LICENSES FOR TOURIST HOUSES

Evening Star, Issue 22459, 2 October 1936, Page 1

LICENSES FOR TOURIST HOUSES

DEFICIENCY IN IMPORTANT TRAFFIC AMENDMENT OF ACT SOUGHT NON-COMMITTAL RECOMMENDATION [From Our Parliamentary Reporter.] WELLINGTON, October 1. An amendment of tho Licensing Act ■was the subject of three petitions reported on by the Public Petitions Committee (M to Z) in the House, 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 tbo petitions to the Government for consideration. Discussing the petition of J. C. Rowley and 75 other residents of Hawea, Mr Bodkin (Central Otago) urged the Government to take action to remedy a deficiency in the facilities for tourist traffic. There were, he said, many cases, particularly in gold mining districts, of more licenses existing than were necessary to serve the population, as it had declined; while, on the other hand, parts of tho South Island bad been developed m a tourist sense of recent years, but 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 tourist traffic ■ until it was licensed. Every elector in Hawea district had signed a petition asking for a license. All that was needed was a simple amendment of the Licensing Act. The Prime Minister: A simple amendment all right 1 Mr Sullivan suggested, amid hearty laughter, that Mr Bodkin might try the amending experiment himself. “ I would not mind State Control for the 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, tiiere had been no settlement whatever. A similar point arose on tho petition of M. Sullivan, proprietor of the Accommodation Houso at tho Fox Glacier, praying for the issue of a license. This was supported by M. O’Brien (Westland), who was also able to point to tho excess of licenses in the old gold mining areas. Ho gave some amusing examples of unnecessary hotels, remarking that some were run by the wife of the licensee while tho latter had to go on relief work to make a living. if one of these places took 2s in a day the landlord would go to the other “ hotel ” and spend half of it, so that they could share the business. (Laughter.) The absence of a license at W’eheka did not mean that there was no liquor brought in, and lie contended that the business would be better controlled if the hostel was granted a license. Mr Coates declared that one could not help being impressed by the necessity of a license under such conditions. He urged the Government to consider tho matter. Mr M'Combs (Lyttelton) ; Why did you not take action yourself? The Rev. Clydo Carr, chairman of the Petitions Committee: Refer it to tho Opposition for most favourable consideration. (Laughter.) Mr Coates retorted that this was side-stepping 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 tho subject of an agreement between the Maori and,the pakeha. 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 of the town of Matamata in a thriving dairying district, and the committee’s non-commital recommendation was adopted without comment.