LAND ACT OFFENCES

Chronicle (Levin), 12 September 1946, Page 6

LAND ACT OFFENCES

-Press Associathon

Amending Bill with Drastic Features

By Telegraph-

WELLINGTON, Sept. 11. lu tlie llouse today, Ilon. C. F. Skinner, speaking lo the eoiiimittal of llic Scrvicemen 's Setllement and Land Saies Amendment - Bill, tliauked niembers of tlie Statutes Rovision Committee for the consi.derati.on thcy had giveu to the Bill ' and particularly tho chainnan of tliat committee, Mr. Scliraniin, who was responsible, said Alr. Skinner, for the amendments which had been inade and which removed most of the objectionable features of the Bill. it was freely adiuitted that the Bill, as introduced, had lnany unsatisfactory features. It was a drastic Bill to mcet a drastic situation but somothing of the kind was necessary to prevent furthcr oilences against tlie original Act. Alr. Skinner said be thought tho aiuended Bill would meet general approval. It gave ell'ect to regulations gazetted ua Juue 12 which wero the subject of conunent througliout tho Dominion and which wero rocoivod with mixed foolings. Whilo tlie Governinent had shrunk from taking the step involved in iiitroducing tliose regulations, tliey had been justiiied. The Governinent 's reiuctanco to do that sort of thing by regulation was shown by the fact that tlie draft Bill was ready 011 «lune 21 but owing to represeutatlon.s i'roiu interested parties, including the R.S.A, aud Lsiw Society, the introduction of Ihe Bill was det'erred in aii ellon lo iiuprove the Bill before it wus introduced. While these various bodie.s wero concei'ned, as was the Goverument, with preventing saies of property at a liigher ligure than autliotised by a Land >Sales Conunittee or Land Saies Court, nut oue of theni had been abJe to suggest clianges to bring about the iinproveiiients which now luul been efl'ecled by ihe Statutes Kevision Conunittee. Alr. Skinner said the Governinent was coneenied not with obtaining convictions but with preventing tho circumvention of tlie Act. Alr. ('. G. llnrker (Waipawa) said lu: eould not conceive of ;i ctise where a purehaser wlio had coniinitted two breaches of the law in such a transaetion, sliouhl sull'er 110 penalty at all. Tliorei'ore he opposed giving tlie Court [lower to awiiru all exeess eonsideratioa above ihe Land Saies Court prlce, to the purehaser. Alr. K. ,J. Iiolvoake (Pahiatua) said the Bill was evulence that the people would not accept the fundainenlal principle of ihe Act. It was horrible to encourage peo[ile to ' ' piinp) " 011 each other. Tlie Act discriniinated agaiust property owners. ll was agreed all over tlie eountrv that ex-servieeiuen should bo settled at values ruling iu 19-12 but the Act recognised Ihe fact that values had appreciated siueo then and, therel'ore, wliy should not a property uwner receive liigher values i 11c con.-idered the cust of reliabilitating ex-servicenien should not fall on anv oue or nuiuber of property or farin owners. The oalv w ay to reetify lliis inequality or injuslice was to settle exservicenteu -at LiJ-12 Values and be fair to the property owiiyr. and pa-v jLiin a i'air price. The difl.'0're-irce betweOu the values ruling today aiul- those- iu 19-J2 should, he said, be borne by the people as a wliole. Alr. Tliorn: Thal's socialism in ti new forni. Alr. Iiolvoake suggest ed that that inethod would be fair to evervbody. The Aliuister had already acee[ited that suggestion in forin by niaking suppleniontary loans avaiiable. Alr. Iiolvoake said even under the aiuended Bill. tlie lonipluliou to iuform and tlius foi tlie jteople to beconie jiiinps. would

remain. There would still be a tremeinlous aiuouut of black marketing, wliieh would be greatly diininished were his suggestion given eflfect to. The Act would never be acceptable to the majority of the people unless its fuiidanieiitai principle were cluinged. Alr. JS'ash said Alr. Iiolvoake 's suggestion underliiied tlie diflerence betweeu two economic prineiples. Alr. Iiolvoake suggested that price inerenieiits which were duo to economic conditious now obtaining, should go to tlie!

owner of the land. That had been allowed to liappeu in some couutries with disastrous results aud if the stune course were followed in New Zealand, it would inevitably leail to infiution uml disaster withiu a decade. The war had brought about the conditions which had created a virtual sellers' market. The Governinent believed, liowevor, that [ii'iees should be held back to the levei of 15/ 12/42 so that wlien a recession canie, its eil'ects would be less severe in Xew Zealand than they would be in couutries where prices had not iieen stabiiised. Tlie inference in Alr. Iiolvoake 's suggestion was that as prices of coiiuuodities went up, the owner. of the land should be paid more eveu lliough lie had done nothing to create the increased value. The [mrpose of the Act was to lceep property prices at the 1912 level beeause prices of imjiortant coiiuuodities had been stabiiised at the same timo. Desxiite some anomalios and some mistakes wluch had been made on the wav, there was 110 doubt that price levels in Xrew Zealand had been kept 011 a more even kee! tinui iu auy other country. 11 e houed that wlien Alr. .Skinner replied he would tell the llouse liow many millioiLs luul been saved to land xiurchase.rs siuce tlie Act was passed. Alr. l'\ \V. Loidge : Perliaps the Aliuister will also tell us how many miJlioiis lutve been passed under the Lable since tlie Act was passed. Alr. X'asli said the alternative of uncoiil rolled prices was cruel, unjust and disastrous. Alr. \V. A. Bodkin: Tliis Act has brouglil corruplion. Alr. \V. S. Goosman: Aud injuslice. Alr. X'asli said Jie lioped his colleague would go on with tlie Bill and princples for whieli it stood liecause, if the alternative course were followed, it would j bring the Dominion back to a repetition of tli.e disaster it experieuced iu tlie years 1929 to 1925. Tlie Bill was still being discussed at ihe adjournment, prior to whieli tlie Prime Aliuister imlieated that the discussion 011 all Hills before tlie lloust would be contiiiued lomorrow. Thi llouse rose al 19.25 p.iu. uutil 2.2U [i.m tomorrow.