Whereas—

Part 1

Rates validation

Lyttelton Borough Council

• (a) the Lyttelton Borough Council resolved on 22 July 1988 to make and levy a differential general rate on the annual value of every rateable property within its district for the year ended with 31 March 1989:

• (b) the general rate exceeded in that year the sum of 18 cents in the dollar on the annual value, in breach of section 136 of the Local Government Act 1974:

• (c) it is desirable to validate the making, levying and collection of that general rate:

Wairewa County Council

• (d) by resolution dated 9 June 1989 the Wairewa County Council resolved to give public notice in terms of section 52 of the Rating Act 1967 of its intention to make and levy a certain general rate at its meeting to be held on 21 July 1989:

• (e) public notice of the Wairewa County Council's intention to make and levy the general rate and to add 10% additional charges on unpaid rates, on the dates specified in the notice, was given in The Press on 28 June 1989:

• (f) by resolution dated 21 July 1989 the Wairewa County Council purported to make and levy pursuant to sections 136 and 143 of the Local Government Act 1974 a general rate of 0.8084 cents in the dollar on the capital value of all rateable property within the County for the year ended with 31 March 1990:

• (g) by virtue of the Rating Powers Act 1988, all of the provisions referred to in the resolutions of 9 June 1989 and 21 July 1989 had been repealed at the time the resolutions were made:

• (h) notwithstanding that the Wairewa County Council did not resolve to prescribe additional charges to be added to unpaid rates in accordance with section 132 of the Rating Powers Act 1988, additional charges of 10% were added to so much of the first, second, and third instalments of rates as remained unpaid after 19 June 1989, 19 October 1989 and 19 February 1990 respectively:

• (i) it is desirable to validate the making, levying and collection of the general rate and the addition of additional charges:

Akaroa County Council

• (j) by resolution dated 4 August 1989 the Akaroa County Council resolved to give public notice of its intention to make and levy certain rates for the year ended with 31 March 1990:

• (k) public notice of the Akaroa County Council's intention to make and levy the following rates and levy for the year ended with 31 March 1990 was given in The Press on 5 August 1989:

  • (i) a general rate pursuant to section 175 of the Local Government Amendment Act (No 3) 1977 on the capital value of all rateable property in the rural ridings of the County of 1.0394 cents in the dollar:

  • (ii) a separate rate pursuant to section 143 of the Local Government Act (No 3) 1977 (Pigeon Bay Hall) on the capital value of all rateable property in the riding of Pigeon Bay of 0.0126 cents in the dollar:

  • (iii) a consolidated rate pursuant to section 175 of the Local Government Amendment Act (No 3) 1977 on the land value of all rateable property in the Akaroa riding of 1.9857 cents in the dollar made up as follows:

    • ––a general rate pursuant to section 139 of the Local Government Act (No 3) 1977 of 1.7067 cents in the dollar; and

    • ––a separate sewerage rate pursuant to section 143(c) of the Local Government Amendment Act (No 3) 1977 and the Sanitation Bylaw 1965 of 0.279 cents in the dollar:

  • (iv) a sanitation levy pursuant to section 162 of the Local Government Amendment Act (No 3) 1977, the Akaroa County Council Empowering Act 1962 and the Sanitation Bylaw 1965 of $45 per water closet connected to the Akaroa urban drainage area with the proviso that where a dwelling used solely for residential purposes has 2 or more pans the charge for the second or additional pans shall be $15:

• (l) the public notice also stated that an additional charge of 10% pursuant to section 132 of the Rating Powers Act 1988 shall be added to all outstanding rates (including the sanitation levy) remaining unpaid in respect of instalments 1, 2, and 3 after 15 June 1989, 15 October 1989, and 15 February 1990 respectively:

• (m) the public notice also stated that a minimum rate to be struck on any property shall be $11.19 pursuant to section 109(2) of the Rating Powers Act 1988:

• (n) there was no resolution passed by the Akaroa County Council on 28 August 1989 in terms of the public notice, and therefore the rates and levy were not made and the additional charges were not prescribed:

• (o) all references to the Local Government Amendment Act (No 3) 1977 and the Local Government Act (No 3) 1977 in the public notice and in the earlier resolution were incorrect references to provisions which had been repealed by the Rating Powers Act 1988:

• (p) the minimum rate specified in the public notice exceeded $10, in breach of section 109(2) of the Rating Powers Act 1988:

• (q) there is doubt whether the Akaroa County Council was empowered to levy more than 1 additional sanitation levy on residential properties:

