AGY-4959 | Royal Commission on Administration of Lands Department

Full description

The Royal Commission on the Administration of the Lands Department was appointed on 1 May 1905 to inquire into the following matters: i) the applications made by Sarah Reuben Sims, Alice Sims, Reuben Simpson Sims, Thomas Moore Sims, Harold Sims, and Stephenson William Sims to convert their Settlement Leases into Improvement Leases, and also into the Administration of the Lands Department in connection therewith;
ii) the purchase of the Myall Creek Estate by the Government and into the Administration of the Lands Department in connection therewith;
iii) in connection with each of the aforesaid matters, to inquire whether on the part of anyone there has been interference, or attempt at interference with the purity of Parliamentary or Departmental action;
iv) and to inquire generally into the said matters in so far as I might deem it conduct of any official or person connected therewith;
v) to inquire into and report generally upon the matter of the work of Land Agents in connection with applications for and dealings with Crown Lands under the Crown Lands Acts, and into the fees and charges in connection therewith, and also to report generally upon the best method of regulating the work of such agents, and their fees and charges therefore. (1) Sir William Owen was appointed Commissioner on 1 May 1905 and was empowered to recommend the extension of his terms of Commission to cover any matter involving the purity of the administration of the Department of Lands deemed desirable in the public interest. (2) On 29 May 1905, the Commission was extended to include an inquiry into the lodgement and disposal of applications for Improvement Leases, and on 20 July 1905 the Commission was further extended to include Exchanges of Crown Lands under the provision of section 47 of the Crown Lands Act of 1895. (3) On 27 July 1905, an Act to give the Commissioner certain powers of a Judge of the Supreme Court (Act No.4, 1905) received assent. (4) The Commission sat for ninety-three days and examined 251 witnesses. The Commissioner concluded: i) that of the sums received by Mr Close, as Land Agent, in respect of matters then being dealt with by the Minister for Lands, Mr Crick accepted one-half, but that no officer of the Department received any money from Mr Close; ii) that it is desirable to place the administration of the Lands Department in the hands of a Board of Commissioners in order to free it from political influence; iii) that Land Agents should be registered and placed under the control of the Land Appeal Court; iv) the Government made a reasonable bargain in the purchase of the Myall Creek Estate; v) Mr Crick’s policy on Improvement Leases in the Western Central Division was justifiable but land suitable for settlement should not have been locked up for so long; vi) land fit for settlement should have been thrown open for settlement, in adequate areas, after the one-third of the expired leasehold had been granted to the pastoralists, and should not have been granted as Improvement Leases; vii) much of the land granted as Improvement Leases was not within section 26 of the Act of 1895; viii) in order to supply the demand for agricultural land, all unnecessary reserves should be cancelled; purchases of private lands should, as far as practicable, be effected under the “Closer Settlement Act; and every encouragement given to the subdivision and sale of private estates by the owners”; ix) special experiments should be made with bore water to ascertain the best method of applying it to agriculture because of dry seasons and drought; x) the question of irrigation and light railways should be determined without delay, in order to bring about closer settlement; xi) the conservation of water that now runs to waste in good seasons, deserves the most serious consideration of the Government. (5) The Commissioner’s interim report was submitted to the Governor on 23 May 1906. (6) The final report of the Commissioner was submitted to the Governor on 17 May 1907. The Attorney General had decided not to proceed further in the matter of the trial of Mr Crick and Mr Willis in connection with matters arising out of the interim report due to the failure of the jury to agree. No further information had been received since the submission of the interim report. Hence the Commissioner submitted his final report and closed the Commission. (7) The interim report had dealt with many suggestions and recommendations which arose from the inquiry including the matter of improvement leases. The Improvement Leases Cancellation Act, 1906 (Act No.42, 1906) gave effect to the conclusions drawn in the Royal Commission on the Administration of the Lands Department. Those leases were cancelled under that Act and were listed in the Government Gazette and the Improvement Leases Board was appointed to inquire into the applications of the former lessees. (8) ENDNOTES
1. Report of the Royal Commission on Administration of Lands Department, Votes and Proceedings of the Legislative Assembly, 1906, vol.2, p5.
2. loc. cit.
3. loc. cit.
4. Section 3, Lands Commission Act (Act No.4, 1905); The Lands Commission (Amendment) Act (No.11, 1905) further extended the powers of the Commissioner to be a Court of Record.
5. Report of the Royal Commission on Administration of Lands Department, pp74-75 in Votes and Proceedings of the Legislative Assembly, 1906, vol.2, pp78-79.
6. Ibid.
7. Final Report of the Royal Commission on Administration of Lands Department, in NSW Parliamentary Papers, First Session, 1907, Vol. 1, pp.3-4.
8. Ibid. and NSW Government Gazette, (No.27), 27 February 1907, pp.1463-1465.