This Act may be cited as the Presbyterian Church Property Amendment Act 1974, and shall be read together with and deemed part of the Presbyterian Church Property Act 1885 (hereinafter referred to as the principal Act).

In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires, the term “the Trustees” means the Presbyterian Church Property Trustees constituted as a body corporate under the principal Act.

This section shall apply to all trust funds for the time being held by the Trustees in the Amalgamated Investment Fund established under the Presbyterian Church Property Trustees Empowering Act 1957.

The Trustees may from time to time invest any trust funds to which this section applies, whether at the time in a state of investment or not, in all or any of the following investments:

For the purposes of paragraph (b) of subsection (2) of this section, and without restricting the meaning of the term “fully paid”, shares, stocks, bonds, debentures, notes, or other securities shall be deemed to be fully paid if the calls on them are payable by instalments on such terms that all calls shall be paid within 2 years from the date of initial allotment.

In respect of any investment proposed to be made under any of the provisions of paragraphs (b), (c), and (e) of subsection (2) of this section, the Trustees shall first obtain and consider proper advice in writing from a person or persons reasonably believed by the Trustees to be qualified to advise on the investment:

The Trustees may from time to time sell, exchange, vary, or transpose any investments.

The Trustees may from time to time lease or let any land or any estate or interest in land held by them as an investment, for any period and at such rent or rents and on such terms and conditions as the Trustees think fit.

The Second Schedule to the principal Act is hereby amended—

Section 5 of the Presbyterian Church Property Act 1885 Amendment Act 1914 is hereby amended by omitting from paragraph (e) the words “in the manner set out in section 95 of the Trustee Act 1908”, and substituting the words “in any investments for the time being authorised by the principal Act for the investment of trust funds”.

Section 7 of the Presbyterian Church Property Act 1885 Amendment Act 1914 is hereby consequentially repealed.

Section 5a(1) of the Presbyterian Church Property Act 1885 Amendment Act 1914 (as inserted by section 4 of the Presbyterian Church Property Amendment Act 1963) is hereby amended by inserting, after paragraph (e), the following paragraph:

Section 3(1) of the Presbyterian Church Property Trustees Empowering Act 1957 is hereby amended by omitting the words “authorised investments within the meaning of the Trustee Act 1956”, and substituting the words “such investments as are for the time being authorised by the principal Act for the investment of trust funds”.

The said section 3 is hereby further amended by repealing subsection (8), and substituting the following subsection:

The said section 3 is hereby further amended by omitting from subsection (11) the words “such securities as are authorised investments within the meaning of the Trustee Act 1956”, and substituting the words “such investments as are for the time being authorised by the principal Act for the investment of trust funds”.

Subject to any direction to the contrary in any instrument creating the trust, any trustees or other persons, whether incorporated or not, now or hereafter holding funds on trust for the use or purposes of the Presbyterian Church of New Zealand or any congregation or organisation connected with it, or of that Church or congregation or organisation and any other body of persons jointly, may transfer the whole or any part of such trust funds to the Trustees to be held by them as trustees thereof.

Except so far as a contrary intention is expressed in any instrument creating the trust, the Trustees shall hold any funds transferred to them under subsection (1) of this section with the powers conferred by, and subject to the provisions of, the principal Act and this Act, notwithstanding that the powers of investment conferred on the Trustees by the principal Act and this Act are wider than the powers conferred on the first-mentioned trustees or persons by any instrument creating the trust.

Any such trustees or persons so transferring the whole or any part of any trust funds to the Trustees shall remain liable for the proper application of the capital and the income of those funds in accordance with any instrument creating the trust, but shall not be liable for any loss of capital occurring by reason of any fall in the capital value of any investment made or retained by the Trustees as trustees or for any reduction of income resulting from expenditure by the Trustees in administration in accordance with the principal Act.

Notwithstanding any rule of law or practice to the contrary, the Trustees, in their capacity as trustees of any trust property, may—

In the exercise of the powers conferred by the Trustee Act 1956 and the principal Act to invest trust funds on real securities, the Trustees may join with any other person or body of persons in lending money on any such security.

For the purpose of exercising in relation to the Amalgamated Investment Fund the powers conferred by section 3(2)(c) of this Act to purchase any estate or interest in land, or to execute works in connection with the land, the Trustees may from time to time, with the prior consent in each case of the commission appointed by the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church under section 2 of the Presbyterian Church Property Amendment Act 1930, borrow money by way of mortgage on the security of that estate or interest; but the money so borrowed shall be secured by a mortgage only on the property so purchased or in connection with which the works are to be executed.

The Trustees may from time to time borrow money or arrange credit by way of overdraft at any bank (whether secured or unsecured) for any purpose that is in the opinion of the Trustees of a temporary nature only; but the total amount of all borrowing or credit under this subsection shall not at any time exceed such sum as the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church may from time to time specify.

The powers conferred on the Trustees by this section shall extend to include power, subject to the requirements of this section, so to borrow or arrange credit for the purpose of meeting any debt or liability of the Trustees incurred for any of the purposes of this section, whether secured or unsecured and whether owing or incurred at or before the passing of this Act or subsequently.

The Second Schedule to the principal Act is hereby further amended by omitting from clause 8 (as amended by section 9 of the Presbyterian Church Property Act 1885 Amendment Act 1914 and section 3(2)(a) and (b) of the Presbyterian Church Property Amendment Act 1963) the words “for the purpose of acquiring, developing, or subdividing any land for the purposes of any particular congregation or of building, rebuilding, repairing, altering, or enlarging any building upon the lands at any time vested in them for the purposes of any congregation of the Presbyterian Church, or for paying off any existing debt at any time incurred for all or any of the purposes aforesaid”, and substituting the words “for any of the purposes of any congregation of the Presbyterian Church”.

The following enactments are hereby consequentially repealed:

This section shall apply to any fund held by the Trustees or any other persons on behalf of any congregation of the Presbyterian Church, being a fund that has been raised, whether before or after the passing of this Act, for any special object or purpose connected with or relating to the congregation, by way of voluntary contributions, or by the sale of goods voluntarily contributed, or as the price of admission to any entertainment, or in any other manner of voluntary contribution, whether or not the money in the fund has been invested pending its application for that object or purpose.

If it becomes or has become impossible or impracticable or inexpedient to carry out that object or purpose, or the amount available is inadequate to carry it out, or the object or purpose has been effected already, the Trustees, at the request of the congregation, signified by a resolution of the congregation, and with the consent of the Presbytery of the bounds, may by writing approve any scheme for the application or disposal of the fund for some other purpose related to the said congregation.

Every scheme so approved shall have effect according to its tenor.

This section shall not apply to any fund in respect of which, before or after the passing of this Act, a scheme has been approved by the Court or the Attorney-General under Part III or Part IV of the Charitable Trusts Act 1957, or in respect of which an application for the approval of a scheme has been or is made to the Court or the Attorney-General under either of those Parts.

In the exercise of their powers the Trustees may join with or act in combination or association with any other persons or bodies of persons in doing any act or thing which in the opinion of the Trustees will be for the benefit of any trust administered by them.

All costs, charges, disbursements, and expenses of and incidental to the preparation, obtaining, and passing of this Act or otherwise in relation to it shall be paid from the Investment Fund Income Account established under section 3(6) of the Presbyterian Church Property Trustees Empowering Act 1957.

This Act is hereby declared to be a private Act.