NEW land acquisition laws do little to preserve the rights of would-be homeowners and residents affected by future compulsory land acquisitions, according to legal firm Slater & Gordon.
Slater & Gordon practice group leader Ben Hardwick, who has worked closely with Footscray homeowners subject to land acquisitions in 2010, said the new State Government laws could force people into accepting land as compensation instead of money, against their will.
Mr Hardwick said the new laws did not appear to provide a process of review for people who do not wish to accept land as compensation.
“Often, there is a dispute between government and the displaced property owner as to the value of the property – and fortunately there is a capacity for these disputes to be reviewed,” he said.
“However, it appears that there is no such mechanism for people who are required to accept land as payment or part payment. As cities grow, it may be necessary to consider compulsory acquisition to build or improve our roads and rail networks.
“However, the people who are in harm’s way – the people who have their lives thrown into chaos – deserve to be protected through the process.
“In our view, this is a failure to learn lessons from the ordeal that the Footscray property owners continue to deal with today.”
The new acquisition measures are specified in the Transport Legislation Amendment (Public Transport Development Authority) Act 2011, which entered into Victorian law this week.
