“FOREGONE CONCLUSION”

Otago Daily Times, Issue 27026, 10 March 1949, Page 6

“FOREGONE CONCLUSION”

RESULT OF LICENSING ISSUE

JOINT COMMITTEE’S VIEWS

The Joint Committee on Referenda in a statement issued last night said: “Of necessity, our first word must be one .of thanks to the many people whose generosity and service have made possible our presentation of the facts to the electors. It is too early to say anything concerning the size of the vote, as returns are still to come in, but the results seem assured. “In commenting on the licensing poll, the issue was clearly placed before the people, and the result was a foregone conclusion before they went to the polls. While it is a vote against extension of hours in any way, it is also a vote against the present most unsatisfactory conditions obtaining in hotel administration and the sale of liquor. From many reputable and reliable citizens have come reports of after-hours trading in most hotels, a fact which has been observed by us again and again. It is a sad commentary on law enforcement when this has continued, and now that the people have expressed their will so decisively, we trust the Government will accept the mandate and get the position cleared up. The electors have voted from knowledge and experience, and their vote is decisive.

“ The gaming issue from the very beginning has not been clear, and we-do not think that the matter is yet clear. The bookmaker was introduced to cloud the issue still further, and by means of innuendo and, at times, direct statement, the views and beliefs of the churches have been obscured, and that in spite of clear-cut statements. We believe that the result of the poll is not so much a vote for an untried and dangerous experiment, as a mandate to the Government against the existence of the pest we all know as the bookmaker. We believe the vote is a declaration that law enforcement has failed to clear up this most unsatisfactory position. It is, we repeat, a mandate to the Government to introduce even more restrictive or even punitive legislation to get rid of -this menace. We are among those who believe why, if it is desired to clean up the bookmaker, it is necessary to introduce the betting shop. „ . “We believe, too, that it is a vote against the mushroom Tatt’s agencies, the office sweeps and the home-grown bookmakers of shops and factories. Throughout the campaign, promises have been made that the features of the Australian experience which were so undesirable would not appear in this country. We express the hope that if they do appear the Government will take the same action as did South Australia—abolish the shops forthwith.”