CHANGES IN LAWS

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXVII, Issue 23748, 30 August 1940, Page 11

CHANGES IN LAWS

LONG LIST OF CLAUSES MR. HAMILTON'S CRITICISM TRANSPORT APPEAL PROCEDURE [by TELEGRAPH—SPECIAL REPORTER] WELLINGTON. Thursday "There are some clauses that may have a little dynamite in them," said the Leader of the Opposition, the Hon. A. Hamilton, during the debate on the , Statutes Amendment Bill in the House to-day. The bill contains 59 clauses. The second reading was moved briefly by the Attorney-General, the Hon. H. G. R. Mason, who said the bill had been before several select committees and had commended itself to them. Most of the clauses, although of importance to individuals concerned, were not of wide general interest. Mr. Hamilton said he would have thought the clause dealing with wind-ing-engine drivers in coal mines would have been dealt with in the opposite way—the bill was making it possible for an uncertificated man to run a winding engine. The House was entitled to know why an amendment of that kind was necessary. "Is it that many of tlie men are going away on service?" he asked. Mr. Mason: That is part of it. Mr. Hamilton: If that is so, wo do not mind. Closing Hours for Shops The provision relating to the opening and closing hours of shops, Mr. Hamilton said, might be less innocent than I it appeared. It might be bringing about a compulsory universal half-holiday. It placed in the hands of the Arbitration Court power to pronounce the closing hours for shops in all industrial districts. Another provision empowering the Minister of Transport to refer back to licensing authorities appeals from their decisions was also criticised by Mr. Hamilton, who said the Minister was getting caught with his own legislation. Under the original Act appeal was to the Minister. Here the Minister was wanting to "pass the buck" back to the licensing authorities. "Why does not the Minister stand up to his own legislation and take the responsibility of making decisions?" Mr. Hamilton asked. "We must not play with the courts of justice. We told the Minister when he was taking that authority that he should never have done it." "LJkely to be Worse Method" ' A Government Member: Then what are you growling about? Mr. Hamilton: It is the original legislation that is wrong and I think this is likely to be a worse method than the former one. An amendment to the Workers Compensation Act to provide for compensation for accidents arising even when the worker is acting in contravention of any Act or of any orders given by his employer was described by Mr. Hamilton as going a long way. It might be advisable, but he did not know. The Minister of Labour, the Hon. P. C. Webb: It. is going as far as England has done. FAIR RENTS ACT EXTENSION OPPOSED REPLY BY HON. H. G. R. MASON [BT TELEGRAPH SPECIAL REPORTER] WELLINGTON, Thursday A suggestion that the Fair Rents Act should be allowed to drop and business enabled to get back to normal methods was made by the Leader of the Opposition, the Hon. A. Hamilton, during the debate on the Statutes Amendment Bill in the House to-day. One clause of the bill provides that the Fair Rents Act shall continue in force until September 30, 1941. "We have been having annual extensions of the Fair Rents Act for I don't know how long," Mr. Hamilton said. "1 think a better name for it would be the Unfair Rents Act." Mr. Hamilton said the Act caused a lot of difficulty, and he asked why the Government continued to re-enact it every year. It was one of the biggest blocks on the building of homes. "I can think of no worse piece of legislation passed by this Government than the present Fair Rents Act," said Mr. S. G. Holland (Opposition—Christchurch North) in the debate to-night. The Act was a blow at the house-builder and at the house-renter. The object was to destroy the incentive of the people to build or buy their own homes. A claim that the report of the Labour Depfirtment for the current year indicated the need for the extension of the period of operation of the Fair Rents Act was made by the AttorneyGeneral, the Hon. H., G. R. Mason, when replying to the debate tonight. Mr., Mason about 6000 applications, including 1720 in Wellington alone, had been dealt with by the department's inspectors. lhat showed the need for the Act. PETROL RESELLERS' HOURS MINISTER DEFENDS CHANGE [BY TELEGRAPH —SPECIAL REPORTER] WELLINGTON. Thursday The new hours being observed by petrol resellers were defended by the Minister of Labour, the Hon. P. C. Webb, in the House to-day during the debate on the Statutes Amendment Bill Opposition members had criticised the change, and took the view that the public was entitled to greater consideration. Mr. Webb said he was satisfied that Rafferty rules had existed, and that in manv cases employees worked all kinds of hours. Resellers discussed the question of hours over two years, and for 12 months he suspended' action. Before anything could be done, each district had to take a ballot of mem- j bers, and they had to get an over- | whelming majority. j The Minister gave an assurance that j before the new regulations came into | force resellers had to make satisfactory • arrangements to meet the public needs, j They agreed among themselves that j some stations should remain open all j night to supply travellers. The regula- j tions were necessary to the trade, and j any injustices that might become apparent would he rectified. TRANSPORT MONOPOLY FEARS OF FARMERS [BY TELEGRAPH —SPECIAL REPORTER] WELLINGTON. Thursday Forebodings of transport becoming a Government monopoly caused by the circulation among Taranaki farmers of a questionnaire, asking why they should continue to use their own trucks for the transport of their goods, were brought to the notice of the House of Representatives to-night by Mr. C A. Wilkinson (Independent—Egmont) during the second reading debate on the Statutes Amendment Bill. "There is an idea in the minds of the farming community that it is the Government's intention sooner or later to interfere with the carriage by farmers of their own goods," Mr. Wilkinson said. "I dispute the right of the transport authorities to send these questionnaires to farmers. There seems to he an idea of interfering and holding transport as a Government monopoly." A Government Member: The Minister has denied it.