STATE FIRE OFFICE.

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 2204, 17 July 1914, Page 4

STATE FIRE OFFICE.

■ CONCERNING ADMINISTRATION. - • , ; '"FLYING SQUADRON" AGAIN. \ r - The, Hon. F. 'M. U; FISHER present- . .. annual- report of tlie; State Fire ■ . Insuranco. Department^-and discussion i; ensued ,'onditt'ereht'/ma'tters; connected 1 ; with'/tho .State: Fire, Insurance department. i' i • ■ Mr, T. M. WILEORD <(Hutt). asked Another^ : ■> working luxtlie -Stat© Firo-Department had had payments iiiade!to them'beyond their salariesj and^Kether^'ornot'.those: . payments: wei'o made-on the authority .: ofcthe iMinisteri'in' chargepv HeVwantea" v' .tor.teow ,tho;.ampuiit. of;.those pisjjmeiits'' and.whether ornofc a sum:of over three figures had been.paid to one officer ? ; • ■ Mr. T H. DAVEY (Christchurch v,East)fasked V beeu'.mad6'betwe'^ other firo msuranco offices? ■ Mi-. G V. PEARCE (Patea) asked : v;iwheflier it' was: a •fits of the Department had "been .higher than in past years.: Ho .believed that if'":vthis%as'sb^'butHlle^'me^ ha.3 gono around Taranaki telling' tara- . diddles, saying that: tho Government V. had set out'.'to,,injury .the"State.,.Fire. , Office in order to. help the wealthyunsur--anco companies. Mrl Pearco said the : repeal of the condition "requiring bor- ' .. rowers from the State- Advances Office ' to'unsure \vitli;yie„.Stat©. Qflic6 had al- - loyfed the Insurance • ■ Companies, who-insured;-farmers? . • risks; ; ;f; at'.lower rates, ~t<> carry. on .their 'busine'ss. ■■ ri V' : 'V Sir. G. WITTY (Riccarton) said'it v!'f.should. be, ? a j man State he. I should • i State Office: '' toHnjure tfcState) Office ,in order ] to help'their friends£shd ! ivere':the A holders of the big- insurance companies. Mr. G. FORBES (ffurunui) repeated ■ tho assertion madei by Mr. JWitty* He ■ ' accused tho. of -st.ar.vjng;. 7 thl! Lfl)'eral''.ifetita%ii?/^Ml«|.,gj;j^: late Government / -» » v Mr. li. MvISITT- (dhristcliurch North)' v\ . 'denied that as ono of the "Flying Un- : :its" lie;, liad gone - jound, Taranaki; tell--ing" taradiddles. He • declared that the .-■J .Farmers''.'Sliitiial' 'Insurant©"'Societies' , ■ wero not : the concern 'of tlio " Govern-' . me'nt. \ ~Ji ProteotionuEromi Extortion. Mr. W-H.D.-BELL (Suburbs) eaid tho ''flying Squadron" Jiad made much of \tliiß inisound it was, ■ ■ 'bilt: -it' they ■ ■ 'knew it was a good ono with .which-to gull tho public. He suggested that tlio. honourable gentlemen-.,0n ii-the other, side lookedm; tho. matter from .a wrong . ■ ; .poijit of view/ 'lf ItKe'State'Verii in'the hro insurance business to make-profits . 'all that they said would-, bo correct. But the. only why tho. State had . gono into thebusiness, was to protect V' ; tho" people - from/the extortion 'of fire jinsurance companies,'• arid'.'it:seemed Vto■ - him that the State Fire Office was serving' its purpose when it kept, down rates toa fair-and-reasoh'able.'scale.; It would , bo'unfair competition for the State •: Office to bolster itself'up'with, this condition attached -to.v ail loans, from the 1 ■' State Advances Offico. If ,this support . was' necessary to the State 'Fire Office to jenable it to carry.' oii, then the premiums being charged ivore unreasonably low. He was of opinion -that .the .State' Fire 'Insurance Department did : not; exist: to drfre ;Sll Insurance Com-J : patiies out of jbifsiness-.r. > y:v f '' r No War of Extermination. , .. ■ . SIR JOSEPH WARp ;(Awarua)' referred to the fact that'upori'the establishment of tho State Fire Office, all the otfcitififtffofficdstiiKiihefMiihtry -had'-re-' ' v ,331 : 3 per = cpnt. and had., deorded' tb refuse "to 'give Teinsurances to i tho State Office or to take reinsurances from it. With such a handicap tho Department must have failed but for the fact tliat the State was behind it.' ~ - , At that time the! only business the,G.ov- - ernmcnt coUlfl yuflaetjcii r,"to' :'thfi' '.Statelire Office was - tllat'of'-horroWers from the Advances Office, and but for that support-the State ,'Fire,'then struggling for existence, Iwould! have gone under. For his part lie had never contemplatcl :tlio- possibility-of the State Office supplanting all other offices, and it had ' not been established for this purposo, but only to..prevent;'.'the of extortionato rates'... In this 'Object -the offico had succeeded. He belicv'ed it was ; '."thl. duty of tho Government to assist : tli'o'State Firo''.lnsurance Departnient, but h,e ; did .• not. think :, the 1 GoyqrnmenV • , should attempt;'to idrivoV'all; other In- - suraiice..',Offices Joiit of. business.'ln turn , ho; hoped:-tho ! private 'Offices;-would re-' : cognise that it.was not inimical to the : ■ interests.iof the community as a whole for tho State to ho in tlio firo insurance business. . : . , - , Mr. J. PAYNE (Grey Lynn) advocat-, ed; the acquirement by the. State of big : monopolies, from the" profits of which the country could'bo developed. '' . Mr. A. HARRIS (Waitemata) agreed : ; with tho Opposition members that it was not wise for the Government to . ' jeayo it; optional,for persons getting loans frOrii tho State,.to insure with tho : Stiite Fire -Insurance Department or not. In one. case .that he knew of the New Zealand Insurance Company had . . in a :mortgage insisted upon the risk being insured with the New Zealand Insurance Company. Mr. Myers: That is the,policy of,tho • "company. I am a director. , Mr. Harris waid he would not suggest that + he_Government or any other . office should insist upon a farmer tak- , ing his risk .away ,from a ; Mutual Association which.iW.ould:tateit s nt : -lower . rates to give it State Office, but •other thinas: being .eaual.Jie thought .that where possible'the"'Government : should insist on- risks going to.-the State; ...Office, ■ BUXTON (Temuka) said that' ' lnejnliei s" of the State Fir>e Department realised, that. the. liow; regulation. iyas •toing to Inirt them very considerably'. The argument..that the..bußiness> dono . last year showed an .advanco -;.,.-Was" n'p , argnmerit at • all. : made that less rates, wore.charged'else-.

