96 PER CENT SOCIALISED

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LXIII, Issue 19028, 30 May 1936, Page 8

96 PER CENT SOCIALISED

DOMINION’S TRANSPORT NEW .MEASURE DEFENDED PASSED LJY UPPER HOUSE (Per Press Association.) WELLINGTON, last, night. The debate on the Transport. Licensing Amendment. Bill was resumed in tnu _ jjper t louse to-day.

I iio liou. M. Fagan replied to I tie second leaning debate, lie saut that, much had heed made over the time mat, the .Minister of transport would have to devote to the decision of appeals. His reply to that, was that in Great. Britain the Minister ot 'Transport handled the appeals of OO.GjU passenger .services, white ni New Zealand lucre were ll.tUo

passenger services and oUOO goods services, and the Minister in New Zealand would handle appeals from 4/U) services compared with me greater number m i imam.

Continuing, Mr. Fagan said that the lion. it. .Masters had expressed grave doubts as tn the wisdom ol the clause ill tlie lull Which provided for appeals to (lie Minister ni transport. ‘ t am amazed that such an astute ainl farseeing politician as the lion, gentleman should make such a mistake as lie made when referring to the clause, ’ said Mr. Eagan. Mr. Eagan referred to t.iic hin which was being repealed, and showed that a similar clause had been embodied in that measure. Further, file clause was in the bill when it passed while Mr. Masters was leader of the Council. Mr. Masters: There is a vast difference ill the two bills. One is an independent, body, and the other is a judge in its own cause.

Mr. Fagan: That makes the hon. gentlemans case worse. Under the previous bill, said Mr. Fagan, power was given to an autocratic board responsible to no one. The bill before the Council gave, power to the Minister, who was responsible to the Cabinet, and the. Cabinet was responsible to Parliament. PROTECTION OF RAILWAYS

Dealing with the protection of the railways where passenger services are acquired, Mr. Fagan said that- the Government considered that it had a duty and a right to conserve the interests of the State. The people had a right to have the money invested in the railways protected. Dealing with the contention that the Government desired to socialise ail transport, he said that as the result of the previous Government’s action there was little left to socialise. Excluding private motor cars and private trucks, and if public transport only was considered, that was the transport owned by the Government or local authorities, 96 per cent was publicly owned and 4 per cent, was privately owned. If the Government wished it could socialise only 4 per cent. He stressed the necessity for complete co-ordination if air were made the chief arm of New Zealand’s defence, and he thought it would be. He said that, road operators had nothing to fear from the Government. It had been stated that Ministers were taking too much power, but the Government, had to face ait election in 21, years' time, and that was its guarantee for honesty.

Tito second reading was carried on the voices.

When the bill was in the committee stage, Mr. Masters moved an amend ment with the object of .securing that appeals from a licensing authority should be made to a magistrate and not to the Minister of Transport.

The. amendment was lost by 18 votes to nine.

The bill was then passed with (he amendments previously explained, and the Council rose till Tuesday.