LICENSES WANTED

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LXIII, Issue 19135, 2 October 1936, Page 5

LICENSES WANTED

TOURIST RESORT HOSTELS HETITIONS TO PARLIAMENT REDISTRIBUTION URGED HANDICAP TO BUSINESS (Parliamentary Reporter.) WELLINGTON, tins clay. An amendment of the Licensing Act waa the subject of three petitions reported' on by the Public Petitions Committee M to Z in the House of Representatives yesterday, the main question involved being that of-providing licensed accommodation at tourist resorts. In every case the committee expressed the opinion that a matter of policy was involved and recommended the petitions to the Government for consideration. Discussing the petition of Mr. J. C. Rowley ana 75 other residents of Hawea, Mr. W. A. Bodkin (Nat., Central Otago) urged the Government to take actroh ■' to rerriedy! the deficiency -in -the facilities- 'for tourist traffic. Theft were, he said, many cases, particularly in goldmining districts, of more licenses existing than were necessary to service tlie population, as it had declined, while on the other hand parts of the South Island had been developed in a tourist sense of recent years, but the tourist business would be retarded owing to the handicap of the absence of licensed accommodation. As' an example, a magnificent hostel had been built by the Government at Milford Sound, but it could never cater adequately for the tourist traffic until it waa licensed. Every elector in _ the Hawea district had signed a petition asking, for a license. All that was needed was a simple amendment of the Licensing Act. STATE CONTROL FAVOURED The Prime Minister, the Rt. Hon. M. J. Savage: A simple amendment, all right. The Hon. D. G. Sullivan suggested, amid hearty laughter, that Mr. Bodkin might try the amending experiment himself. "I would not mind State control for hostels," replied the member for Otago Central, who repeated his point that the tourist traffic in the South Island must be handicapped unless this facility was provided. There were places which were now being opened. up where, until recent times, there had been no settlement whatever.

A similar point arose on the petition of Mr. M. Sullivan, proprietor of the accommodation house at Fox Glacier, praying for the issue of a hcense. This was supported by Mr. J. O'Brien (Lab., Westland), who was also able to point to the excess of licenses in old ciold-mining areas. He .gave some amusing examples of unnecessary hotels, remarking that some were run by the wife of the licensee while the latter had to go on relief work to make a living. If one of Ihese places took two shillings in. a day the landlord would go to the other "hotel" and spend half of it so that they could share the business (laughter). KING COUNTRY POSITION

The absence of a. license at Weheka did not mean that there was no liquor brought in,, and be contended that the business would be better controlled if the hostel was granted a license. The Rt. Kon. J. G. Coates (Nat., Kaipara) declared that one could not help being impressed by the necessity of a. license "under such conditions. He urged the Government to consider the matter. Mr. T. H. McCombs (Lab., Lyttelton) : Why did you not take action yourself?

Mr. Clyde Carr, chairman of the petitions committee: Refer it to the Opposition for most favourable consideration. (Laughter.) Mr. Coates retorted this was sidestepping the matter. He had tried to do something, but was not successful, but when referring to the necessity of licenses in tourist areas he was not advocating licenses for the King Country, which was subject of an agreement between Maori and pakeha, but it was just too bad that an attractive tourist area such as Weheka could not compete on equal terms with other resorts. The third petition was from 474 residents in the town of Matamata, in a thriving dairying district, and the com- ' rriittee's non-cornmittal recommendation was adopted without comment.