FINANCE BILL PASSED

Manawatu Standard, Volume LVII, Issue 306, 25 November 1937, Page 11

FINANCE BILL PASSED

EARLY MORNING DEBATE. ANTI-EVICTION CLAUSE. Per Press Association. WELLINGTON, Nov. 25. The House of Eepresentatives at 2 a.m. continued the discussion of the clause in the Finance Bill validating the purchase by the Government for the purposes of the Primary Products Marketing Department of Picot Bros., Ltd., and also of Picots (Palmerston North), Ltd.

At 2.10 a.m. the closure was carried on the clause by 47 votes to 14 and the clause itself was passed by 48 votes .to 13.

Rapid progress was made after the passing of this clause, and the 61st clause' of the Bill, lost in the original measure, was passed to 2.53 a.m. The first new amending clause of the Bill, providing that returned soldiers holding decorations should not have the payments made in respect of those decorations computed as income when considering sustenance payments or veterans’ allowance, as passed without amendment. EVICTION OF TENANTS.

When considering the next amending chiuse, preventing the eviction of tenants from dwelling houses, Rt. Hon. J. G. Coates asked what was the real reason for the clause. \

The Leader of the Opposition (Hon. A. Hamilton) said it was a fairly serious clause to put through on such little notice.

The Minister of Finance (Hon. W. Nash) said the purpose of the clause was to provide that persons should not be evicted from their homes without having other accommodation to go to. Both the tenants themselves and the owners of the houses would have to search for accommodation, but if suitable accommodation was available and a certificate was given to a Magistrate to that effect by a Labour Department official the Magistrate could order that the tenants would have to vacate the house forthwith. Pressed as to the reason for the clause by the Opposition, Mr Nash outlined several cases which had come under his notice where people who had to leave their homes were living in hotels, and in one case in a tent. The Prime Minister (Rt. Hon. M. J. Savage) : I am getting plenty of similar incidents every day. Mr Nash continued that all that the clause stipulated was that these people would not be evicted without having any place to which to go. He had seen innumerable tragedies in the last few months. In one case a man had been in his place for six years and had never failed to pay his rent, but he had had to get out. REASON FOR POSITION. Mr G'dates: The estimate made by the Minister might be right enough, but he is inclined to blame the previous Government for everything. He and his own Government are responsible for the present chaos through the inducement they have given for people to come to the cities and the consequent overcrowding of towns. Now they find themselves incapable of dealing with the position. It is time the people affected turned on the Government, which is the real guilty party, although it has tried, to put the blame on previous Governments. Mr Savage: For a lot of hurpbug the honourable gentleman takes a lot of heating. Mr •Coates: Did I hear the Prime Minister of this country say “Humbug”? He is not too bad at it himself. He has promised’ this and that and has not carried his promises out. • Mr Savage: When you were Prime Minister you promised all sorts of things and did nothing. !Mr Coates continued by asking if the Minister had considered the difficulty experienced by men and women with small children getting houses. A Government interjection: When did you find that out? Mr Coates: From quite a number of cases which have come before me. Mr J. A. McL. Roy said half a dozen farms he knew of had become empty in the last three months. Their occupants had moved to town. ONUS ON LANDLORD.

Mr J. Hargest said the clause did put the onus on the landlord of finding a house for the tenants, The landlord might wish to come and live in the house himself, and the tenant might naturally sit back and say he wanted a certain type of house. Mr Nash: That will be safeguarded. .Mr A. C. A. Sexton asked if the Grown would be bound in the same way as a private landlord. Mr Nash: There is no question of safeguarding the Crown, which will have to find accommodation, too, before it can evict a tenant. The clause was passed without amendment, the Bill passing the committee stages at 3.10. The Bill was then read the third time and passed, the House rising at 3.12.