UNUSUAL STEP IN HOUSE

Chronicle (Levin), 3 October 1946, Page 5

UNUSUAL STEP IN HOUSE

-Press Association

BILL AMENDED AFTER BEING PASSED

By Telegraph—

WELLINGTON, Oct 2. When the House of Representatives resumed this afternoon, the . unusual course of iniplementing the Constitution Act to bring down amendments'to the Servicemen 's Settlement and Land Saies Amendment Bill after it had been passed by both Houses of Parliament, was adopted. The new amendments were explained by the Minister of Lands who said the Bill provided that any one making a true discovery was entitled to a certilicate absolving liim from all action. The Minister said Mr. J. T. Watts, in a previous discussion, had asked what liappened when the. vendor made a true discovery and the amendment provided that if the vendor did that he would not at lea^t be absolved from the exccss eonsidera'tion that was paid. Another amendment provided that dealings in property in New Zealand between two foreign Governments did not have to go before the Land Saies Committee or Land Saies Court. Mr. Fraser said the procedure of bringing down amendments under the Constitution Act was seldom used and was adopted only when ari obvious weakness wa's discovered after the Bill had been passed by the Legislative Council so that it eould be sent back to the House of Representatives. It was to meet an emergency. Mr. S. G. Holland: Better to do it than not do it at all. The Prirne Minister said that in the present instance the House was in agreement on the amendment and the only way to get it into the Bill was'to t'ollow the procedure that was being adopted. Mr. Clifton Webb (Kaipara) said that as the Bill stood before, either the vendor or purchaser eould eome along and make a clean breast of things and get a "whitewashing" cert.ilicate. If the vendor did that he eould not have been hned for the excess copsideration. By the terms of the Bill one eould only reeover excess considoration through a fine and therefore if he obtained a certificate of exemption he eould not be fined the excess considcration. That position was reetified by the amendment. Mr. W. .T. Poison said he had objeeted to the Bill when it was being considered by the House because he felt it was a mistake and that something was being done that was alrhorrent to the proper rospect for legal. prineiples. He felt, that the Bill created a elass of certificated informer and gave a magistrate authority to decide whether a person was a first class or second class informer. The whole thing -was done in a hnrry and the Government now had to patcli its own bad legislation after it had passed through both houses. Mr. Poison said the amendment gave a faint odour of respectability to something that was not respectable at all. Mr. Fraser said no one was partieularly enamoured of the legislation, least of all the Minister coneerned who had a duty to protect returned soldiers from those with predatorv instinets who wislied to batten on to them. The Bill was to protect these men from ex- ' ploitation. The legislation with the added amendment, was as near as human ingenuity eould devise to meet a difficult situation in proteeting returned men ancl at the same time not put a premium on informers. Hon. C. F. Skinner said it was ineorrect to elaim that the legislation had been rushed through Ihe House. Fverv reasonable step had been taken to achieve what had been set out to achieve. The amendments were adopjed.