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Wednesday, May 24, 1972
MODIFICATIONS TO POLICY ON RENEWAL OF CROWN RENT
Announced Today In Legislative Council
The Colonial Secretary, the Hon. Sir Hugh Norman-Walker, announced
today in the Legislative Council a number of modifications to the policy
on renewal of Crown rent.
The modifications would be of benefit to the holders of renewable
Crown leases, he added.
He said that in proposing the modifications he had had in mind three
objectives:
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To reduce the overall burden of renewal;
To cushion the impact of the increases which even
after reduction will be necessary; and
To minimize or eliminate cases of hardship.
The Colonial Secretary explained that the first of those modifications
was that the general level of all renewal rents assessed in accordance with
the provisions of the Crown Lease would in effect be reduced by 20 per cent
from the first half-yearly payment after today.
That reduction would also be applied in the case of leases yet to
be renewed and would result in the reduction of the rate of interest used in
the calculation from five per cent to four per cent, he said.
In addition to that reduction in the level of renewal rents it had
been decided, so as to reduce even further the impact of that modified rent,
to introduce the renewal rents by gradual stages over a period of five years
from 1973, he added.
/That would