GAMING BILL

Hawera Star, Volume XLVIII, 29 October 1924, Page 5

GAMING BILL

PASSED BY THE HOUSE. LABOUR AMENDMENT LOST. END OF LONG DEBATE. ' (by telegraph—press association. RELLINGTON, Oct. 28. The third reading of th© Gaming Bill was moved in th© House this afternoon by the Hon. R, F. Bollard without comment. Mr. W. E. Parry (Auckland Central) moved as an amendment that the Bill be - referred -back to the committee with a. view to inserting provisions tor safeguarding the lives and limbs of jockeys b. means of improvements on courses and restricting the size of fields, also to prevent jockeys and stable employees from contracting themselves out of the Workers’ Compensation. Act, or jockeys from contracting themselves out of the Masters and Apprentices Act, giving racing employees rights'-of appeal to a stipendiary magistrate and', a representative of their union and racing clubs, and guaranteeing 'to them the right of organisation, the rules of racing affecting the conditions of employment and wage s to be subject to the approval of the Labour Department. He also thought there should Tie some provision in th© law to prevent more being taken out of a. horse than could he got out of it by whip' and spur. Recently he had seen it reported in a southern paper that an electric battery had been used on a horse. He did not know whether this was true, but, if it was, then it showed where horse racing was drifting and some check should be put upon it.. ' The Leader of the Labour Party (Mr. H. E. Holland) seconded the amendment. On these points, he said, the Labour Party were undivided. .There were naturally differences on. many points, but on these they were ' unanimous. First, and before all other considerations, they put 1 the preservation of life and the safety of limb. For that reason they wished to fix a minimum circumference and width of racecourses, and to make other provisions which would tend to reduce the chance of accident. He contended that the refusal to permit jockeys to form a union was going back to the days when men were transported to Australia for advocating the formation of an agricultural union for the purpose of raising the wages of agricultural labourers in England to ten shillings per week. Mr. Holland said there was worse gambling in business than there was oh racecourses, hut when Labour members honestly stated their’ objections to racing and gambling they were met, not with direct charges, but with insinuations that there were sinister influences behind them. Labour’s challenge to those who said these things was to make the charges in the open, when they would be met with an answer sharp and swift. The amendments moved were reasonable, and he appealed to the Government to accept them and to embody them in the Bill when it was before the Legislative Council. On a division the - amendment was lost by 40 votes to 24. The debate, which commenced shortly after 4 p.m., was carried into the evening sitting, the members speaking being those opposed to the Bill, and they employed arguments similar to those used when the Bilk was before the House last week. When the telegraph office closed at 2 a.m. the debate was still in progress WELLINGTON, Oct. 29. After the telegraph office closed, Messrs Jordan and y Hockly briefly addressed the House on the question that' the Gaming Bill be read a third time. It was then put and agreed to without a division. The Bill was passed, and the House rose at 2.20 a.m. till 2.30 p.m. to-day.