This Act may be cited as the West Coast Settlement Reserves Amendment Act, 1948, and shall be read together with and deemed part of the West Coast Settlement Reserves Act, 1892 (in this Act referred to as the principal Act).

In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires,—

A renewable lease under this Act shall be a lease for a term of twenty-one years, renewable in accordance with the principal Act at a rent determined in manner provided by this Act. Subject to the provisions of this Act, every renewable lease under this Act shall be subject to the provisions of the principal Act relating to renewable leases. Every substituted lease or new lease shall be a renewable lease.

Subject to the provisions of section eighteen of this Act, for the purposes of this Act the expression “minimum annual rent”—

For the purposes of this section, the expired term of any renewable lease which has been surrendered or otherwise determined and the term of any lease (whether as to the whole or portion of the land comprised in the surrendered or determined lease) granted in substitution for the surrendered or determined lease shall be reckoned together as one term.

Where for the purposes of this Act it is necessary to ascertain the minimum annual rent in respect of the land comprised in a substituted lease or renewal lease which is part only of the land which was comprised in the original lease at the commencement of the first term thereof or at the commencement of a subsequent renewal thereof, as the case may require, the Maori Trustee shall apportion as between the part aforesaid and the remainder of the land as he thinks equitable, the minimum annual rent for the whole of the land; and the rent so apportioned to the part aforesaid shall be the minimum annual rent in respect of that part for the purposes of the substituted or renewal lease. Every such apportionment by the Maori Trustee shall be final and conclusive.

Every renewable lease (other than a lease of any of the lands described in the First Schedule to this Act) granted under the principal Act and subsisting on the first day of January, nineteen hundred and forty-eight, or of which a renewed term commenced to run on that date, shall be deemed to have been cancelled on that date, and the lessee shall be entitled to elect to take a substituted lease of the land comprised in the cancelled lease in accordance with the provisions of this Act.

Subject to the provisions of this Act, and notwithstanding the cancellation of his lease under the last preceding subsection, the lessee shall, so long as he continues to occupy the land, continue to be the lessee of the land for the purposes of this Act and to be liable to pay the rent reserved by the cancelled lease and to perform and observe all the covenants and conditions contained or implied therein; and during that occupation he shall be deemed to be the occupier of the land for the purposes of the Rating Act, 1925. On the execution of a substituted lease all appropriate adjustments in rent to the date of commencement of the substituted lease shall be made by the Maori Trustee.

As soon as practicable after the passing of this Act, the Valuer-General shall cause to be made, as at the first day of January, nineteen hundred and forty-eight, a special valuation of the land comprised in every cancelled lease. On the making of that valuation the Valuer-General shall cause to be prepared a certificate setting forth the following particulars:—

For the purposes of this section the expressions “improvements”, “value of improvements”, “unimproved value”, and “capital value” shall have the meanings assigned to them by the Valuation of Land Act, 1925, and every valuation made under the last preceding subsection shall be made in the same manner as if it were a valuation under that Act.

Notwithstanding anything contained in any other Act or rule of law, the expressions “improvements” and “unimproved value” shall, for the purposes of valuations to be made under this Act, continue to have the same meanings as are assigned to them at the passing of this Act by the Valuation of Land Act, 1925, unless the Act by which any amendment of either of those expressions is made expressly provides that the amendment shall apply in the case and for the purposes of valuations made under this Act.

As soon as practicable after the making of any special valuation as aforesaid, the Valuer-General shall serve a copy of the said certificate on the Maori Trustee and also on the lessee.

Where the Maori Trustee or the lessee desires to object to any of the values set out in the said certificate, he shall within two months after service on him of that certificate give notice in writing of his objection to the Valuer-General and shall set out therein the grounds of his objection. A copy of the notice of objection shall forthwith be transmitted by the Valuer-General to the lessee where the objection is made by the Maori Trustee, and to the Maori Trustee where the objection is made by the lessee.

