Consolidation of western division leases

Preamble

1. As a result of Government policies initiated in the 1930s, many western lands leaseholders find their properties divided into a number of blocks of land, often some distance apart.

2. To encourage consolidation of such leases with single parcels of land, enabling more efficient use, the Hon Richard Amery MP Minister for Agriculture and Minister for Land and Water Conservation announced on 2 February 1999, tax relief to pastoral leaseholders in the State’s Western Division in relation to the consolidation of those leases.

Ruling

3. The Treasurer has approved of the Duties Act 1997 being administered on the basis that the duty payable on a transfer or agreement for sale of a Western Division lease will be reduced where:

   1. the purchaser has sold a Western Division lease within 3 years; and

   2. the lease purchased adjoins an existing Western Division lease owned by the purchaser.

4. The duty payable will be reduced by an amount equal to the duty payable on the Western Division lease sold by the purchaser within 3 years of the transfer or agreement for sale.

5. For the purposes of this approval, a Western Division lease includes a lease used for the purposes specified in the attached annexure, for which a lease may be granted under section 28A of the Western Lands Act 1901.

6. This variation to statute will operate with effect from 2 February 1999 until appropriate amendments can be made to the Duties Act.