Recommendation

The Local Government and Environment Committee has examined the Mount Maunganui Borough Reclamation and Empowering Act Repeal Bill and recommends that it be passed with the amendments shown.

Introduction

This bill seeks to repeal the Mount Maunganui Borough Reclamation and Empowering Act 1975. The Act gave the Bay of Plenty Harbour Board the authority to transfer part of the seabed of Tauranga Harbour to the Mount Maunganui Borough Council, and authorised the council to undertake reclamation of that part of the harbour for sewerage and other municipal purposes.

The council reclaimed less than half of the available area, and the authority to undertake reclamation of the balance was revoked by enactment of the Foreshore and Seabed Endowment Revesting Act 1991. The Mount Maunganui Borough Reclamation and Empowering Act therefore has no substantive legal effect.

Repeal of the Act

We recommend inserting new clause 5, a “sunset” clause that would provide for the Act to expire 28 days after it came into force. Without such a clause, one Act with no continuing effect would be replaced in the statute books with another.