THE WEEK IN THE HOUSE Pressure builds as session draws near conclusion

Press, Volume CXI, Issue 32776, 29 November 1971, Page 2

THE WEEK IN THE HOUSE Pressure builds as session draws near conclusion

C. R. MENTIPLAY,

(By

(, our Parliamentary reporter)

End-of-session pressures are beginning to show in Parliament now, though the pressure is not yet comparable with that of other years. In some ways the highlight of last week was when Mr A. J. Faulkner (Lab., Roskill) was asked by the Chairman of Committees (Mr A. E. Allen) to leave the Chamber.

Most of the pressures of the week seemed to converge on that moment, remembering that it was near midnight and that the decision had just been taken to “put the question” on the stabilisation of remuneration amendment bill.

But last week saw a great deal of work done. The much-argued measure was finally cleared, and with it the seamen’s union funds bill and the gaming amendment bill. Many other measures have been moved along a stage, and the next major hurdle, the shipping and seamen’s amendment bill, has been returned to the House and is ready for its committal debate.

This bi'l had its pro forma second reading on September 24. The House will have the coming week to debate it, though sittings will be confined to the hours between 7.30 p.m. and midnight on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. Meanwhile the Select Committees will be working to complete their other tasks so that Parliament can proceed. LICENCE INCOME The suggestion that the collection of television licence fees could be incorporated in the income tax system was made by Mr P. Blanchfield (Lab., Westland). He said he was thinking of pensioners when making the proposal, for which a good case could be made. “At present about $10,000,000 a year is paid by viewers to the Post Office, acting as agent for the Broadcasting Corporation,” Mr Blanchfield said. “The work entails much computer work for recording and for automatic rebilling each year. I know a special team of computer operators and clerical staff is continuously employed on this work in Lower Hutt.” Mr Blanchfield said that throughout the country a large staff was maintained keeping records and chasing defaulters. There were occasional licence blitzes in which great numbers were employed at great expense, and the licence fees were largely lost in the cost of collection.

An injustice in the present system was that a widow on a pension paid $2O a year for a television licence, whereas the family next door, with the husband and wife both working, and also some of the children, paid the same amount. If a system were established whereby every taxpayer in the country was automatically licensed for television purposes, collection costs would be eliminated or at least reduced—and the pensioner would receive a well-deserved benefit by not having to pay $2O a year.

“The amount built into the P.A.Y.E. tables to cover the

television fee would be arbitrarily fixed,” Mr Blanchfield said, “but as there are far more taxpayers than licenceholders the amount would not be great. The revenue required by the corporation to finance its operations could be most economically collected by linking it to the P.A.Y.E. system.” Although the amount granted for marriage guidance services had been increased from $50,000 to $60,000, it was still inadequate, Mr T. M. McGuigan" (Lab., Lyttelton) said in Parliament.

He paid a special tribute te the Christchurch Marriage Guidance Council, which had taken active part in consultations in 810 marriages over the last year. The hours of counselling on ordinary cases had been 1345, and some 713 hours had been spent on conciliation cases, an increase of one-third on the previous year.

"Marriage guidance councils still have to draw some of their funds from Golden Kiwi lottery profits,” Mr McGuigan said. “It is perhaps a curious commentary on the manner in which New Zealand deals with social problems that one can apply for legal aid in the courts, one can apply for legal aid for separation proceedings or for the dissolution of a marriage; but the organisation mainly concerned with the saving of marriages has to apply to the Golden Kiwi Lottery Fund to

supplement the income received from the Government.”

Mr McGuigan said that in its recent annual report the Christchurch body had expressed some concern about the future, and had referred to the possibility of having to curtail its activities unless more finance was made available. This is why he wanted to repeat that $60,000 for marriage guidance in New Zealand was not enough. Doubt about the way the Licensing Control Commission was functioning was expressed by Mr McGuigan, who gave as an instance the experience of the SumnerRedcliffs branch of the Returned Services Association.

It applied for a charter in September, and was advised on November 16, 1970, that the commission was well disposed towards granting a charter when all that was required had been done. The club then submitted its rules; plans, etc., to the commission on February 19, 1971, and they were approved.

“The club then went ahead with construction of its new premises at a cost of $27,000, and on September 10 of this year had advised the commission they were ready for inspection,” Mr McGuigan said.

“On September 16 the commission advised the club that it would be in Christchurch on September 27 and 28, and would hear the club’s adjourned application then. Then on September 27 the club had received a letter from the commission saying it could not hear the application on that occasion and that it would have to be considered anew, as two members of the commission had resigned since the original application was heard.

“The letter went on to say that it was the commission’s intention to hear the case in Wellington, and the club would be advised in due course of a likely date. This happened 12 months after the club’s application had been lodged, and after it had spent $27,000 for a building and had engaged staff for its activities.”