Legislation For Session Outlined

Press, Volume XCVIII, Issue 28930, 25 June 1959, Page 14

Legislation For Session Outlined

(New Zealand Press Association) WELLINGTON, June 24. A bill to revise the criminal code is included in the legislation to be introduced by the Government in the House of Representatives during this session. This was said in the Speech from the Throne read by the GovernorGeneral (Lord Cobham) this afternoon. / Another measure will be a bill designed tqf' control’ the activities of unit pr inyestment trusts. The Governor-General said:— In the period since I last addressed you, there has been much in the international field to arouse the disquiet of my advisers. In particular, there have been moments of special crisis in three vital regions of the world —the straits of Formosa, the Middle East, and Berlin. In declarations of its position, my Government has stressed the dangerous possibilities of all three situations and the need to settle them by peaceful means. My Government is convinced of the need for a conference at the highest level of representatives of those States whose actions so greatly affect the fate of all mankind. It is hopeful that at such a meeting it will be possible, above all, to make some progress towards disarmament, and to meet the manifest longing of people everywhere for relief from the burden of armaments and the threat of war. New Zealand has continued in the United Nations to urge the need for early agreement on a broad programme of controlled disarmament While there has been regrettably little progress towards this vital objective, the nuclear Powers have accepted the view that an agreement for the cessation of nuclear weapons tests, with adequate inspection measures, would have value as a first, separate step. An agreement on this basis has been consistently advocated by my Ministers. Negotiations towards this end have been in progress for several months, and my Ministers feel that their recent course gives ground for encouragement Foreign Relations My Government has continued policies based on active support for the United Nations, close cooperation with other countries of th 3 Commonwealth, and participation in measures designed to assist the economic and social development of South-east Asian countries. It has sought to strengthen the links with its partners in the A-N.Z.U.S. Treaty and the South-east Asia Treaty Organisation, the development of New Zealand’s economic relations with other countries, and the advancement of the peoples of the Pacific islands for whose welfare it is responsible. Within the United Nations, my Government is at present devoting particular attention to the work of the Economic and Social Council, to which New Zealand wa.. last year elected for a threeyear term. Within the Commonwealth, my Government has endeavoured to extend the procedures of consultation and personal contact which are a special feature of the relationship. It has established diplomatic posts in India and the Federation of Malaya, and a trade commission in the West Indies. It has continued to participate actively in the operation of the Colombo Plan. My Prime Minister attended the meeting of the Colombo Plan Consultative Committee in Seattle, and both within that forum and in the United Nations General Assembly has indicated the importance which my Government places upon international action to deal with the problems of poverty and hunger. My Prime Minister also attended a meeting of the A.N.Z.U.S. Council in Washington, and in February of this year visited in response to an invita-

tion extended by the Government of that country after the Japanese Premier’s visit to New Zealand late in 1957.

In April last my Prime Minister acted as chairman of the fifth meeting, held here in Wellington, of the Council of Foreign Ministers of S.E.A.T.O. This was the first international conference of such dimensions to be held in our country.

My Government has continued to watch closely the implications for New Zealand of economic integration in Europe and the effects on New Zealand’s trade and economic relations of policies of agricultural protection which result in impediments to the trade of efficient producers. Trade Promotion As part of a vigorous trade promotion policy, my Government has entered into formal trade arrangements with Japan and the Federal Republic of Germany, and has revised the 1932 agreement with the United Kingdom. My Government has taken important action bearing upon the future of Western Samoa. It has outlined a programme for the final stages of the constitutional advancement of the territory, and this has been endorsed by a special trusteeship mission of the United Nations. Legislation will be introduced this session to enable the establishment on October 1 of this year of a form of cabinet government in Western Samoa. It is my intention to proceed in H.M.N.Z.S. Royalist next month on a visit to Western Samoa, the Cook Islands, including Niue, and the Tokelau group. My wife and I look forward with keen anticipation and pleasure to this opportunity of meeting the peoples of those territories, whose fine qualities have won for them such high regard, and of seeing for ourselves those islands of the Pacific so justly famed for their natural beauty and fruitfulness of soil.

In October next my Government will be represented at a conference on the Antarctic which will meet in Washington. It is hopeful that agreement will be possible on arrangements which will keep Antarctica free of political rivalries, while ensuring to all countries free access for peaceful purposes. Units of our scientific and exploration personnel continue to support New Zealand activities in the area. Armed Services

In pursuance of its policy of maintaining, in close association with our allies, a proper contribution towards the collective defence of our way of life, my Government is proceeding with plans to re-equip our armed forces with modern ships, aircraft, and weapons. A second regular battalion of the New Zealand Regiment is at present undergoing training in preparation for the relief later this year of the battalion now serving in Malaya. Our air force squadron in that area has been re-equipped, and is now operational in its new role.

