NEW REGULATIONS

New Zealand Herald, Volume 80, Issue 24535, 18 March 1943, Page 2

NEW REGULATIONS

STABILISATION POLICY; : RENTS AND BASIC v WAGES (P.A.) WELLINGTON, Wednesday Several important amendments to the Economic Stabilisation Emergency Regulations were gazetted to-night. Commenting on tlie amendments the Minister in charge of Stabilisation, the Hon. D. G. Sullivan, said they embodied alterations and provisions to meet change-over difficulties which had suggested themselves after three months' practical experience of economic stabilisation. For instance, said Mr. Sullivan, the original regulations were drafted to give the Magistrate's Court jurisdiction in rent cases where the rent was not in excess of £520 per annum. Under the new regulations the Lower Court would have jurisdiction up to'£s2s, or in any other cases if the parties agreed, thus covering rentals of £lO a week. Commissioners and Appeals Again, under the original regulations, conciliation commissioners were given the task of determining the basic rates of remuneration in doubtful cases. The new regulations substituted the term "wages commissioners" for conciliation commissioners. This means the Minister could appoint conciliation comiriis. sioners as wages commissioners or appoint other persons specially qualified for this work. The Director of Stabilisation was enabled, without a time limit, to appeal against the decisions of a wages commissioner, thus providing a safeguard against decisions not in conformity with the general stabilisation plan. Under the new regulations the Arbitration Court was required not to make any apprenticeship order which varied conditions of employment or increased rates of remuneration otherwise than to remove anomalies. Fixing Road Fares A provision was contained to fix road passenger fares in conformity with the stabilisation plan. Proceedings in respect of certain industrial disputes and employers' arrangements for schemes of classification or contracts of service which were under negotiation on December 15 would now be allowed to go forward, but the Arbitration • Court, which had jurisdiction in such cases, would be required to deal with these' applications in the_ light of the general policy of stabilisation. Mr. Sullivan added that stabilisation was the very core of the Government 1 !' wartime economic policy. The retail price index in December showed an increase of only 13.4 per cent over that of August, 1939. compared with 29 per cent in Britain, 20.1 per cent in Australia, 20 per cent in South Africa and 17.fi per cent in Canada. The Government had successfully protected the purchasing power of the New Zealand pound, said Mr. Sullivan, and would continue to do so. : LOCAL AND GENERAL Express Delayed The express which leaves Auckland for Opua at 8.40 a.m. was delayed outside the Hoteo tunnel, about 70 miles from Auckland, for two hours yester- . day. The delay was due to a broken ! rail inside the tunnel, which had to . -be repaired. No other train traffic wag affected. New Name for School A request that the name of the Mount Roskill school be changed to that of Three Kings to coincide with the name of the district has been granted by the Auckland Education Board. A referen- . dum conducted by the committee re- \ suited in 180 parents voting in favour j of the change of name and 19 opposing } it. ; Abundance of Water Unlike many towns at present, Papas kura has an abundance of water. Ao ; cording to the Borough Council's fore- ; man more water is running over the r spillway at the dam, situated at the head of the Hunua Gorge, than is running into the main pipeline.. Papakura also supplies Manurewa from this source. City Valuations. Of 147 original objections to 380 assessments on the Auckland City . Council's valuation list, all were settled by negotiation except 34, which came before the Assessment Court for the j citv yesterday. Mr. J. H. Luxford, ' S.M., presided. The valuations were sustained in 30 cases, one case was aa--7 journed and decision was reserved in the other three. s Rehabilitation Schemes i Proposals for rehabilitation schemes r to be placed before the Auckland Sub- . urban Local Bodies' Association were e discussed at a meeting of the Devonport Borough Council last night. The problems of the North Shore transharbour communication and of a major water supply for the Auckland metropolitan area were considered to be suit' able schemes for post-war employment. i Mushrooms Scarce t Mushrooms are very scarce in Auck- . land, for the Marton crop has prac- , tically finished and the cold weather has e checked the growth of local ones. A - city auctioneering firtn had only five - small packages from Marton to offer - fdr sale yesterday, while another proe duce marketing company had sold none r since Saturday. The retail price of e mushrooms at present is about 4s 6da lb. o Long Delayed Letter 0 A letter-card posted in Foxtou on Sep- ~ tembcr 29, 1905, was delivered to the addressee in Auckland this week. It was e originally addressed to Hastings, and 0 the recipient cannot explain why the c letter took such a long time to reach liini. The only postmarks on the letter are Foxton, Palmerston North and B.asT tings, these being stamped when the, letter was first posted, and the Auckland postmark of this week. 1 Museum Acquisitions A letter from Major-Geueral Charles. Gordon, of Khartoum, to a friend, s written just before his appointment to R the Sudan, h among the latest acquis'" :1 tions received at the Auckland *Var . Memorial Museum. Others received e were South Pacific ethnological t material and a collection of birds' t Maori fishing sinkers and an adze hart from South Kaipara Heads, and * i Maori wooden fish-hook from the same . locality. Attendances at the museum 1, since December averaged 2122 a week, f and the attendance for the year to s date numbered 15,094. * Soldieis' Petrol A protest was made by the Auckland Returned Services Association '.against the decision that the petrol allowance to soldiers on final leave would be discontinued except in cases of men travelling in areas remote from transpor facilities. It was stated in communicaf tions to the Prime Minister, the K • h Hon. P. Eraser, and members of 1 arliament that rental cars which were m great demand were being given gener- . ous supplies. Since then it has bee a established that there has been n J change of policy and further repre- ., sentations are being made on t 1 , matter. Sick and Wounded Office s That it was necessary for II wounded soldier on crutches to cum the stairs to the Sick and W oa e .. office for any purpose, as had been r centlv alleged, was denied yesterday 0 " behalf of the authorities at the Rutland Street drill hall. It was stated- „ that arrangements had been made so _ time ago that men who were unable t go upstairs should have their ,usin( ij s dealt with in a room on the S 10U " . floor upon application at the niqui y f counter. It was explained that mas , men who had been before a me £". r. board required to have various ma , r> attended to. such as travelling " . 1 rants. Very few had any difficult 1 , s climbing the stairs, and those who • s so seemed greatly to appreciate the 4* s of tea which was obtainable at v canteen near the office.