THRESHING MILLS

Ashburton Guardian, Volume XLVI, Issue 10456, 24 July 1925, Page 7

THRESHING MILLS

POSITION UNDER MOTOR ACT. WELLINGTON, July ' 22. Replying to a question in the House to-day, the Hon. R. F. Bollard stated that threshing and chaff-cutting machines, unless propelled on the roads by their own power, are not considered to be motor vehicles for the purpose of the Motor Vehicles Act. If such vehicles, being owned by farmers, are propelled on roads by their own power, or are drawn upon roads by tractors or traction engines, it has been decided that they shall not be considered as motor vehicles if they are used only for the purpose of proceeding along a road to another farm or part of a farm the property of the owner of such vehicle. If, on the other hand, the vehicles are used on roads for the purpose of proceeding to farms of other persons, to be used thereon, or if tractors or traction engines are used for the purpose of carrying goods- to or from a railway station or port, then they are held to be motor vehicles within the meaning of the Act, and must be registered and licensed accordingly. A motor vehicle which does not use the roads, but is used wholly on a farm, is not a motor vehicle within the meaning of the Act. Mr J. Bitchener (Waitaki) protested against the policy outlined in the Minister's reply, as placing an unfairtax on farmers which they were not able to pass on, but had to pay themsolves. The Minister of Public Works (the Hon. J. G. Coates) said it was possible some injustice might occur. It had been intended that when threshing machines were gravelling by road for the purpose of carrying out threshing work, they should be exempted. The Department was endeavouring to effect some solution of the difficulty so far as threshing machines were concerned. The section in the Act would probably have to be overhauled making exemption possible where machines were used for chaff-cutting and threshing.