A Ministry of Civil Defence has been established as a precautionary measure to ensure adequate preparation against unnecessary death, injury, or widespread dislocation of our national life in the event of an emergency. The rehabilitation of our former servicemen is. in general, nearing completion, but my Government intends to continue its efforts in this direction as long as the need is present. The rates of certain war pensions and allowances have been further increased during the last year, and some relaxation provided as regards means test requirements. The state of our national economy, as compared with the position when I last addressed iyou, has been strengthened ap-

preciably, and the outlook is more encouraging now than at any time during the last two years.

The improved balance evident in our external position is in no small degree attributable to the corrective measures adopted by my Government last year, which brought the volume of imports into more realistic alignment with our current earnings, and which made suitable adjustments to the level of internal demand. The increase in New Zealand’s reserves of overseas exchange during the year has arisen from borrowing undertaken by my Government to mitigate the disturbing adverse movement in our terms of trade. This recovery, and the improved prospects tor the immediate future, should permit a substantial reduction tn the amount of overseas borrowing during the current year, together with the continued easing of import controls as circumstances permit. In the determination of economic policy, my Government will continue to pursue the objective of increased production, both for local consumption and for export, in order to maintain our living standards and to provide full employment for our increasing population. This involves a vigorous policy of national development, for which adequate loan finance is essential if recourse to taxation revenue is to be avoided

Estimates of expenditure will, in due course, be placed before you for your consideration.

Land Development

My Government is continuing its land development and settlement policy and programme, and financial assistance will be available on a liberal scale to farmers on marginal land to assist in making their holdings economic. Appropriate steps will be taken to guard against undue aggregation of farm land.

The improving prospects overseas for our primary produce give no ground for complacency, and these industries must adapt themselves, speedily and efficiently, to the changing requirements of sound marketing. This will involve seeking not only diversification in overseas markets themselves but also a greater degree of flexibility in our agricultural production at home, coupled with improved quality and a reduction in unit costs. My Government is confident that the efforts and co-operation of those concerned will contribute materially towards this goal. Vigorous measures will continue to be taken in combating the effects of those diseases from which our livestock herds are liable to suffer.

My Government is happy to record that the area of wheat harvested in the current season is about twice that of the previous one, with an average yield at the highest level yet known in this country.

You will be asked to consider bills aimed at strengthening the campaign against hydatids, improving the present law as regards the protection of animals, and providing suitable measures for the control of agricultural chemicals. Forest Resources Our forest resources and their utilisation continue to occupy the attention of my Ministers, and it is proposed to intensify the planting of exotic forests to meet local needs and the requirements of a developing export trade. In this field the problems of soil erosion and the ravages of noxious animals are matters of concern, and my Government is pushing ahead with measures to counter these threats to our national heritage.

A bill will be placed before you designed to improve existing legislation as regards soil conservation and rivers control. You will also be asked to con-

sider the measures that will be necessary to facilitate detailed investigations as to the feasibility of a major iron and steel industry based on New Zealand's ironsand resources.

My Ministers are gratified that, for the first time in several years, the country is free from restrictions on the use of electricity, and it is their constant aim that this satisfactory position be maintained. The commission which my Government has appointed to inquire into the distribution of electric power throughout New Zealand should assist in large measure in the resolution of existing difficulties and anomalies in this field. My Government has also appointed a Gas Council to assist with the task of preserving and expanding our valuable gas industry where this can be done to advantage Bills will be placed before you dealing with bulk supply charges for electricity, and with the certification and registration of electric linesmen. To both our primary and our secondary industries, as well as to other fields of national activity, an essential and positive contribution will continue to be made by my Government’s scientific and research agencies. Production in our farming and manufacturing industries has increased substantially. Manufacturers in particular have been required to increase output rapidly, and the success of their efforts has done much to satisfy consumer demand.

You will be asked to consider proposals for the minor amendment of the Harbours Act, 1950, and the Fisheries Act, 1908. Experience in the operation of legislation concerning shipping and seamen has prompted my Ministers to prepare for your consideration certain amendments to the present law Strait Ferry The action my Government proposes to take this year in calling world-wide tenders for the construction of a new rail-sea ferry for operation across Cook Strait is a major step towards the introduction of a service which will effectively bridge a long-felt gap in our rail and roading systems. New measures which my Government has introduced to counter the prevalence of motor accidents have led to a marked reduction in fatalities. This problem, however, remains serious, and my Ministers will spare no effort to achieve a high standard of road safety. A White Paper will be placed before you recording the findings of the committee which my Government appointed to examine the whole field of the transport of goods by road. Marked improvements in our internal and overseas air services include the introduction of the most up-to-date types of aircraft. My Government continues to give close attention to the provision and development of appropriate airport and air navigational facilities.

