MAIN HIGHWAYS

Northern Advocate, 12 September 1924, Page 5

MAIN HIGHWAYS

I MOTOR VEHICLES' LEVY.

BILL BEFORE THE HOUSE

SEVERAL INEQUALITIES.

(Special to "Northern Advocate.") WELLINGTON, This Day. In the House lust evening, the" Hon. B. F. Bollard moved the second road-

ing of the Motor Vehicles' Bill, the chief object of which is to provide funds for the main, highways of the Dominion. The Minister said that copies of.the Bill had been sent to the bodies concerned and that tlin Bill Tiad been well received. Mr Wilford said that the Bill was a leach for a little blood-letting on j behalf of the Highways Board, which j ■&t present had no method of blood- j letting except the tyro tax. The revenue from that tax was only £7/5,000 a year, which was not nearly enough . for the purpose. There was need for ; legislation for the regulating of motor , traffic. One objection he had to the ' Bill was that motorists who used their cars only at week-ends had to pay as

nuch in license as taxi proprietors who used their's every day m tho week. There should be proper examination of flrivers. Fifteen years was too young at which to be licensed as .'i driver. Motorists were willing to pay for good roads, but the user should pay in proportion to his use of the road. The Hon. J. G. Coates said that the number of cars in New Zealand had been estimated between 50,000 and 70,000 and it was expected to get in license registration fees £100,000 to £150,000 a year. He admitted that the tax did not satisfy him and be lieved that a petrol tax was the onb fair way in which to make motorist; pay in proportion to their use of road?.

Mr Young: "How would yon exempt the farmer?"

Mr Coates: "In America he makes a declaration at the end of esn-li year, but usually it is only 10s or so and he says 'keep it and' let it go to the roads. ,,,, Mr Wilford: "But petrol is *-h.>aper there."

Mr Holland said that this was a patchwork age and the House had to .devote itself to patchwork legislation. He feared that the smaller local authorities would lose revenue under the Bill and urged that the Government should eitHer divide the tax between the Main Highways Board and local bodies or give a guarantee to the authorities in sparsely settled districts that they would not suffer any loss of revenue under the Bill. To levy the same tax on a man with a cheap, low- \ power car as on the man with a big, | high-power car was like levying the ] same income tax on a man of £300 as ■ a man of £3000. ; Mr Wright said it had been re- j marked that local bodies were losing j something and gaining nothing. Conn- i try representatives should bo the last to suggest anything like that. As far as he could see the country districts were going to benefit immensely by this Bill. There were said to be 50,000 cars in New Zealand, and about 25,000 of them would be found in the five biggest centres. These centres would have nothing done for them by the "Highway Boards. They would be fin'ding much of the money for ■making roads in the country, but. they 'did not object. SECOND READING CARRIED. After further discussion a division •was taken, resulting in the second reading of the Bill being passed. j