COMPENSATION RULES

Evening Post, Issue 87, 9 October 1936, Page 6

COMPENSATION RULES

MINISTER'S EXPLANATION

The statement that the clause in the Finance Bill providing new rules for the assessment of compensation for land taken under the Public Works Act, was drafted on instructions given by the previous Minister of Public Works (Mr. J. Bitchener), was made by the Minister of Public Works (the Hon. R. Semple). Mr. Semple said that for forty-six years the principle had always applied that when land was taken under the "'Public Works Act the Court assessed it at the existing market value. Then the law was tested by the Tawa Central Company, Limited, and the Court of Appeal held the land was to be assessed at its value after the improvements had been carried out. If there had been no railway deviation to Tawa Flat, said the Minister, the value of the land taken in that case would have been £865, and that was what the Crown was entitled to pay. . The Rt. Hon. J. G. Coates .(National, Kaipara): Is that fair? . Mr. Semple: Yes, positively and definitely fair. All that the owner of the land' is entitled to is the market value of his land. Mr. Coates: But his neighbour gels the benefit. Mr. Semple: He is not entitled to squeeze money' out of the nation for something he never earned. The judg-. ment of the Court was that instead of being awarded £865 the company received from the State £2100. That was the value assessed by the Court, and it was a fictitious and false value. Mr. Coates: A unanimous decision. Mr. Semple said it was not a^ unanimous decision, but if it was a unanimous decision it was wrong—fundamentally wrong. The Minister said that he remembered an election not long ago when there was a slogan, "Follow England," and the clause in the Bill was in line with the English law. If the English law had applied the company would have received £865, the real market value, instead of £2100. The Court, he added, was divided in giving its decision and the Chief Justice and one -other Judge dissented. One Judge said that the law should be amended immediately to affirm the principle that an owner of land was not entitled to receive an improved value created by the nation's enterprise and get a "rake off," when he had given no scrvico in creating tha higher value. Mr. W. J. Poison (National, Stratford): A minority decision? The Minister, of Finance (the Hon. W. Nash): The voting was equal. _ Mr. Semple read instructions given to the Law Draftsman by Mr. Bitchener, when Minister'of Public Works, to prepare a clause putting the position right. The clause was ultimately drafted and in a Bill prepared by the late Government , Mr. Coates: Ah, but what happened to it? LEGISLATION NECESSARY, Mr. Semple said that there was another case coming on, and it was necessary to have the legislation to save the" State being robbed. The Government was taking over a building'in Maginnity Street, Wellington, and if the present law was allowed to exist,-the Government would have to pay thousands of pounds to private land owners for something they never created. The clause that the Opposition was opposing and attempting to ridicule in a feeble kind of way was a clause written, by themselves and put into a Bill. Mr. Coates: Nonsense. Absolutely incorrect. "The right honourable gentleman is a good judge of nonsense," retorted the Minister. He added that he had a draft of the previous Government's Bill. Mr. Coates: Did the previous Government approve of it? The Minister: The Bill was drafted and stands in their name. It was drafted .on the suggestion of the heads of the;! Department .to save the nation being "rooked" 'Of thousands and' thousands of pounds by speculators. '■' ■> "■ • • Mr.' Coates: The poor 'little* land owners. . The-Minister: I'd rather be a poor little lamb than a blatant donkey. (Laughter;) He added that he wanted the House to put the clause in the Statute Book.so that the Government would be protected against that-sort of thing... .'* •' , .-.':■ Mr. Coates: Protected from a few land owners. Very . brave that! The' Minister said he was amazed that Mr. Coates'should stand for such a policy.. . 7 , • ."; , Mr. Coates: I stand for, a fair'deal. ,"A fair deal," exclaimed the Minister, "and he calls that a fair deal." After. Mr. Coates had moved that the Minister's time be extended,- Mr. Semple said he did not require an extension. He had risen merely to put the facts on record and he would leave it to the country to judge whether the Government was right or wrong' in protecting its interests against land speculators. . • "Using a steam hammer to crack a peanut," commented Mr. Coates. Mr. W. P. Endean (National, Parriell) said that it was estimated that as a result of better,prices for primary produce the Dominion would have an

