APIARIES BILL

Hokitika Guardian, 7 November 1927, Page 4

APIARIES BILL

.Mr Seddou. M.l’.. lias received the following letter from the Minister o! Agriculture, relative to matters contained in the Apiaries Bill now before Parliament:

“ You will remember that when the Apiaries liill was being considered by a Committee of the whole House on 18th October I promised you that 1 would give further consideration to the clause dealing with the liability of the landowner as distinct from the apiaryowner in connection with the question of registration. “ The portion of the clause relerrc 1 to was inserted to meet the ease ol a person who, without obtaining any lease of another person's land, gets permission to establish an apiary thereon, but neglects to register the apiary. ■■ In such a ease il the owner ol the hives can be found the Inspector would take no action against the occupier ol the land, but where the owner cannot he traced the Department desires the right to call upon the occupier to do what is required. A similar position exists under several other Acts—for instance, the Rabbit Nuisance Act and the Noxious Weeds Act —where the occupier is primarily liable, hut if he cannot he made to comply with the law the Inspector may call upon other persons who are secondarily responsible. In practice no difficulty arises out of cases ol this kind, as those secondarily responsible are always fully aware that they have not been called upon while there was any chance ol obtaining satisfaction from the person primarily responsible.

*• I therefore decided that the clauses as printed should he retained in the bill.”