POLITICAL NOTES

Press, Volume XLIV, Issue 19401, 29 August 1928, Page 10

POLITICAL NOTES

[THB PBESB Special Strrlct.] WELLINGTON, August 28. ojicenslng BilL The eagerly awaited Licensing Amendment Bill will probably be introduced into the House of Representatives next week, according to a statement made by the Prime Minister, Mr Coates, to-day, in reply to a question by tho Leader of the Opposition (Mr H. E. Holland). Mentioning that the House was now well past the middle of the session, Mr Holland asked the Prime Minister to give an assurance that the Bill would be brought down on a date which would not involve delay in the printing of ballot and other papers, should the Bill as passed require alterations to be mado in them for the coming polls. "I* can assure the House that the Bill will be brought down, and that Parliament will have an opportunity of dealing with it in ample time to allow of any such alterations being mado, should the measure be passed," replied the Prime Minister. "It is possible that the Bill will be introduced next week. That is as near a date as I can give the Leader of the Opposition." Hospital Levies. I

"Legislation this session dealing with the incidence of levies made by Hospital Boards on local authorities is not contemplated," said the Minister for Health (the Hon. Mr Young) in the House of Bepresentatives to-day, when replying to a question by Mr T. AI. Wilford (Hutt). Mr Wilford stated that during recent years the contributions paid by the Lower Hutt Borough Council had increased by 100 per cent., and now were represented by £4BOO per annum. He asked the Minister whether he had any scheme whereby every contributing authority would have more direct representation on Hospital Boards, and whether he proposed this session to introduce legislation to relieve the local bodies from the heavy burdens they had to bear through the payment of hospital levies. The Minister replied that it was not intended to bring down a Bill on tho subject this session. If the local authorities did not like the work of collecting the levies, the obvious reply would be to make the hospital boards rating authorities, but that suggestion appeared to him to be undesirable, as its adoption would make* for a multiplicity of the machinery for rating. The Ministe# pointed out that if there were any complaints the local people had themselves to blame as the hospital board representatives were returned by the same electors who elected the local authorities. He had asked the Municipal Association and the Counties Association to confer and agree upon some basis of levies, and if that agreement was reached he would be glad to ask Cabinet's approval for the necessary legislation.

Questions. Mr H. E. Holland (Bnller) to-day gave notice to ask the Minister for Finance whether he had seen a cabled statement in the Press to tlie effect that the £5,000,000 4J per cent, bonds issued at £94 10s in May, have appreciated in price to £97 10s, representing an increase of £150,000 on the price of issue, and whether he does not consider this fact to constitute proof that the price of issue was altogether too low. Mr Sidey (Dunedin South) is to.aak: the Minister for Defence whether, having regard to the fact .that the aero-, dromes at Auckland and Ohristchurch are available for the use of aeroplane clubs in these centres, he will , grant subsidies to clubs in other centres for the purpose of'the acquisition of suitable sites for aerodromes, subject to such conditions as he niay think fit to impose as to the availability of such sites for the purposes of the Defence Department.