FUTURE OF ROTORUA.

Taranaki Daily News, 2 November 1920, Page 5

FUTURE OF ROTORUA.

BELIEVING GOVERNMENT'S BORDEN. •; THB -KEipSHOLD MNOIgLE, By Tftlesrai/ta.—Press AuoeUUM ■', Wellington, Last Night. When the House of Representatives resumed to-night, the Minister of Land* moved the second reading of the purred " moved the second reading of the Rotorua Town Lands BUI. He explained {hat it was proposed to insert a new clause in j committee to prevent an original lessee . arbitrarily refusing to agree to a sub- 1 lessee's application for the freehold of j a section. j

Mr. T. K. Sidey (Dunedia South) said ■'. a protest had already been mads against 1 the extension of the freehold, so he would not waste time now, but would call for a division on the motion for the second reading. He would only add that it seemed to him the logical tiling for the Government to do would be to bring down a comprehensive measure giving the freehold to everyone Oooßpying leasehold lands. > Mr. H. E. Holland (Labor Leader) -said the Labor Forty would ™fr%twh» its oppositiou to the granting of the freehold. Now, more than ever, there was need that the Government should retain control of this national health resort. Thousands of returned soldier*, as well as other people in broken health,' would benefit by the healthgiving properties of" the springs then, but if the freehold was granted, on* .' result would be that health-seekers would hud a visit there more costly. Rotorua ought to be kept out of tike hands of land speculators. ; Mr. F. P. Hockly (R 'orua) believed the proposals in the Bill were for the j benefit of the Dominion generally. He pointed out that there was no suggestion that the springs were to be parted with by the State. The people In'the town had never had a voice in the man. agement of its affairs. Mr. Massey said there was no intention on the part of the State to part with land. It was only intended to give occupiers the right to charge a rental for land. The Government retained the right to tax the land. The present tenure was not good enough to enable the peogje to raise money to develop the town as it should be developed. At present the Government was spending probably £40,000 yearly on Rotorua, and this amount was increasing. The residents asked to havei\the % rights of free people, and they would *' do their part in developing the town. He believed that if this were done the time would come when the people there would be paying the land tax. At 12.55 a.m. the Hon. D. H. Guthrie '■ briefly repbed, after which a divisiojf was taken, when the second reading was carried by 37 votes to 18. ITho House immediately went into committee on the Bill. Clause 3, giving Crown lessees at Rotorua the right to acquire the freehold, was challenged by the Labor Party, but the clause was retained by 35 votes to 19. The Bill was then passed with minor amendments moved by the Minister.