additional £19,000,000, so that with the £13,000,000 it was proposed to borrow, the country would have an extra £32,000,000 to spend.*He contended that the present time was the heyday of expenditure and false , prosperity, and in the end the present policy would lead to financial trouble. "We are only a small part of the universe," he said, "and we are trying to make ourselves the show country for the world." BOARD MEMBER'S PAST. The Hon. J. G. Cobbo (National, ' Oroua) said he had been informed that t the man appointed to the Reserve Bank i was a Communist and that during the x war he had gone round Dunedin persuading young men not to enlist, Labour voices: He is a member of ( the Labour Party. That is answer i enough. Mr. Cobbe: Is he or is he not a Communist? I would like a direct state- , ment from the Prime Minister. If lie ' is a Commuriist he is absolutely unfit ' for the position. It would be an insult i to the people of this country. ( Mr. J. O'Brien (Government, Wejst- £ land): You know quite well he is not J a Communist. - Mr. W. J. Broadfoot (National, Wai- 1 tomo) said that he found Mr. Silverstone referred to in the Bill as Mark i Silverstone, and he wondered why the ] full name of Marks Woolf Silverstone was not given so that the people of New Zealand could see to whom the ' spoils of victory were being meted I out. . £ Mr. Broadfoot suggested that the ] Minister might extend'the racing. clubs j a little more consideration. Referring to tho po\vers of local bodies to raise ! money without a full poll of ratepayers, he jsaid that it appeared tlfet some of the springs of credit were dry- j ing up. '. : j "THE SPENDING BUG." t Mr. H. S. S. Kyle (National, Ric- \ carton) said that the Minister of , Finance was "intoxicated with the spending bug." The Government was preparing to spend £13,000,000. Waving ' a photograph of the derailed rail-car, ( Mr. Kyle, remarked that the Govern- ' ment, was going the' same way a^ tho * rail-car went. They were irrcspon- 1 sible. ■* The Minister of Railways (the Hon. J D. G. Sullivan): That's a very mean ] comment. i Mr. Kyle said that the Government ' was running the same way as the rail- : cars and they would find themselves 1 in" a' ditch. ■■■,■■■■ ■ : Mr. S. G. Smith- (National, New « Plymouth) said that Mr. Silverstone J had no special qualifications for ap- 1 pointment to the Reserve Bank Board. Tho Minister of Lands (the Hon. F. ' Langstone): He will be as1 good as c Leslie Lefeaux, anyhow. ' In connection with the housing pro- t posals, would the Government help * the worker who had a private mort- 1 gage? asked Mr: Smith. Would such workers "be granted a Government < loan? He hoped that the Government 1 would' not exercise the full loan < authority which it was seeking. 1 WISE EXPENDITURE? ' The Hon. A. Hamilton (National, . Wallace) said he hoped the money to , be spent on railways would be wisely spent. The Budget estimated an ex- j pendituro of £10,450,000, including , £5,940,000 to be borrowed. Did the t amount to be borrowed under the , Budget proposals include the ' £13,000,000 to be borrowed under the , Bill? ' \ The Minister of Finance: Not neces- t sarily. Mr. Hamilton said that the in- . creased expenditure this year would ' amount to £20,000,000, and that would draw on reserve strength. The dairy - industry account money would come ;back.' '-'- "" '. . * ■ ' t .'Mr. Nash: Won't the housing money j come back? - ■ ' ' Mr. Hamilton asked how much' the * Government intended to borrow alto- ( gGMr! r Nash: There is no authority to borrow in the Budget Mr .Hamilton.said that the Prime Minister had stated that railways ' would not be completed out of borrowed money, but out of public credit. . He expected to see railways constructed out of public credit, but the method adopted was still orthodox. :