PARLIAMENT Crimes Bill Referred To House Committee

Press, Volume XCVIII, Issue 29008, 24 September 1959, Page 14

PARLIAMENT Crimes Bill Referred To House Committee

[By Our Parliamentary Reporter)

WELLINGTON, September 23.

The likelihood that the Crimes Bill will be redrafted became much more definite today when the Prime Minister (Mr Nash) secured the agreement of the House of Representatives to grant it a second reading without debate, so that it should go directly to the Statutes Revision Committee.

Mr Nash suggested that there were some clauses which he would prefer not to be the subject of public debate. These are likely to be what are becoming known as “the sodomy clauses” and also possibly the one concerning capital punishment.

Outside the House, the Minister of Justice (Mr Mason) has denied that the Crimes Bill as at present drafted legalises sodomy between consenting adults. He has given the assurance, however, that the relevant provisions will be redrawn “to make the old law beyond any power of misrepresentation.’’

“I am sick to death of hearing about homosexuality and of contradicting misrepresentation.” he said yesterday. “The provisions will be redrawn to make the old law beyond any power of misrepresentation. so it does not matter what arguments are used about the draft.” Mr Mason confirmed that the present draft of the Crimes Bill does not legalise sodomy between consenting adults, and that-the bill provides a penalty for such a crime. This penalty, resulting from a prosecution under section 150 (dealing with indecent assaults and indecent acts), would be a term of imprisonment not exceeding three years.

RULINGS ON TAXES

Right Of Appeal Urged

(New Zealand Press Association) WELLINGTON, Sept. 23. Too much discretion was allowed the Commissioner of Inland Revenue without the right of appeal when he was dealing with taxation claims, said Mr D. C. Seath (Opposition, Waitomo) in the House of Representatives this afternoon during committee stages discussion of the Land and Income Tax Amendment Bill. “There might be circumstances where the taxpayer feels he has the right to take his case to a higher authority,” said Mr Seath. ‘‘but under the terms of the bill he is prevented from doing so.” It was a very bad step, said Mr Seath. Mr N. E. Kirk (Government. Lyttelton) said the Opposition’s 1957 legislation was riddled with the statement: ‘‘The commissioner in his discretion may . . .”

LEASEHOLD PLAN FOR FACTORIES Mr Freer's Question

(New Zealand Press Association) WELLINGTON. September 23.

The attention of the Minister of Labour (Mr Hackett) to an announcement that the Fletcher Organisation proposed constructing a systematic leasehold and development plan for factory premises in Auckland and Christchurch was drawn by Mr W. W Freer (Government, Mount Albert) in the House of Representatives this afternoon.

In a written question, Mr Freer asked Mr Hackett whether present Labour legislation permitted such schemes to include a communal cafeteria, medical clinics, and other facilities to be shared by adjacent factory tenants, as was done in Scotland. If this was not possible under existing legislation, would Mr Hackett consider making pro-

vision for such services, thereby reducing the capital cost involved in establishing small industrial premises?