If within the said period of two months the Maori Trustee or the lessee neglects or fails to lodge any objection as aforesaid, he shall be deemed to have agreed to the values set out in the said certificate. If the Maori Trustee or the lessee gives notice of objection as aforesaid within the said period of two months, the objection shall be heard and determined by the Committee as hereinafter provided.

If no objection is made to the said special valuation within the said period of two months, the Maori Trustee shall as soon as practicable thereafter give notice in writing to the lessee requiring him to elect within one month after the receipt of the notice whether he will accept a substituted lease commencing on the first day of January, nineteen hundred and forty-eight, at an annual rent equal to five pounds per centum of the unimproved value of the land as determined by that valuation or at the minimum annual rent, whichever is the greater.

Where the annual rent calculated at the rate of five pounds per centum of the unimproved value of the land as determined by the special valuation is less than the minimum annual rent, the lessee in electing to take a substituted lease may require the Maori Trustee to reduce the rent to an amount being not less than that lower amount on the ground that the depreciation or part thereof in the unimproved value of the land was due to causes which were not reasonably within the control of the lessee or of his predecessors in title; and if the Maori Trustee refuses so to reduce the rent, he shall as soon as practicable thereafter refer that question to the Committee for determination in accordance with the provisions hereinafter appearing.

If the lessee fails within the said period of one month to give to the Maori Trustee notice of his election as aforesaid, he shall be deemed to have elected to accept a substituted lease at the annual rent specified in the notice given to him by the Maori Trustee.

Where the lessee elects not to accept a substituted lease or fails to execute a memorandum of lease within fourteen days after the same is tendered to him for the purpose, the right to a new lease of the land shall as soon as practicable be put up to public competition by public tender, subject to the following terms and conditions:—

If the right to a new lease is not purchased under the last preceding section, or if the purchaser, not being the outgoing lessee, fails to pay to the Maori Trustee within the time limited in that behalf the amount of the value of improvements, or if the purchaser fails to execute the memorandum of lease within fourteen days after the same is tendered to him for the purpose, the Maori Trustee may at any time thereafter, and from time to time so often as he thinks it necessary so to do, or until a tender has been accepted, put up to competition by public tender a right to a new lease of the land at such rent, and subject to the payment of such sum for the value of improvements as the Maori Trustee may determine, but otherwise on the terms and conditions specified in the last preceding section.

Until the date of commencement of a new lease granted under either of the last two preceding sections, the lessee under a cancelled lease of the land may continue to occupy the land so long as he shall pay the rent reserved by the cancelled lease and perform and observe the covenants and conditions contained or implied therein; and shall during that occupation be deemed to be the occupier of the land for the purposes of the Rating Act, 1925.

In offering for sale the right to a new lease, the Maori Trustee may impose a condition that the right to take possession under the new lease shall commence on the first day of January or July in the appropriate year.

Not earlier than one year and not later than six months before the expiry by effluxion of time of the term of any substituted lease or new lease or of any lease mentioned in the First Schedule to this Act, or of the term of any renewal of any such lease, the Maori Trustee shall notify the Valuer-General that he requires a special valuation to be made in respect of the land; and the Valuer-General shall as soon as practicable cause a special valuation thereof to be made as at the date of expiry of the term. The valuation shall be made in all respects as if it were a valuation for the purposes of a substituted lease under this Act, and all the provisions of section six of this Act shall, so far as applicable and with the necessary modifications, apply accordingly.

Nothing contained in the last preceding subsection shall invalidate any special valuation made for the purposes of the first renewal after the passing of this Act of any lease mentioned in the First Schedule to this Act, notwithstanding that the notice to the Valuer-General is not given within the time limited in that behalf, or that any such lease has expired before the passing of this Act or before the special valuation is made.

On the making of a special valuation under subsection one of this section all such steps shall thereupon be taken as if the right of the lessee to a renewal lease were a right to a substituted lease and all the provisions of the last six preceding sections shall, so far as applicable and with the necessary modifications, apply accordingly to the renewal lease and to the rights of the Maori Trustee and the lessee in relation thereto.

