§ Dr. David ClarkTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food whether he has any plans to provide money to the Land Settlement Association's tenants who did not benefit from the litigation settlement; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. GummerI have no such plans. Legal advice clearly indicates that those tenants who were not party to the litigation are not entitled to receive any money as a result of the settlement.
§ Dr. David ClarkTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will make a statement about the sale of the Land Settlement Association headquarters, including the date of sale, the amount the building was sold for; what proportion of this money has been given to the Land Settlement Association's central reserve fund; and what proportion has been used in the litigation settlement with Land Settlement Association tenants.
§ Mr. GummerThe headquarters building of the Land Settlement Association Ltd. was the company's private property and the Ministry was not entitled to receive any money arising from the disposal of the building. I believe that the building was sold in August 1985, but I have no information about the sale price. None of the proceeds of the sale were transferred to the Land Settlement Association's general reserve fund or used in the litigation settlement.
§ Dr. David ClarkTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will make a statement about the814W Land Settlement Association central reserve fund, including the amount that was in the fund at the end of each of the past five financial years; whether money in this fund has been used in the litigation settlement to Land Settlement Association tenants; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. GummerThe Land Settlement Association general reserve was created in October 1951 as a reserve against losses on the revenue account. Three appropriations were made over the years for that purpose. At the end of March 1982 the funds in the general reserve amounted to £236,277. This money was then absorbed into the revenue appropriation account and the deficit suspense account to cover some of the accumulated losses. The general reserve was nil on 1 April 1983 and no funds have been transferred into it since then. No money from the general reserve has been used to fund the settlement of litigation with Land Settlement Association tenants. Full details are contained in the reports and accounts for the year ended 31 March 1983 and for the nine months ended 31 December 1983 submitted to my Department by the Land Settlement Association Ltd. I am placing a copy of these in the Library of the House.