Editing Eminent domain (section)

== Oceania ==

===Australia===
{{Main|Section 51(xxxi) of the Australian Constitution}}

In Australia, section 51(xxxi) of the [[Constitution of Australia|Australian Constitution]] permits the [[Parliament of Australia|Commonwealth Parliament]] to make laws with respect to "the acquisition of property on just terms from any State or person for any purpose in respect of which the Parliament has power to make laws."<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/cth/consol_act/coaca430/s51.html/ |title=COMMONWEALTH OF AUSTRALIA CONSTITUTION ACT - SECT 51 Legislative powers of the Parliament &#91;see Notes 10 and 11&#93; |access-date=2009-09-24 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090411044012/http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/cth/consol_act/coaca430/s51.html |archive-date=2009-04-11 }}</ref> This has been construed as meaning that just compensation may not always include monetary or proprietary recompense, rather it is for the court to determine what is just. It may be necessary to imply a need for compensation in the interests of justice, lest the law be invalidated.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/cases/cth/HCA/1941/20.html/ |title=''Andrews v Howell'' (1941) 65 CLR 255 |website=Austlii.edu.au |access-date=2016-08-08}}</ref>

Property subject to resumption is not restricted to real estate as authority from the [[Federal Court of Australia|Federal Court]] has extended the states' power to resume property to any form of physical property.{{Citation needed|date=September 2009}} For the purposes of section 51(xxxi), money is not property that may be compulsorily acquired.{{Citation needed|date=September 2009}}

The Commonwealth must also derive some benefit from the property acquired, that is, the Commonwealth can "only legislate for the acquisition of Property for particular purposes".<ref>Australian Constitutional Commission, ''Final Report of the Constitutionali Commission'' vol 1 (Canberra: Australian Government Publishing Service, 1988): 600. {{ISBN|0-644-06897-3}}.</ref> Accordingly, the power does not extend to allow legislation designed merely to seek to extinguish the previous owner's title.{{citation needed|date=July 2017}} The states and territories' powers of resumption on the other hand are not so limited. The section 43(1) of the Lands Acquisition Act 1998 (NT) grants the Minister the power to acquire land 'for any purpose whatever'.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/nt/consol_act/laa192/s43.html/ |title=LANDS ACQUISITION ACT - SECT 43 Acquisition generally |access-date=2011-01-14 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150423143837/http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/nt/consol_act/laa192/s43.html |archive-date=2015-04-23 }}</ref> The High Court of Australia interpreted this provision literally, relieving the Territory government of any public purpose limitation on the power.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/cases/cth/HCA/2008/20.html/ |title=Griffiths v Minister for Lands, Planning and Environment [2008&#93; HCA 20 (15 May 2008) |website=Austlii.edu.au |access-date=2016-08-08}}</ref> This finding permitted the Territory government to acquire land subject to Native Title, effectively extinguishing the Native Title interest in the land. Kirby J in dissent, along with a number of commentators, viewed this as a missed opportunity to comment on the exceptional nature of powers of resumption exercised in the absence of a public purpose limitation.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Reale |first=Andreana |title=Assisted Theft: Compulsory land acquisition for private benefit in Australia and the US |journal=Alternative Law Journal |volume=34 |issue=3 |pages=147–51 |publisher=Legal Service Bulletin Co-operative Ltd |location=Melbourne |year=2009 |doi=10.1177/1037969X0903400301 |s2cid=152726985 |url=http://www.altlj.org/index.php?option=Articles&task=viewarticle&artid=69#1}}</ref>

The term ''resumption'' is a reflection of the fact that, as a matter of Australian law, all land was originally owned by [[the Crown]] before it was sold, leased or granted<ref>Samantha J. Hepburn, ''Principles of Property Law'', 2nd ed. (Newport, NSW: Cavendish, 2001):45-46. {{ISBN|1-876905-08-5}}.</ref> and that, through the act of compulsory acquisition, the Crown is "resuming" possession.

=== New Zealand ===

In New Zealand, the Public Works Act 1981 outlines the powers of the state in relation to land used for public purposes. Under Section 16 of the Public Works Act 1981 the Minister is "empowered to acquire under this Act any land required for a Government work". Local government authorities (such as City or District councils) are also empowered under the same section to acquire land for "local work for which it has financial responsibility."<ref>{{cite web |url=http://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1981/0035/latest/DLM45776.html |title=Public Works Act 1981 (NZ Legislation Website) |author=<!--Not stated-->}}</ref>