A-member: Tho Farmers' Mutual chargo ss. per £lUO. Mr. Buxton sand that all business concerns .running two departments insisted that, the cover should be taken: -ont-with them when they were lending money. As a fire insurance agent, ho ■said, that'it was not doing justice to tho State Fire Department when people to whom Government money was lent could: go anywhere to insure. ' -' v , Views of Mr. Hindmarsh. Mr. A. H. HINDMARSH (Wellington South) said that anyone could havo expected that the Government would, directly they got into office, attack tho State Fire Department.: It was repeating the tactics of tho Tories in England. They wanted the Department, to become discredited.. 'A. ■ thousand little signs showed what attitude the Government took up with regard to State enterprise. They> intended to discredit every State in so far as its profit helped .the .members of their own party. 'flicy Government- were in the habit of purchasing land .from their own supporters at, an'enhanced'value.: He mentioned the name of Mr.. Lethbridge'-in ,this connection.; '. .' .V Tho PRIME JIINISTER. made a; r<jply .(reported,'elsewhere) to"this -statement. • r : Progressive 7 Mr._ l E.^P., : -LEE (Oamaru) said] that the member- had. declared- the Govern-. toent were out'to lTlin St-ijte' enterprise. ■Every, aftefiibon -papers , wero laid on, the table showing progressive administration. The trouble was the honourable. membeifs did:not like the answers „to tho misrepresentation's of the "Flying .Sguadron."-The. ireport.. '<*{•: the ' State Fire Insurance Department -was one of progress, and was one of the many papers that would ,be presented showing progressive administration. ' .- Mr. H. G. ELL (Christchurch South) 1 said that the credit of the inauguration of- tlio State Fire 'Insurance Department was due ti the Liljeral -Party. The' Prima Minister had - said that it was ■ better to spend 'the money upon roads ! and .bridges- thah to establish a State •.Firh Insurahcei,Department. j -Mr. Ji ;H. ::BR.ADNEY (Auckland West). said.J.thjit the Department had : been stated.'. :.vitV,h.a'dL; : amalgamated,'- with the ,other;vjn'siga)ico corapiiflies,J -!and . now • rate;'•••'•lf had created 'That; was what ivould happen iio all State enterprises. he was.against State entorprise. ;; j ' - 1 Mr; VEITCH (Wanganui) said that surety, it ; was-reasonable to, admit that while .the State Office had brought the past, it was still to bring them down. : had ,to consider what the Department had prevented. They could, not say $hat -would be charged now were it not" for'.the State Office. -The mofion , that the report do lie .on the table wa's talked out at 5.30 p.m.