State and Aviation Discussed by House

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 737, 9 August 1929, Page 9

State and Aviation Discussed by House

NEW LANDING PLACES LOCAL BODIES PART Press Association PARLIAMENT BLDGS., Today. Legislative authority is to be given local bodies who wish to provide aviation facilities. The Hon. T. M. Wilford. moving the second reading of the Local Authorities Empowering (Aviation Encouragement) Bill in the House of Representatives tills morning, said that it was divided into two parts. The first half gave authority to local bodies of any kind to contribute toward the cost of making a landing place for aircraft, contributions being based upon the amount of expenditure which the local body may expend. The existing municipal' law allowed so much to a local body by way of unauthorised expenditure. the amount in each case being fixed according to the population and rating value of the district. The Bill enabled a local body to expend an additional amount equal to its statutory amount of unauthorised expenditure as a contribution toward the cost of providing landing-grounds. The second part of the Bill met the position where local bodies desired to go in for a good deal of expenditure to provide an airdrome. Many local authorities were now* prepared to provide airdromes, but no legal sanction existed for them to incur the large cost which might be involved. YOUNG PILOTS The Rt. Hon. J. G. Coates state.: that one feature of the aviation gala days which he had attended was that young pilots were not doing much of the flying- He hoped younger men would not be deprived of the opportunity of taking up machines. Mr. Wilford stated that a young pilot had recently flown from Christchurch to Blenheim. Mr. Coates continued that the Government should give more assistance to aviation, and might well use some of the unemployed in preparing landing grounds. He agreed with the necessity for inspection of all machines by State officers, as it was not possible to be too careful in such matters. He wished to associate himself with the remarks of the Minister concerning limiting the number of clubs. Mr. H. E. Holland, Leader of the Labour Party, said that there seemed to be nothing in the Act to provide for the commercial aviation company, which, he predicted, would follow the provision of landing places aud exploit the work carried out by aero clubs in this respect, and in the training of pilots. He considered that there should be a separate Ministry of Aviation to control civil flying, and to be separate altogether from the Defence Department. The Government could not be In a better position to employ airplanes In the event of their being required for defence than it it controlled civil aviation. Ruder the present scheme the control of the greater section of aviation would be left to private enterprise, which did not always place the best interests of the country before profitmaking. BIG AERO CLUBS * Mr. Wilford referred to the multiplicity of airways and landing places in other parts of the world, including Australia, aud added that he considered that if landing places were once provided in this country airways would .soon follow. To illustrate the country’s interest in aviation, he stated that, there had been 407 applicants for 10 vacancies for trainees at. Sockburn. He advocated the formation of big aero clubs covering wide areas, possibly eight in number in place of the 33 “mushroom clubs” that had alread) applied tor recognition. He was pleased to see that steps already were being taken in this direction. Xu reply to an interjection, he stated that there would be to prevent the training of women pilots. It was the Government’s intention to provide not only that there should be landing places and trained , aviators, but also that machines should be fit for flying. He would like to see three engined machines used and the formation of one big aviation company. CIVIL AVIATION Replying to a suggestion for Government enterprise in civil aviation, he stated, as Minister of Defence, that he had his hands full in training pilots for defence purposes. He suggested that pilots employed by any civil aviation company should undertake an annual refresher course at Sockburn. Mr S G Smith (Taranaki) stated that Taranaki people would welcome the suggestion for the formation of one big club for the whole of Taranaki. Mr W D Lysnar (Gisborne) stated that in a country surrounded, as New Zealand was, by water, it would be necessary to make provision to meet the requirements of machines landing on ground or on water. He disagreed with the suggestion that the Government should undertake a monopoly of civil aviation, as he believed that there was a large amount of private capital which would be avail- [ able for aviation companies once landing grounds were provided. The Rev. Clyde Carr (Timaru) urged the necessity for safeguarding the interests of employees in aviation. Mr. G. C. C. Black (Motueka) said he did not altogether agree with the clause of the Bill which provided au- | thoritv for local bodies to contribute toward the cost of airdromes without seeking the approval of the ratepayers;. He did not think local bodies should be made paramount to the ratepayers. Mr. D. Jones (Mid-Canterbury) expressed the opinion that the Bill | should not be allowed to go through until the subject had been thoroughly ! investigated by a select committee of ! the House. Mr. W. E. Batnard (Labour) said lie considered there was as much argument for making aviation substantially a State monopoly as there had been in the case of railways. 5 The House adjourned until this 1 afternoon.