MOTOR TAX

Hawera Star, Volume XLVIII, 12 September 1924, Page 5

MOTOR TAX

BILL BEFORE THE HOUSE

PROPOSAL OF NATIONAL IMPORTANCE.

CRITICISM BY, MR. WILFOR]>.

(EV TELEGRAPn—PRESS ASSOCIATION.) WELLINGTON, Sept. .11. The second reading :of the ; Motor Vehicles Bill was moved in the House, to-night by the Hon. R. F. : Bollard. The Mi f ster appealed to the House to regard the measure riot from a local but from .a national point of view. Jt was well known that motor vehicles of all kinds were doing great damage to the roads, and local bodies had .’no finance wherewith to: repair this damage, and consequently the ..Government had been pressed to pass some such Bill as this, under which licerisek for motor cars and drivers would 'be issued annually, and in consequence there would be a' complete record , of all motors and the : reveriue off local bodies would be greatly increased. The Bill would enable local bodies to control motor traffic. Motor, drivers at present apparently assumed that, they had the right •of the. road arid were entitled to run down everyone who came in their -way; . Jiv the United States they had fairly strict motor control, but even : then /they; killed 15,700 persons last - .year., Thefe had been a good deal of high epeecling in New Zealand and the Bill would enable local authorities to deal' with; ft. He was told only a few days ago that' it was safer to cross any street'. in 1 * London than it was to cross MolesWorth Street in Wellington. He atked the House to deal with', tlie' measure in a liberal spirit, and when the:.,second reading was "passed .lie proposed to refer it to a special.committee. .... The Leader of the Opnosition (Mr. T. M. Wilford) said the Bill was simnly a leach to do a, little blood' etting in the interests of The Main Highways Board. The Main Highways Act did not provide 'sufficient' revenue for its purposes, and this Bill liad been introduced for the purpose of, supplementing it. -He -did not object to the Bill, because there ! was 'undoubtedly room for some better- cori-' trol of motors in our streets,. 7 biit. it" should not be forgotten that -.footpassengers had responsibilities as well as motorists. • The” present tyre tax was quite inadequate, but >he objected to tlie schedule of the' Bill, which; -pro- 7 yided , that- a private .owner. who- .-only used his car once a week had to pay as much as a taxi/ driver who made his living out of his car. -He . urged that there should be , a-strict .-examination as to a person’s .capacity to drive and the age yif 45, at whieli literisbs may *be issued,/'should be iricfed&id.' The Minister had said/ uothing -as to what revenue he -expected to derive under the Bill. . V ' '- r

The Hon. R. ,F„ Bollard: £IOO,OOO annually. '. / ~ : ;

Mr. Wilford thought it. would ~be more than that. In any- ease,-heCon-sidered many local bodies were goirig to lose, a go(M deal of tevbmie formerly collected, arid: he anticipated' a good deal, of objection to the'Rill. He approved of drastic. punishment for the reckless and - the drunken driver, /bpt. he asked the Minister -to reconsider : the scale of fees as set out iri -the ■Schedule and differentiate; betweeti private- cars and those used for hire. Ylie Hon. J. G, Coates said it. was very difficult to ascertain accurately* the number of motor vehicles in New Zealand. The best estimates placed the number at anything between, fifty and eighty thousand, and th‘6- fevejitie expected under this Bill was "between LIOO,000 and £150,000- annually.- The Bill at present provided that/fines would go to the Highways Board, but T had been argued that they should go to local bodies as a. means of indue, riig them to take an interest in the enforcement of the by-laws. He personally did not believe in a flat tax The only sound basis of taxation' was use, but he ,was willing^ to sink his private opinions in order to get some control over the motor traffic Taxi -ars would .pay taxation uh'clqr tHisi Bill, but they would also pay. taxation to the local authority for- the right to ply for hire, which, wbuld overcome tlie objection as to differentiation raised by Mr. Wilford, •■ *' ” A great deal of 'money was bein<* borrowed by local bodies for road, con-, stiuction added Mr. Coates.’ Roads were built to carry five tons, but fifteen and twenty tons were allowed dri them and before long they were fracij/ I '"™ end to end, and , consequently the money spent was ’ dissinated Renetitiohs' of ' this process meant that the rates were becoming so high that rural lands could not be occupied The control of motor traffic-,-under this Bill would to sPrne extent avoid that. : -,. - "

Mr. PL E Holland (Leader of. the Labour Party) said he agreed, with the Minister for Public Works.’ that taxation under the Bill was not scientific, and he feared that under 'it.: local bodies would suffer a loss ■ He <3c sired to know whether the Government / ' would guarantee that there' would" be no such loss, as many local bodies weie having , a struggle, to make RTfvoT/: ends meet. •

The debate continued'' until l a m members criticising warious' provisions of the measure, and making suggestions for the .committee, but. thei Penoral tone of the discussion was favourable to the Bill, which was read’ a Second time and referred to a’ special committee. . ■special