Local Elections Bill

Northern Advocate, 28 April 1944, Page 4

Local Elections Bill

A report by Mr. A. C. A. Sexton regarding the evidence in respect to the Local Elections and Polls Amendment Bill, given by the Local Bills Committee of the House of Representatives, was presented to the Aumkland Provincial Executive of the New Zealand Farmers' Union at its April meeting. Mr. Sexton and Mr. Hallyburton Johnstone (chairman of the Waikato sub-ProvinciaP Executive) gave evidence before the committee.

Mr. Sexton stated:—"lt was obvious that the Government party had made up its mind to hammer the bill through, in spite of everything, and we had considerable difficulty in even being heal’d by the committee. The chairman of . the committee was fair towards us. but the hostility was very marked, particularly from the doctrinaire members of the Labour Party.”

Speaking ‘of the protest against the bill being rushed through Parliament •without adequate notice, Mr.- Sexton said: “Until the Union’s advertisements were put in the newspapers, only n minute fraction of the peoole understood that the Maoris, who were non-ratepayers, were being given a vote along with all pakehas. I found on moving around Wellington that of several heads of departments and senior officers with whom I came in contact, not one of them understood that the bill would give the Maoris a vote, and they were amazed to find that this was intended. This feature of the bill, of course, was well enough known by Parliament. My contention was that if the old maxim of no taxation without representation was right there was a necessary corollary of no representation without taxation.

“I obtained figures which I gave to Mr. Robinson (provincial secretary), showing the respective Maori and Europen populations in various counties and which further showed that in some of the counties at least, the Maori vote would swamp the European vote. I gave figures from the year Book and from the Local Authorities Bankbook, showing that the overwhelming proportion of moneys collected by the counties by way of rates was spent on roads and bridges. Roads and bridges in the country districts are truly instruments of production, and are in an entirely different class from the amenities which are provided out of rates in urban areas. There can therefore be no justification for giving non-ratepayers any say in the control of instruments of production. Farmers cannot pass on increased rates as can be done in the cities."