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Reserves Act 1977

Acquisition of land for reserves

12: Minister's powers

You could also call this:

"The Minister's job is to decide how to create and manage reserves, including buying or taking private land."

Illustration for Reserves Act 1977

The Minister can decide that some private land should be used for a reserve. You might wonder how this happens. The Minister can buy the land, lease it, or get it as a gift.

If the Minister wants to get the land, they can make a deal with the owner. They can also use the Public Works Act 1981 to take the land. This means the land will be used for a reserve.

The Minister can pay for the land with money from Parliament. They can also swap some Crown land for the private land. But they need to get approval from the Commissioner of Crown Lands first.

The Minister can make changes to how a reserve is managed. They can declare that a reserve is now owned by the Crown, not a local authority. They need to agree with the local authority first and put a notice in the Gazette.

The notice must be registered in the office of the Registrar-General of Land. This is an important step to make the change official. The Minister has to follow some rules when making these changes.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM444476.

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Part 2Acquisition of land for reserves

12Minister's powers

  1. Where the Minister considers that any private land or any interest in or over private land or any interest in a Crown lease should be acquired by the Crown for the purposes of a reserve or for the improvement, protection, or extension of or access to an existing reserve, or to establish a public right to wander at will on foot within specified limits in any reserve, or to provide recreational tracks in the countryside,—

  2. the Minister may, in the name and on behalf of the Sovereign, treat and agree for the purchase or taking on lease of the land or any interest therein or the acceptance of the land or interest therein as a gift, and for any such purpose enter into any contract he or she thinks fit; or
    1. the land or interest therein (other than a public right to wander therein) may be taken or otherwise acquired under the Public Works Act 1981:

        1. provided also that, notwithstanding anything in subsection (2) of section 23 of the Public Works Act 1981, where any Maori land in multiple ownership is proposed to be taken under the Public Works Act 1981 for the purposes of a reserve and the title to the land is not registered under the Land Transfer Act 2017, a copy of the notice and description referred to in subsection (1) of the said section 23 shall be served on the Registrar of the Maori Land Court in accordance with Part 10 of Te Ture Whenua Maori Act 1993, and the provisions of that Part shall apply accordingly.

      1. All land or interests in land acquired by way of purchase or gift or taken as aforesaid shall vest in the Sovereign for the purposes of this Act as a reserve or as an addition to or for the purposes of an existing reserve, as the case may require, and all land acquired by the Minister by way of lease under this section shall during the term of the lease be subject to this Act.

      2. The Minister may purchase, take on lease, or acquire any such land or interest therein for cash, or by instalments with or without interest, or by gift, or by way of exchange of Crown land, subject in the last-mentioned case to the approval of the Commissioner of Crown Lands appointed under section 12A of the Survey Act 1986 being first obtained.

      3. Subject to sections 78, 82, 83, 84, 89, 90, 95, 105, and 110, the purchase price of any land, or any interest in land, or any right of way or other easement, or equality of exchange, or rent for land leased, or the compensation money payable in respect of any land or interest in land acquired or taken as aforesaid shall be paid out of money appropriated by Parliament.

      4. The Minister may, with the prior written agreement of a local authority, declare by notice in the Gazette that a reserve, or any part of a reserve,—

      5. ceases to be vested in and administered by the local authority and instead vests in the Crown; and
        1. has such classification under this Act as may be specified in the Gazette notice, or be included in any existing reserve under this Act; and
          1. be administered in accordance with that classification.

            1. The notice must be registered in the office of the Registrar-General of Land.

            Notes
            • Section 12(1) proviso: amended, on , by section 250 of the Land Transfer Act 2017 (2017 No 30).
            • Section 12(1) proviso: amended, on , pursuant to section 362(2) of Te Ture Whenua Maori Act 1993 (1993 No 4).
            • Section 12(1) proviso: amended, on , pursuant to section 248(1) of the Public Works Act 1981 (1981 No 35).
            • Section 12(1)(b): amended, on , pursuant to section 248(1) of the Public Works Act 1981 (1981 No 35).
            • Section 12(3): amended, on , pursuant to section 9(2) of the Survey Amendment Act (No 3) 1989 (1989 No 139).
            • Section 12(5): inserted, on , by section 4 of the Reserves Amendment Act 2015 (2015 No 32).
            • Section 12(6): inserted, on , by section 4 of the Reserves Amendment Act 2015 (2015 No 32).