PARLIAMENT.

Hawera Star, Volume XLVII, 5 October 1927, Page 11

PARLIAMENT.

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

MORE BILLS INTRODUCED.

(by telegraph—press association.) WELLINGTON, Oct. 4. .Replying to Mr. A. Harris, when the House of Representatives met tins afternoon, the Minister of Education said that Cabinet had decided to introduce legislation this session extending the operation of the Provident Fund Act to private. employers, who will be able to bring any group of their employees under the benefits of the Act. In order to prevent disappointment lie would like to say that the employers would not be in quite tiie same position as the local bodies, since there would be no subsidy, and it w ould -notcost the State anything.

MAGISTRATES’ COURTS RILL. The Minister of Justice moved the second reading oi tne Magistrates’ Courts Rill. He explained that the Rill was mainly a consolidating measure, but there ' were some changes which lie would mention, such as increasing the jurisdiction of magistrates Irom £2GO to £3(JO, and the service of summonses by registered post. This provision was first introduced in the Justice of the Peace Act and was entirely successful. The Minister had had a return made and found that lor twelve months a sum of £14,768 had been paid out as mileage, which meant that the people were being very heavily charged in connection with cases that were mostly for debt. Under the Rill this sum would be saved to the people, and he thought the change would be appreciated. The remainder of the clauses were mostly technical in character.

Mr. H. G. R. Mason said that if the jurisdiction of magistrates was increased to £3OO there was no reason why it should not be increased to £SOO. The reasons which applied to one applied with equal force to the other. Mr. W. D. Lysnar thought the Bill generally was in the right direction, and he did not agree with the suggestion that jurisdiction should be increased to £SOO. The Minister should stick to his Rill.

The Leader of the Opposition deprecated the practice of imprisonmentfor debt unless it could be proved that the debtor had the money and refused to pay. The Rill was read a second time and referred to the Statutes Revision Committee.

PUBLIC) SERVICE SUPERANNUATION. The Hon. W. Nosworthy moved the second reading of the Public Service Superannuation Rill, which, he said, was entirely a consolidating measure and did not contain any new matter. Mr. I>. G. Subivan advocated the inclusion in the superannuation scheme ol nurses who are under the direct control of the Punlic Service Commissioner.

Mr. W. A. Veitcli compained that the superannuation fund was being overloaded with the compulsory retirement of civil servants who were still in the prime of life and with another ten or fifteen years of good work in them. Being too young to lead an idle life they entered into business or labour competition with others. This competition was being made more severe t>y the fact that they had their superannuation to their credit. They enjoyed two salaries. Mr. Veitcli wantto to know whether any actuarial investigation into this phase of the fund had been made before the drastic rule regarding retirement had been introduced.

Mr. W. J. Jordan thought at least the police should be retired after 26 years’ service, as no one in that branch of the service wanted to do street duty when he was 60 years of age. Mr. E. J. Howard said that if things went on as they were now going, in 25 years one half of the population would be finding pensions for the other half.

The Hon. J. A. Young stated that those nurses who were not under the superannuation fund were provided for bv the National Provident Fund.

The Leader oi" the Opposition said the trouble with early retirements was that those servants must have started work too early. No boy should start work at 14 years of age. He should then be getting his education. What was wrong with the scheme was the disproportion of superannuation paid. One man retired with close on £2OOO, which was simply absurd. Everyone was entitled to some ease and comfort in the evening of his life, but the labourer doing hard and dangerous work should have it as well as the civil servant.

Mr. G. W. Forbes said that no private employer would think of dispensing with the services of a comparatively young man iust because he had 40 \ears or service, yet because of a cast-iron rule this was Clone in the public service. He thought greater discretion should be allowed in this matter, because there was so much difference between men. The Bill, was read a second time. AIM EX DM ENTS T() A PFIIENTJCESHIP ACT.

The Hon. G. .1. Anderson moved the second reading of the Apprentices Amendment Bill, which, he said, was designed to give a better distribution of the proportion of apprentices over the whole industrial district. The Bill had been asked lor in several quarters.

Mr. A. Harris argued that the time had come when the quota of apprentices should be increased, as many boys were now quite unable to learn a trade because of our present law. If a boy had no trade lie was going to be handicapped for the remainder of his life. Mr. \V. A. Veitch endorsed this view There were many hoys, he said, who had left school desiring to learn a trade, but the opportunity was denied them because of our restrictive laws. The number of tradesmen being produced was too small for the requirements of the country. Mr. E. J. Howard said that the present law was not hindering the empiyoment' of apprentices. What was interfering was compulsory military service, which took so much energy out of the boys that the employers would not he bothered with them. For that reason the employers were -not employing their lull quota, of apprentices. The Bill was read a second time and referred to the Labour Bills Committee.

The House rose at 12.0 f) a.m. till 2.3 Q p.m.