NEW BILLS THIS WEEK

Press, Volume LXXIII, Issue 22250, 15 November 1937, Page 10

NEW BILLS THIS WEEK

SHORTER LIFE FOR

PARLIAMENT

RELIEF FROM GRADUATED

LAND TAX

DEVELOPMENT OF OIL

INDUSTRY

IFrom Our Parliamentary Reporter.]

WELLINGTON, November 14,

Several new Government bills are likely to make their appearance in the House of Representatives during the coming week. An indication of the future legislative programme was given in an interview on Saturday by the Prime Minister (the Rt. Hon. M. J. Savage), who said that measures which it was desired to pass before the House rose for the Christmas recess would be brought down as rapidly as they could be obtained from the Law Draftsman and the Government Printer.

The Prime Minister said he hoped to be able to have the Electoral Amendment Bill introduced to-morrow, when the first Monday sitting of the session will be held. This measure provides for the restoration of threeyear Parliaments and also extends the benefits of a secret ballot to Maori voters.

The Finance Bill was also expected during the week, Mr Savage said. It would contain the usual long list of miscellaneous clauses, including one providing for relief of hardship in cases where the graduated land tax was found to be operating unfairly. "We also hope to be able to bring down a bill dealing with oil prospecting,", the Prime Minister said. "This measure has been prepared by the Minister for Mines (the Hon. P. C. Webb) and is regarded as being essential for the possible development of the oil industry in New Zealand." State Ownership

From remarks that have been made it is gathered that the bill will follow the lines of legislation passed recently in Great Britain and in several of the Australian States, vesting in the State ownership of all oil deposits discovered in New Zealand.. Private interests will probably be encouraged to prospect for oil and to Work any deposits which are discovered on the payment of royalties to the State. This procedure has been designed to prevent large claims from property owners such as have been common in the United States.

A thorough overhaul of the education system in the Dominion has been planned by the Minister for Education (the Hon. P. Fraser), who has had the assistance of a committee of Government members in framing the proposals. However, Mr Savage stated on Saturday that Mr Fraser had informed him that it was doubtful if these proposals could be presented in legislative form during the first part of the session.

The Prime Minister also stated that if there was any delay in the hearing of evidence on the Local Government (Amalgamation Schemes) Bill, consideration of that measure might have to be postponed until next year. In some quarters there is a belief that the Government will soon bring down a bill requiring all political articles in newspapers to be signed by the writers, but the. Prime Minister was not disposed to discuss this point on Saturday. There are grounds for believing that there is a fairly sharp division of opinion among the Government members regarding any proposal to impose restrictions on the press and there is still no definite undertaking that such a measure will be introduced.