The right of the lessee under any lease mentioned in the First Schedule to this Act to a renewal of his lease shall not be affected by reason of the fact that the term thereof has expired before the passing of this Act or has expired before the offer of a renewal lease is made to him under the provisions of the last preceding subsection.

There is hereby constituted for the purposes of this Act a committee to be known as the Valuation Appeal Committee.

The Committee shall consist of—

The members of the Committee shall be appointed by the Governor-General and shall hold office during his pleasure. If any member dies, resigns, or is removed from office, the vacancy so created shall be filled in the manner in which the appointment to the vacant office was originally made.

No person shall be eligible to be appointed or to remain as a member of the Committee who is a beneficial owner of any part of the reserves or who has any estate or interest in any lease of any part of the reserves, whether as lessee, mortgagee, trustee, or otherwise howsoever; nor shall any person act as a member of the Committee under paragraph (a) of subsection one of this section on the hearing of an objection to any valuation made by him or which he assisted to make. If any person becomes disqualified as a member of the Committee under the foregoing provisions of this subsection, he shall vacate his office, and the vacancy shall be filled in the manner in which the appointment to that office was originally made.

The remuneration, allowances, and expenses of the members of the Committee shall be fixed from time to time by the Minister of Finance, and shall be payable as follows:—

The Committee shall meet for the despatch of business at such times and places as it thinks fit.

All the members of the Committee shall be present at every meeting of the Committee.

The member appointed on the nomination of the Valuer-General shall be the Chairman of the Committee and shall preside at every meeting thereof.

Every question before the Committee shall be decided by a majority of the votes of the members, or, failing a majority, by the Chairman.

Subject to the provisions of this Act, the Committee shall determine its own procedure.

All objections to valuations under this Act shall be heard and determined by the Committee.

On the hearing and determination of any objection the Committee may confirm the valuation to which objection has been made or make such alterations in the valuation as it thinks proper, together with all such consequential amendments as may be necessary for the purpose of fixing the unimproved and capital values of the land and the value of improvements thereon.

The Committee shall, within the scope of its jurisdiction, be deemed a Commission under the Commissions of Inquiry Act, 1908, and all the provisions of that Act shall apply thereto accordingly; but nothing contained in that Act shall authorize the Committee to cite the Crown or any officer of the Valuation Department as a party to any proceedings before the Committee or to award costs against the Crown or any such officer.

The Committee may receive as evidence any statement, document, information, or matter that in the opinion of the Committee may assist it to deal effectually with the matters before it, whether or not the same would be otherwise admissible in a Court of law.

Proceedings before the Committee shall not be held bad for want of form and no appeal shall lie from any decision of the Committee, nor, except on the ground of lack of jurisdiction, shall any proceeding or decision of the Committee be challenged, reviewed, quashed, or called in question in any Court.

Where the lessee in electing to take a substituted lease or a renewal lease has required the Maori Trustee to reduce the rent below the minimum annual rent on the ground that, since the date by reference to which the minimum annual rent has been ascertained, the unimproved value of the land has depreciated due to causes which were not reasonably within the control of the lessee or of his predecessors in title, and the Maori Trustee has referred that question to the Committee for determination, the Committee shall fix the amount (if any) by which the unimproved value of the land has depreciated through any such cause. The onus of proving that the unimproved value has so depreciated and the extent of that depreciation shall be on the lessee.

For the purpose of fixing the amount by which the unimproved value of the land has depreciated since the date by reference to which the minimum annual rent has been ascertained, the unimproved value of the land at that date shall be deemed to be the minimum annual rent capitalized at five per centum.

Where the Committee has fixed the amount by which the unimproved value has depreciated through causes which were not reasonably within the control of the lessee or his predecessors in title, the annual rent under the substituted lease or renewal lease, as the case may be, shall be five per centum of the unimproved value as ascertained under the last preceding subsection reduced by the amount so fixed by the Committee.

