, such last mentioned person shall be either a responsible officer of the Board or a member of the Board.

The Board shall from time to time, by resolution, fix the maximum amount that may be held at any time in the Imprest Account, not exceeding $300 in any case where the Imprest Account may be operated on by any person acting alone, and not exceeding such amount as the Auditor-General may approve in any other case.

Moneys in the Imprest Account shall be available only for the payment of wages and of emergency expenditure. A statement of all payments made from the Imprest Account shall be submitted to the Board for approval at its first ordinary meeting thereafter. Payment of moneys out of the Imprest Account for any purpose not hereby authorised shall be deemed to be misappropriation of the funds of the Board.

Any order, notice, or demand required or authorised by this Act to be given or sent to or served upon any person shall be delivered to that person, and may be delivered to him either personally or by posting it by registered letter addressed to that person at his last known place of abode or business in New Zealand. A notice so posted shall be deemed to have been served at the time when the registered letter would in the ordinary course of post be delivered.

If the person is absent from New Zealand, the notice may be delivered as aforesaid to his agent in New Zealand. If he is deceased, the notice may be delivered as aforesaid to his personal representative.

If that person is not known, or is absent from New Zealand and has no known agent in New Zealand, and the order, notice, or demand relates to any land or building, the order, notice, or demand, addressed to the owner or occupier of the land or building, as the case may require, may be served on the occupier thereof, or left with some inmate of his abode; or, if there is no occupier, may be put up on some conspicuous part of the land or building. It shall not be necessary in any such notice to name the occupier or owner of the land or building.

Any summons or notice of any writ or other legal proceedings to be served on the Board may be served by leaving it at the office of the Board or by delivering it personally to the Chairman or the Secretary.

Every order, summons, notice, or other document requiring authentication by the Board shall be sufficiently authenticated if signed by 2 members or by the Secretary of the Board, and need not be under the common seal of the Board.

If any person against whom the Board has any claim or demand becomes bankrupt, the Chairman or Secretary of the Board, in all proceedings against the estate of the bankrupt, or under any petition, or any other proceeding respecting or against the bankrupt, may represent the Board and act on its behalf in all respects as if the claim or demand had been the claim or demand of the Chairman or Secretary, and not of the Board.

In all proceedings in any court, or before any Justice, in which the Board is concerned, the Chairman or Secretary may represent the Board and act on its behalf in all respects as if he and not the Board had been the party concerned.

The Chairman or Secretary shall be reimbursed by the Board all damages, costs, charges, and expenses to which he is put or with which he may become chargeable by reason of anything in either of the last 2 preceding sections.

In all cases in which any matter or thing is hereby required to be published, advertised, or inserted by the Board in a newspaper generally circulating in the district, the said newspaper shall be such newspaper as the Board from time to time appoints in that behalf, or, if there is no Board at the time when that matter or thing ought to be advertised, the said newspaper shall be such as the Secretary appoints in that behalf.

If any action or claim is commenced or prosecuted touching or concerning the right, title, or interest of any person of or in any land taken or injuriously affected by anything done in pursuance of this Act, or the execution of the powers or authorities herein contained, or as to the amount of compensation to be paid to such person in respect of any such lands, such action or claim shall not impede, delay, or hinder the Board from proceeding in the execution of the powers vested in it by this Act, and the works or the exercise of the powers and authorities may be proceeded with notwithstanding such action or claim.

Section 50 of the Justices of the Peace Act 1927 shall not apply in respect of any prosecution or proceeding for an offence against this Act or against any bylaw made in pursuance of or remaining operative under this Act.

In addition to the matters for which Drainage Boards are authorised by the Land Drainage Act 1908, or by any other provision of this Act, to make bylaws, the Board may from time to time make bylaws for all or any of the following purposes, namely:

The Board may by any such bylaw provide a penalty for every breach thereof to an amount which shall be in the discretion of the court inflicting the penalty, and shall in no case exceed the sum of $100 for a single offence or the sum of $10 a day for a continuing offence.

Any bylaw made by the Board shall, within the district, override any bylaws on the same subject made by any constituent authority.

