MLA backs land rights

MLA backs land rights

A Liberal MP has accused his Parliamentary colleagues of "perpetuating abominable and scandalous" State property rights laws.

Murray-Wellington MLA Murray Cowper introduced a private Members Bill in Parliament last Friday calling for an overhaul of the State's property rights laws, which he said did not adequately compensate land owners for reacquired land.

Mr Cowper said with the Bill, he hoped to entrench some common law provisions into the Land Administration Act, to ensure landowners were properly compensated for land reacquired by the State Government.

He said unlike Federal laws, the State Constitution did not have an "express provision" required for it to have the power to take property.

Mr Cowper also said under the current Act, it was up to individual Government departments to administer compensation, which did not necessarily take into account the value of the land to the land owner.

"In WA, the State's express powers to take land and give compensation are contained in parts 9 and 10 of the Land Administration Act of 1997, which generally operates in conjunction with specific legislation pertained to the relevant public purpose for example main roads, Water Corporation or a host of any other legislation," he said.

Mr Cowper said the origin of the land rights issue was a result of a "slow deterioration" of the rights of property owners.

"This was caused by a sweep of legislation that has washed across the political landscape and impacted detrimentally to a number of landowners," he said.

Mr Cowper also said about 20,000 WA landowners were affected by the legislation, with many of those living in the Murray-Wellington district.

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MLA backs land rights