MR BENT’S PROGRAMME

New Zealand Times, Volume XXIX, Issue 6137, 18 February 1907, Page 5

MR BENT’S PROGRAMME

VICTORIA’S FINANCES. SURPLUS OF HALL' A MILLION. CONTEMPLATED LEGISLATION. By Telegraph-Press Association-Copyright (Received February 18, 1.10 a.m.) MELBOURNE, February 17 .Mr Bent, Premier, in the course ol a policy speech, said Parliament would be dissolved about February 31st, and tho elections would be held on March 15th. It had rarely, he said, been tho good fortune of a Premier to,tell such a golden story as he had to tell. After doaung with the buoyancy and in. crease in general and railway revenue, he announced that a surplus of over half a million was assured for the current financial year. Tho position of the railways account had changed from a deficit of £360,G00 per year to a surplus of- £199,000 in three years. The Government, said the Premier, intended to stand to its programme, which included liberal railway, irrigation and land development. They proposed an amendation of the land tax by classifying land according to Its producing capabilities. Qld age pensions would ho increased to 10s weekly. Bills would be introduced providing for a referendum on the question of Bible-teaching in State schools; to secure preferential voting, so as to cure the evil of minority representation; for the utilisation of prison labour on road construction and other reproductive work. Woman’s suffrage would be left an open question for Cabinet to consider"; personally he was against it.