Where the annual rent for any lease is fixed pursuant to the last preceding subsection, that rent shall, notwithstanding anything contained in section four of this Act, be deemed to be the minimum annual rent for the purposes of any subsequent renewal of the lease until a lower minimum annual rent is fixed pursuant to this section.

Notice of every decision of the Committee on any objection under this Act shall forthwith be given by the Chairman to the Valuer-General, together with particulars of any alteration made in the valuation to which objection was made.

The Maori Trustee shall, when an objection to any valuation has been determined by the Committee, give notice in writing to the lessee requiring him to elect within one month after the receipt of the notice whether he will accept a substituted lease or a renewal lease, as the case may he, at an annual rent equal to five per centum of the unimproved value of the land as determined by the Committee, or at the minimum annual rent, whichever is the greater.

The provisions of subsections two and three of section eight and sections nine, ten, eleven, and twelve, of this Act shall, so far as applicable and with the necessary modifications, apply to every notice given under the last preceding subsection and to the rights of the lessee and the Maori Trustee in relation to the substituted lease or renewal lease, as the case may be, in all respects as if no objection to the valuation had been made.

There may be paid to the beneficial owners of the reserves out of the Assurance and Reserve Fund referred to in section forty-nine of the Maori Trustee Act, 1930, without further appropriation than this section such amount not exceeding thirty thousand pounds as the Minister of Maori Affairs and the Minister of Finance may jointly determine, by way of compensation to the beneficial owners of the reserves for loss of rent suffered by them before the first day of January, nineteen hundred and forty-eight, by reason of the operation of the law relating to the assessment of rentals of leases of the reserves.

The Maori Trustee shall apportion any compensation payable under the last preceding subsection among the beneficial owners of the reserves in such shares and proportions as he considers just and equitable.

Any notice required to be given to or document required to be served on the Maori Trustee or the Valuer-General may be given or served by leaving the same at the office of the Maori Trustee or the Valuer-General, as the case may be, or by sending the same by registered post addressed to the officer concerned at his office. Every notice or document so posted shall be deemed to have been received when in the ordinary course of post it would be delivered.

Any notice required to be given to or document required to be served on any lessee may be given or served by delivering the same to him personally or by sending the same to him by registered post addressed to him at his last known place of abode or business in New Zealand, and when so posted shall be deemed to have been received when in the ordinary course of post it would be delivered. Where any objection has been made by the agent of any lessee, service of any notice or other document required to be given to or served on the lessee may be effected by serving the same in manner aforesaid on that agent.

If the lessee is deceased, service of any notice or document required to be served on him may be effected in manner aforesaid on his personal representative.

Where any substituted lease is accepted for registration by the District Land Registrar, he shall endorse on the cancelled lease a memorial to the effect that it has been cancelled under this Act.

The District Land Registrar may refuse to register any substituted lease until the cancelled lease has been delivered up to him for endorsement of the fact that it has been cancelled under this Act.

Every substituted lease shall be deemed to be subject to all existing encumbrances, liens, and interests (if any) registered against the cancelled lease; and the District Land Registrar shall register against the substituted lease all such encumbrances, liens, and interests accordingly in the order of their registered priority.

The fees incurred in or about the making of any special valuation by the Valuer-General under this Act and the costs, charges, and expenses incurred in or about the preparation, stamping, and registration of any substituted lease shall be borne in equal shares by the Maori Trustee and the lessee.

The proportion of the valuation fees, costs, charges, and expenses to be borne by the Maori Trustee as aforesaid shall be charged by him against the beneficial owners of the land concerned.

Subject to the foregoing provisions of this section and of section fifteen of this Act, the expenses of the administration of this Act shall be paid out of moneys appropriated by Parliament for the purpose.

Nothing contained in the Servicemen’s Settlement and Land Sales Act, 1943, shall apply to any substituted lease or renewal lease or to any new lease granted after the passing of this Act.

The enactments mentioned in the Second Schedule to this Act are hereby consequentially amended to the extent indicated in that Schedule.