Any constituent authority may, with the consent of the Board, undertake within its own area the enforcement and administration of any bylaws made by the Board, and in such cases all fines imposed for breaches of the Board’s bylaws within the area of such constituent authority shall, subject to the provisions of section 109 of the Public Revenues Act 1953 (as enacted by section 3 of the Public Revenues Amendment Act 1958) be paid to the constituent authority and be dealt with by it as if they were fines imposed in respect of breaches of the bylaws of such constituent authority.

For the purposes of this section the term constituent authority means the local authority of any local district the whole or any part of which is for the time being comprised within the district of the Board, and the term local district means the district of a city, borough, or county.

All bylaws of the Board under this Act shall be made in the manner and subject to the conditions following:

A copy of any bylaw made by the Board, sealed with the common seal of the Board, shall be received as evidence of its having been duly made, unless the contrary is proved.

The Board shall cause printed copies of all bylaws to be kept at the office of the Board, and to be supplied to any person applying for them at a charge to be fixed by the Board.

Nothing in this Act or in any bylaw made thereunder shall be deemed to relieve any person from any liability to which he would otherwise be subject in respect of anything done by him in breach of any such bylaw.

The power given by this or any other Act to the Board to do anything by special order shall be exercised only as follows:

Any person doing anything contrary to the provisions of this Act or any bylaw made hereunder, or omitting or failing to perform any duty imposed on him by or arising under this Act or any such bylaw, shall be guilty of an offence, and in cases where no other penalty is provided shall be liable to a fine not exceeding $200, and whenever such act or omission is of a continuous nature a further offence shall be deemed to be committed on each day on which it is continued; and whenever power is given by this or any other Act or any bylaw to order anything to be done or omitted, an offence shall be deemed to be committed on each day on which any person disobeys or fails to comply with any such order; and in all cases in which property is damaged, destroyed, or lost, or pecuniary loss is suffered by reason of an offence, the court may add to the fine compensation for any loss the Board may have sustained:

provided that such compensation, unless awarded at the express request of the Board, shall not, excepting as to the amount thereof, relieve such person of any civil liability in respect of his act or omission.

Every person who at any time obstructs the Board or any person appointed by it in the performance of anything which it or he is empowered or required to do by this Act is liable to a fine not exceeding $200.

Every offence hereby made punishable by a fine may be prosecuted, and all fines imposed by this Act shall be recoverable, in accordance with Part 3 of the Summary Proceedings Act 1957.

Such of the lands described in Schedule 3 as have not already been sold under the powers contained in the Christchurch Drainage Board Reserves Sale and Exchange Act 1887 or the Christchurch District Drainage Act 1907 are hereby declared to be vested in His Majesty the King as Crown land subject to the Land Act 1948, together with all rights, interests, and easements appurtenant thereto, but subject to all leases, liens, encumbrances, and easements affecting the same.

The District Land Registrar for the Land Registration District of Canterbury is hereby authorised and directed to do all such things as may be necessary to give effect to the provisions of this section and to make all necessary endorsements on any certificates of title in respect of lands vested in His Majesty by the last preceding subsection; and any such certificate of title shall enure in the name of His Majesty until the expiration, release, or determination of any lease, easement, or other interest registered against the same, and shall then be cancelled by the said District Land Registrar.

The Land Settlement Board constituted pursuant to the Land Act 1948 may release to the owner of any of the lands described in Schedule 3 any easement, right, or servitude to which the lands may be subject, at such consideration and on such terms as it thinks fit.

Nothing in this Act shall—

In giving any consent or approval under subsection (1), the Minister may impose such conditions as he thinks fit.

Except as expressly provided in this Act, nothing in this Act shall derogate from any of the provisions of any of the following enactments:

The enactments mentioned in Schedule 4 are hereby repealed:

provided that such repeal shall not in any way annul or prejudicially or injuriously affect any contract made, anything done or agreed to be done or commenced to be done, any appointment made or office filled, any right or property acquired, any security given or agreed to be given, any valuation or rate made or levied or directed to be made or levied, any bylaw enacted, any election held or in process of being held, any resolutions passed, or any order or direction given under the authority of any enactment so repealed, or the right or power of the Board to raise or complete the raising of any authorised loan, or to issue any debenture prepared for issue under the said enactments, or to continue and carry to completion any power, authority, or right vested in the Board in respect of any such loan or any part thereof.