Vanuatu Review of National Land Legislation, Policy and ... - AusAID

i. introduced a different formula for calculation of the premium payablefor extension of the lease terms of public land (Sec. 32B(4));ii. prescribed a fee of 35% of the unimproved market value of the land atthe date of application, for an application for renewal of a 75-yearlease of public land (Sec. 32C(6));iii. imposed the same fee of 35% of the unimproved market value of theland for issue of a new lease of public land which had either neverbefore been leased, or was part of a subdivision or strata titledevelopment (Sec. 32D);iv. allowed a lessee to pay the first 5 years’ rent in advance, where therent is fixed for a 5-year period (Sec. 39A);v. provided for payment by the lessee to the lessor (ie, custom owner) ofnot less than 18% of the sale price upon transfer of a lease of ruralland, unless other arrangements have been made (Sec. 48A);vi. provided for a new “rural lease tax” of 1% of the unimproved marketvalue, payable annually by the lessee to the Government (Sec.50A);vii. increased the registration fees payable to the Government for thecreation or transfer of a lease from 2% to 6%, and for the creation ortransfer of a mortgage from 0.5% to 1.5%; 12‣ the Land Leases (Amendment) Act of 2006, which reduced the fees forcreation or transfer of a lease from 6% to 5%. 13While a number of these measures can be seen as trying to get a fairer return forcustom owners when the value of their land is increased (eg, by a subdivision orstrata title development), this is a difficult matter for governments to manage.Clearly, however, there is a need for all land revenues – rents, fees, premiums andtaxes – to be rationalised.The above three laws, the Land Reform Act, Alienated Land Act and Land LeasesAct, and the policies underlying them remain the basic land policy and legislation inVanuatu to this day. Over the next two decades there were amendments made tothose three laws, and four new laws were introduced, but no new land policies wereannounced. The main changes since 1983 are detailed below.3.2.3. Land Acquisition Act 1992Article 80 of the Constitution enabled the Government to own land acquired by it “inthe public interest”, and Art. 81 enabled the Government to buy land from customowners for the purpose of land redistribution. The Land Acquisition Act set out theprocedure for exercising the Government’s powers to acquire land in the publicinterest. The first step was a decision by the Minister that particular land was12 The amendments, although passed in 2004, were not introduced until 27 December 2006.The public notification was accompanied by much confusion and consternation, leading theMinister of Lands to issue a Public Notice, advising that the amendments “will be repealed atthe First Extraordinary Session of Parliament in 2007”. The amendments, he said, did notreflect the resolutions of the Land Summit, and the policies behind them would be revisited andanother amendment prepared.13 The 6% rate, introduced on 27 December 2006, was replaced by 5% when the newamendment came into operation on 1 January 2007, 4 days later.14