• (r) it is desirable to validate the levying and collection of the rates and levy by the Akaroa County Council in the year ended with 31 March 1990, and to validate the minimum rate of $11.19, and the addition of additional charges in that year:

Banks Peninsula District Council

• (s) to the extent that the validity of any rates levied by the Banks Peninsula District Council under the provisions of Part 1 of the Local Government Reform (Transitional Provisions) Act 1990 may have been affected by the invalidity of the rates and levies made in the previous year by the Wairewa County Council and the Akaroa County Council, it is desirable that those rates be validated:

• (t) clause 148 of the Local Government (Canterbury Region) Reorganisation Order 1989 provided that the system of rating in the Banks Peninsula District was to be the capital value system, provided that, until 30 June 1992, the system in the area of the former Lyttelton Borough was to be the annual value system, and the system in those parts of the former Akaroa County in which the rates were made and collected on the land value system, was to be the land value system:

• (u) by resolution dated 28 November 1990, the Banks Peninsula District Council purported to make and levy differential general rates for the year ended with 30 June 1991 in the area of the former Lyttelton Borough, in accordance with the system of differential rating in force in that area immediately before 1 November 1989, as follows:

  • —18.165 cents in the dollar on the annual value of industrial properties; and

  • —16.258 cents in the dollar on the annual value of commercial properties; and

  • —10.782 cents in the dollar on the annual value of residential properties:

• (v) by that resolution dated 28 November 1990, the Banks Peninsula District Council also purported to make and levy the following general rates for the year ended with 30 June 1991:

  • —1.5415 cents in the dollar of land value on all separately rateable properties in the area of the Akaroa ward in which the Council was required to rate on land value (Akaroa Township); and

  • —0.9463 cents in the dollar on the capital value of all separately rateable properties in the balance of the Akaroa ward (Akaroa rural); and

  • —0.6961 cents in the dollar on the capital value of all separately rateable properties in the Wairewa ward; and

  • —0.3134 cents in the dollar on the capital value of all separately rateable properties within the area of the former Mount Herbert County—

  and a uniform annual general charge of $150 on every separately rateable property within the area of the former Mount Herbert County:

• (w) by resolution dated 26 February 1992, the Banks Peninsula District Council purported to make and levy a differential general rate for the year ended with 30 June 1992 in the area of the former Lyttelton Borough, in accordance with the system of differential rating in force in that area immediately before 1 November 1989, as follows:

  • —16.80607 cents in the dollar on the annual value of each industrial property; and

  • —16.14531 cents in the dollar on the annual value of each commercial property; and

  • —10.78388 cents in the dollar on the annual value of each residential property:

• (x) by that resolution dated 26 February 1992, the Banks Peninsula District Council also purported to make and levy the following general rates for the year ended with 30 June 1992:

  • —1.5435 cents in the dollar on the land value of all separately rateable property in the area of the Akaroa ward in which the Council was required to rate on land value (Akaroa Township); and

  • —0.932089 cents in the dollar on the capital value of all separately rateable property in the balance of the Akaroa ward (Akaroa rural); and

  • ––0.69692 cents in the dollar on the capital value of all separately rateable property in the Wairewa ward; and

  • ––0.307168 cents in the dollar on the capital value of all separately rateable property in the area of the former Mount Herbert County—

  and a uniform annual general charge of $150 on every rateable property in the area of the former Mount Herbert County:

• (y) notwithstanding clause 148 of the Local Government (Canterbury Region) Reorganisation Order 1989, the making and levying of different general rates in different parts of the district for the years ended with 30 June 1991 and 30 June 1992, was contrary to section 12 of the Rating Powers Act 1988:

• (z) the making and levying of a uniform annual general charge only in the area of the former Mount Herbert County for the years ended with 30 June 1991 and 30 June 1992 was contrary to section 19 of the Rating Powers Act 1988:

• (za) it is desirable that the general rates and uniform annual general charges made and levied by the Banks Peninsula District Council for the years ended with 30 June 1991 and 30 June 1992, be validated:

Part 2

Governors Bay water and sewerage

• (zb) by requisition dated 22 April 1986, the Board of Health pursuant to section 25(2) of the Health Act 1956, required the Mount Herbert County Council to provide water and sewerage schemes at Governors Bay:

• (zc) the Mount Herbert County Council (Lump Sum Contributions) Empowering Act 1987 (hereinafter referred to as the Act) gave the Mount Herbert County Council wider powers to invite lump sum contributions than existed at that time under the Local Government Act 1974:

• (zd) the powers to invite lump sum contributions under the Act applied to any waterworks within a water supply area constituted under section 377 of the Local Government Act 1974, or to any drainage works within an urban drainage area constituted under section 443 of that Act:

