Labor has secured greater rights for land owners along South Road who may soon be subject to compulsory land acquisition to build a tunnel.
The Land Acquisition (Miscellaneous) Amendment Bill today passed the Parliament.
The government’s original Bill would have seen it gain the ability to confiscate underground land – at any depth – without providing a land owner or user any compensation whatsoever.
Labor’s amendments, which were agreed to by the government, will ensure that if land is acquired less than ten metres below the surface, a report from an engineer and a report on the current condition of any building on the surface must be provided to the Parliament’s Public Works Committee.
The rule will ensure the Parliament can scrutinise whether appropriate compensation is being provided and monitor any resulting damage to buildings above a tunnel.
Labor’s amendments will also see land owners with a bore entitled to compensation if their bore – at any depth – will be compromised due to compulsory acquisition of their underground land.
The new laws have been put forward ahead of the completion of the North-South Corridor between the Torrens to Torrens project and Darlington.
Liberal Treasurer Rob Lucas last week admitted that the North-South Corridor has been further delayed until 2030, missing the Liberals promised 2023 deadline.
Quotes to be attributed to the Member for Badcoe Jayne Stinson:
If your land is compulsorily acquired you should be compensated – even if that land is underground.
Many land owners along South Road in my local area use the land beneath their homes or businesses for cellars, bores, underground parking or other uses.
The removal of the right to utilise underground land also affects land sale value.
The law states that a person owns both the surface of their land and the land underground.
It’s only fair that if the government wants to take away your use of your land it should provide compensation.
I’m pleased to have identified the shortcomings of these proposed new laws and secured a much better outcome for land owners in my electorate who would have been ripped off.
I’m glad that after questioning about this Bill on the floor of Parliament, the government has realised the injustice of the proposed laws and agreed with Labor’s amendments.