NEW MOTOR BILL

Waikato Times, Volume 94, Issue 14768, 6 October 1921, Page 5

NEW MOTOR BILL

EFFECT ON LOCAL BODIES FEEB GO TO GOVERNMENT. ANOMALIES OF REGISTRATION. The Bill dealing with motor vehicle legislation which has been laid before the House, while primarily concerning owners of motors themselves, contains several items which are of interest to local bodies. Under the existing law the Hamilton Borough Council is a registering authority, and as such collects fees for the registration of motors, and these fees term part of the general account, thereby being available for expenditure on streets, etc. Under the proposed legislation all registration fees (nearly double the existing charges), plus an annual license fee for the privilege of using a motor vehicle, will be collected by Government officials and paid into the Consolidated Fund, to be applied as may be provided from time to time. This means, said Mr E. J. Davey, Town Clerk, in a report to the Council la3t night, that while the Council will lose the fees it has available for expenditure on street maintenance, there is no knowing that the fees collected by the Government will be as usefully expended; certainly there is an indication that the Government proposes under another Bill to expend these fees on main roads, etc., but it is quite possible that the motor vehicle legislation may "go through," but the other Bill be dropped. He therefore considered that the Council should move in the direction of expressing its opinion that the fees collected under the Motor Vehicles Bill shall be earmarked for 'eome definite purpose. Another proposal was that local authorities should examine drivers and issue drivers' licenses (under conditions to be framed by Departmental regulation), for which the limit of fee chargeable by the local authority was ss. He submitted that for the trouble and expense involved the fee was not high enough. The Bill, while providing for registration and license fees being paid to the Government, did not prevent a local body also charging license fees under a heavy traffic by-law, or a by-law dealing with the licensing of vehicles plying for hire. There were, added Mr Davey, a number of items in the Bill which did not appear to be very equitable, but they did not concern the Council so much, perhaps, as motor owners themselves. For instance, there did not seem to be any reason why the owner of a private motor-car should pay 20s as a registration fee, while the owner of a motor omnibus only paid 10s for the same purpose; also it hardly seems reason-, able that persons who had already registered cars and paid the prescribed fees therefor should be required to pay another fee (and an increased one in most cases) for registration with the Department. The matter was referred to a committee consisting of the Mayor, Crs. Gilbert and Jenkins.