SHARP COMMENT

Evening Post, Volume CXXVI, Issue 143, 14 December 1938, Page 10

SHARP COMMENT

TRANSPORT LICENCES

OUTSIDE INTERVENTION

STATEMENT BY AUTHORITY

(By Telegraph—Press Association.)

HASTINGS, This Day,

Any intervention on the part of members of Parliament or any other person in an endeavour to influence the Bench will not be tolerated by the No. 2 Transport Licensing Authority, Mr. P. Skoglund. This was made clear by Mr. Skoglund at a sitting here this morning.

When the statement was made an applicant .was appearing before the Authority for a goods service licence. It was recalled by Mr. Skdglund that a similar request by the same applicant had been turned down on September 25 last. The Authority in the meantime had received a letter from Mr. E. L. Cullen, M.P., asking him to do his best for the applicant. "I made a public statement some time ago and I want to repeat that if there is any intervention on the part of members of Parliament or by any other person who tries to influence the Bench I would refuse to hear the application," said Mr. Skoglund. "It is a very poor opinion shown by the applicant for the integrity and honesty of the Bench if he goes to a member of Parliament or some other person who he thinks has influence. I want to say emphatically that intervention of this sort is the greatest disservice that can be done for any applicant. I am not going to have it, and I want people to understand that. I am not going to be influenced. If a member of Parliament or any other man thinks he can help an applicant he can come to court and get into the witness-box."

At a later stage in the sitting the question of an appeal was raised by Mr. C. J. Wilkie, representing the Road Transport Alliance, who said that carriers in the district were concerned about the position. Recently a man had applied to the No. 2 Authority for a licence and this had been declined. Since then, however, he had interviewed Mr. W. E. Barnard, M.P., and had appealed to the Minister of Transport on the occasion of his last visit to the district. The granting of the appeal at a private deputatipn in Napier had given rise to considerable adverse comment. among transport operators in the district. It was alleged that in granting appeals in this manner total disregard was shown for the Authorities' findings. Mr. Skoglund said that the Minister could not deal with an appeal unless it had gone through the proper form. Commenting again on the fact that the Minister had allowed the appeal at a private deputation in Napier, Mr. Wilkie said that the transport position made one wonder whether the? whole thing was subject to political consideration

Mr. Skoglund: If the Minister likes to give a different decision from that of the. Authority we cannot help it.

Another carrier said that in the case in question carriers had heard that the man intended appealing and were preparing to defend the appeal, but before they knew any more the Minister had granted the appeal in Napier. He asked whether it was correct to say that the whole thing was a monopoly or dictatorship. Mr. Skoglund: I cannot say that, but I believe the Minister's decision is final. By that I mean that an appeal cannot be carried to the Privy Council.