• (ze) by special orders resolved on 17 February 1988 and confirmed on 16 March 1988, the Mount Herbert County Council altered the boundaries of the Governors Bay urban drainage area, and constituted the Governors Bay water supply area:

• (zf) the urban drainage area and the water supply area were defined by reference to a plan, drawing number 4708/2 prepared by E R Garden & Partners Limited dated 17 August 1984, but subject to the exclusion of certain specified properties:

• (zg) 2 properties excluded from the urban drainage area were included in the water supply area, but otherwise the areas were identical:

• (zh) by special order resolved on 17 February 1988 and confirmed on 16 March 1988, the Mount Herbert County Council resolved to raise a special loan of $1,900,000, to be known as the Governors Bay Water and Sewerage Loan 1988, to provide reticulated water and sewerage services in the Governors Bay area:

• (zi) contrary to section 26 of the Local Authorities Loans Act 1956, the special order to raise the special loan omitted to specify the amount applicable to the Governors Bay water scheme and the amount applicable to the Governors Bay sewerage scheme, notwithstanding that the two schemes were otherwise treated as separate purposes by the Mount Herbert County Council, and were to be secured over areas of the county which were not identical:

• (zj) on 28 March 1988, in reliance on the Act, the Mount Herbert County Council resolved to invite lump sum capital contributions in respect of the waterworks and sewerage works, and to fund so much of the capital costs as was not met by the lump sum capital contributions by uniform annual charges on separately habitable lots:

• (zk) approximately 104 properties elected the lump sum contribution option in respect of the waterworks, and 105 properties elected the lump sum contribution option in respect of the sewerage works:

• (zl) in December 1988 the Mount Herbert County Council raised $950,000 of the Governors Bay Water and Sewerage Loan 1988 by a subscription of stock which matured on 1 December 1990:

• (zm) since the maturity of the initial issue of stock, the Banks Peninsula District Council has financed the sum raised by way of overdraft until 25 March 1992, and subsequently by way of a 90-day commercial bill facility:

• (zn) the means by which funds have been raised under the purported authority of the Governors Bay Water and Sewerage Loan 1988 since 1 December 1990 are contrary to the provisions of the Local Authorities Loans Act 1956 and the determinations of the Local Authorities Loans Board under that Act:

• (zo) following the alteration of the residential zone boundary in Governors Bay, residential properties outside the urban drainage area and the water supply area have connected to the completed schemes, and properties outside the areas are capable of being developed as residential properties and of connecting to the schemes:

• (zp) it is desirable that provision be made to authorise contributions, either by uniform annual charges or lump sum contributions to the original capital costs of the water supply and sewerage schemes from those properties benefiting or capable of benefiting from the schemes, but outside the original urban drainage area and water supply area:

• (zq) it is desirable that all prior and existing arrangements to fund the existing water and sewerage schemes at Governors Bay be validated:

• (zr) as all matters initially authorised by the Act are now authorised by the Rating Powers Act 1988, it is desirable that the Act be repealed:

Part 3

Removal of trusts

• (zs) the Banks Peninsula District Council holds certain land in Lyttelton “in trust as and for the sites for public buildings for the use and benefit of the inhabitants of the Borough of Lyttelton and upon trust to use and occupy the same when and so long as the same or any part thereof shall not be built upon for general municipal purposes”:

• (zt) the Banks Peninsula District Council has determined that certain of the land subject to the trust will not be required to be built upon for public purposes and has been leased for private residential, commercial and other purposes unrelated to the activities of the Council:

• (zu) some lessees of the land wish to acquire freehold title:

• (zv) the Lyttelton Borough Council, and subsequently the Banks Peninsula District Council, in respect of certain of the land subject to the trust, entered into transactions which were in breach of the trust and unlawful:

• (zw) it is desirable that certain lands be freed from the trust and that transactions in breach of the trust be validated:

Part 4

Repeal of Lyttelton Borough Extension Act 1911

• (zx) the Lyttelton Borough Extension Act 1911 and its amendments authorised the Lyttelton Borough Council to acquire land on the south side of Lyttelton harbour (at Diamond Harbour) to enable the Borough to expand:

• (zy) the Lyttelton Borough Extension Amendment Act 1915 contains specific provisions authorising and regulating the development of the land at Diamond Harbour for residential purposes:

• (zz) it is desirable that the Lyttelton Borough Extension Act 1911 and its amendments be repealed, as all matters initially authorised by those Acts are now authorised by general Acts of Parliament.