NBR
Land Information New Zealand (Linz) will close its public counters reduce the number of processing centres and eliminate 112 processing jobs, as part of government plans to phase out paper-based land transactions.
Land Information Minister Pete Hodgson this week announced the electronic Landonline system will be enhanced to enable all survey and land title transactions to be lodged electronically.
By July l, 2008, surveyors and conveyancers will be required to use Landonline to lodge all transactions.
Mr Hodgson described the changes as 'positive for people buying, selling and subdividing property.'
Members of the public wishing to obtain a copy of a title or survey plan could do so via other providers or via the internet. Linz was also developing and consulting on a strategy to manage access to its core paper records before the 2008 deadline he said.
Linz chief executive Brendan Boyle said new titles would be issued faster under the new system.
Linz would begin consulting staff and the Public Service Association on the implications of moving to 100% electronic lodgement, Mr Boyle said.
'With fewer paper lodgements, the volume of manual processing work will decrease significantly. We are looking at reducing 112 Positions with most being gradually phased out over the next three years.
'A smaller workforce means we will no longer require five regional processing centres. Long term we are proposing to retain two processing centres, in Hamilton and Christchurch. By 2015 we expect to have closed Dunedin, Wellington and Auckland centres.'
Linz staff and the PSA were briefed this week on the changes.
Linz processes around 17,500 title and survey transactions a week through the electronic Landonline system. Progressive improvements to Landonline since it was introduced in 2000, have enabled conveyancers and surveyors to access land information and to lodge most of their transactions remotely.
In December 2005, about 22% of title lodgements, and 37% of survey transactions were lodged electronically.
Mr Boyle said continuing to run both a paper and an electronic system was uneconomic and more costly for customers.
A spokesman said that if Linz continued with the current system it would require $61.7 million over 15 Years. But moving to electronic lodgement would require only $50.7 million a saving of $11 million.
The electronic lodgement system would be phased in starting with discharges on May 1, 2007, transfers and mortgages on August 1, 2007, survey transactions on September 1 2007, and all remaining title transactions, on July 1 2008.
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