This Act may be cited as the Swamp Drainage Amendment Act, 1922, and shall be read together with and deemed part of the Swamp Drainage Act, 1915 (hereinafter referred to as the principal Act).

The Minister of Lands may from time to time authorize the expenditure out of the Swamp Land Drainage Account established under the principal Act of any moneys required for the drainage, reclamation, roading, or otherwise rendering fit for settlement, of any area of Crown land (including national-endowment land) not being land comprised within a drainage area under that Act, and such moneys may be expended accordingly without further appropriation than this section.

Where any moneys have, prior to the passing of this Act, been expended out of the Consolidated Fund, the Public Works Fund, or any other fund or account for the purpose of rendering any area of land as aforesaid fit for settlement, and such moneys would, if this section had been then in force, have been properly payable out of the Swamp Land Drainage Account, the Minister of Lands may, if he thinks fit, authorize the transfer from the Swamp Land Drainage Account to the fund or account from which such moneys have been so expended of the amount or any portion of the amount of those moneys, and such transfer may be made accordingly without further appropriation than this section.

For the purposes of the foregoing provisions of this section the reasonable expenses of administration incurred with respect to any such works as are referred to therein shall be deemed to be moneys required or expended for the purpose of rendering land fit for settlement.

Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in any Act, the proceeds derived from the sale or lease of any national-endowment land or other Crown land, in respect of which moneys have been expended out of or transferred from the Swamp Land Drainage Account pursuant to this section, shall be paid into the Public Account to the credit of the Swamp Land Drainage Account until the moneys so expended or transferred (together with interest thereon computed at such rate as the Minister of Finance may from time to time prescribe) have been repaid, and, pending such repayment, the provisions of sections one hundred and forty-five to one hundred and fifty-one of the Land Act, 1908, and the provisions of section three hundred and nineteen of the said Act shall have no application to the said land or to any revenues received therefrom.