The importance of communications in the business and domestic spheres of our rapidly-developing country is also recognised by my Ministers in the maximum effort they are making to meet the needs of the people for increased telephone facilities. Housing My Government is encouraged by the success of the measures it has promoted to stimulate the building of houses. During the year just past a record number of houses was constructed, and my Ministers will intensify the steps already taken in their endeavours to ensure that every family will have the opportunity of obtaining adequate accommodation.

The rate of increase in our labour force during the last year has been one of the highest since the Second World War, Sfnd the maintenance of a good record of industrial relations is illustrated by the fact that time lost in industrial stopages during 1958 was the second lowest in the post-war years.

My Government, in pursuance of its policy gradually and progressively to introduce equal pay for equal work under equal conditions into New Zealand, has decided to appoint a committee to advise how this objective can

best be attained in the State services as a first step. It is my Ministers’ intention to proceed with the implementation of this policy among Government employees when the committee has submitted its report and a way found to overcome any difficulties that may arise.

It is proposed to place before you measures designed to revise the Scaffolding and Excavation Act, 1922, and to amend the Apprentices Act, 1948, the Industrial Conciliation and Arbitration Act, 1954, the Shops and Offices Act, 1955, and the Workers Compensation Act, 1956. Maori Welfare

The well-being of the Maori people will be advanced by all practicable means available to my Government. Provision for expansion, consistent with the economic position of the country generally, will be made in the construction of homes for Maori ownership, in order to meet a situation which is still a cause for some concern. Land development and welfare work will be continued, and special emphasis placed on the training of Maori youth for skilled and professional occupations. My Government gratefully acknowledges the valuable contribution made in social work by voluntary Maori organisations. Large and complex tasks face us in the field of education, due both to the very rapidly increasing numbers of students, and to the vital importance of ensuring that the quality of education at all levels is maintained and, where possible, improved Facilities are being developed to meet new social and economic needs.

My Ministers are pressing forward their policy of technical and technological education. The erection of a new building at Seddon Memorial Technical College in Auckland will free the existing buildings for use as a polytechnic, while at the Central Technical College in Petone a new full-time course for the education of pharmacists will open in February next. My Ministers envisage that the Technicians’ Certification Act of 1958 will be brought into operation towards the end of this year University Inquiry The expectation that the number of students attending our universities will double within the next few years has prompted my Government to set up a committee, which will include eminent university administrators from overseas, to inquire into the whole question of university education in New Zealand. In addition, a vigorous building programme is under way, including current work on a new dental school for the University of Otago and a new school of engineering for the University of Canterbury. An over-all plan for the future development of the University of Auckland is in course of preparation. My Government has approved the establishment of branch university institutions at Hamilton and Palmerston North.

My Ministers propose that the commission on education which 13 to investigate generally the working of the education system in this country, and which was forecast when 1 last addressed you, should not begin the hearing of evidence until the committee on university education has completed its deliberations.

In fulfilment of the undertakings that, had been given, my Government has increased benefits payable under the social security and universal superannuation schemes. In addition, improvements in the operation of these schemes are being progressively introduced as they become administratively practicable. My Ministers regard family welfare as a’basic principle of their policy, as is evident from the recent launching of the scheme which enables family benefits to be applied in the acquisition of homes. Advances in necessitous cases are being made for the repair and maintenance of the homes of social security beneficiaries. By the establishment of a guidance and counselling service my Ministers are concerned to ensure that social, as well as economic, welfare is extended throughout the whole community.

You will be asked to consider a bill designed substantially to remove certain discriminatory provisions in the nationality and citizenship law which hitherto have operated to deter some new settlers from seeking New Zealand citizenship.

Measures which my Ministers regard as desirable improvements in the field of local body administration will also be placed before you. One important matter which you will be asked to consider is a bill revising the criminal code. This bill will follow the general lines of the Crimes Bill placed before you in 1957, but will include alterations which further scrutiny has revealed as being appropriate. My Ministers will also submit to you a bill designed to regulate and control the activities of unit or investment trusts, an Employees Indemnity Bill along the lines of. the measure introduced last season, and a bill effecting reforms in the law of domicile.

I pray that with God’s blessing your deliberations on all these and related matters may prove to the lasting benefit of the people of New Zealand.

Mr Adams-Schneider Sworn In

(New Zealand Press Association) WELLINGTON, June 24.

Mr L. A. Adams-Schneider was sworn in as member of Parliament for Hamilton in the House of Representatives this afternoon. Mr Adams-Schneider, who won the seat at a by-election after the death of Dame Hilda Ross, was escorted by the Opposition Whips, Messrs R. G. Gerard (Ashburton) and E. P. Aderman (New Plymouth) to the chair and introduced to Mr Speaker. He then took the oath of allegiance and after he had been congratulated by the Prime Minister (Mr Nash) and the Leader of the Opposition (Mr Holyoake), the Whips accompanied him to his seat.