Concern At Delay In Appointing Authority

Press, Volume CVI, Issue 31153, 1 September 1966, Page 8

Concern At Delay In Appointing Authority

(From Our Own Reporter)

TIMARU, Aug. 31. Concern at the delay in the appointment of a Transport Licensing Appeal Authority was expressed in a Canterbury remit presented to the annual meeting of the New Zealand Taxi Proprietors’ Federation today. The conference will urge the Government to ensure that “any future undue delay in the appointment of an Appeal Authority does not occur.” The term of appointment of Judge Archer as Transport Licensing Appeal Authority, and Transport Charges Appeal Authority expired last December 31, and in May Mr J. H. Luxford, S.M., was appointed on a temporary basis. Canterbury delegates emphasised that appeals should not be allowed to lapse, as this was unfair to new licensees and to the industry. One appeal in Lyttelton had been outstanding for 12 months, they said. Speaking to a proposal “that the Government be requested to set up a taxi industry advisory council,” the vice-president (Mr J. D. Roberts, of Wellington) said that an unbiased, properly balanced council would bring down nothing “monumentally distressful” to the industry. The remit was endorsed. Some delegates argued that the formation of such a body would be a retrograde step, and a vote of no-confidence in the federation council. Others saw merit in the suggestion, in that it would mean severance from “a dom-

ineering Transport Department.” The Government will be asked to amend the Transport Act to provide for the fixing of fares by an independent tribunal excluding public servants.