Legislative Assembly Hansard 1898

Queensland Parliamentary Debates [Hansard] Legislative Assembly FRIDAY, 9 DECEMBER 1898 Electronic reproduction of original hardcopy Swpply. [9 DECEMBER.] Supply. 1445 FRIDAY, 9 DECEMBER, 1898, like to see holding a higher office ; but there were a number of officers in the department who had The SPEAKER took the chair at half-past 3 Practically attained as high a position as it was o'clock. possible for them to do for many years to come. QUESTION. They could not go on increasing their salaries every year, but that officer was well deserving CLASSIFIED OFFICERS, POSTAL DEPARTMENT. of an increase, and had been overlooked on one Mr. FOGARTY asked the Chief Secretary or two previous occasions. !. Are there at present in the General Post Office, Mr. KEOGH noticed that, while the late doing the work of classified officers. men who do not Under Secretary had received £800, the present belong to any department of the public service? 2. Are ·there men belonging to tbe department classi Under Secretary was only paid £750. ·what fi,ed officers at the same time restricted to inferior was the reason for the reduction? work? The HOME SECRETARY: Mr. Heeney 2. If so, what rBason has the department for employ had been promoted to the position of Under ing the former to the detriment of the latter? Secretary from that of chief clerk, where he only The TREASURER (for the Chief Secretary) received .£500 a year. A rise of 50 per cent. was replied- a pretty good one. !. Yes; temporarily employed. Mr. KEOGH: He has to perform the same 2. All classified officers continue to pm·form their duties as the other man. ordinary duties. The HOME SECRETARY knew that, but 3. Temporary men are only employed when required his predecessor had occupied the office of Under owing to pressure of work, etc., and are lial;Jle to be Secretary for a great number of years. He dispensed with at any time. hoped that Committee would give Mr. Heeney LOCAL WORKS LOANS ACTS AMEND the full salary of .£800 a year-which was the MENT BILL-BRITISH PROBATES tip-top salary paid in the public service-when BILL- TOWNSVILLE MUNICIPAL he :had been Under Secretary-as he hoped he LOAN ACT REPEAL BILL. would-for as long a period as Mr. Hume. ASSENT. Mr. SIM asked whether any provision had The SPEAKER announced .the receipt of been made for placing a sum of money on the messages from His Excellency the Governor, Estimates for a special commissioner to inspect intimating that the Royal assent had been given the district in the north-west of Carpentaria, in to these Bills. accordance with the promise made by the Minister? HARBOUR BOARDS ACT AMENDMENT The H0~1E SECRETARY: That came on BILL-BRISBANE HARBOUR BOAl·m in a later vote, but, as it was under"tood that BILL. the whole department could be discus•ed on the l!'IRST READINGS. first vote, he would tell the hon. member now. The House having, in Committee of the Whole, An officer appeared amongst the land com affirmed the desirableness cf introducing these missioners as being stationed at Boulia, who Bills, on the motion of the TREASURER, they would be a travelling commissioner. It had not were read a first time, and their second readings been thought desirable to make the appointment made Orders of the Day for Tuesday next. until Parliament voted the salary, but probably the headquarters of the commissioner would be at ADJOURNMENT-SEPARATION DAY. Boulia. He hoped to obtain a large amount of The TREASURER said: I move that this valuable information from his reports. Of House, at its rising, do adjourn until Tuesday course there was not sufficient work for a com next. missioner to do at Boulia et present, but it was Mr. DUNSFORD: I think we ought to hear the most central point, and he would travel both SJme reason for this motion. 'fhere is important north, south, east, and west from there. business to be done, and country metnbers desire Mr. STEWART very much regretted being to get away and eat their Christmas dinners at compelled to call attention to the continual sales home. We do not want to sit here after Christ of country lands which were going on. It was mas; and, as the Government would not accept agreed to not only by members of that Committee, my suggestion that we should sit on Saturdays but by the great majority of the electors of the and Sundays, and sit twenty-four hours a day, colony that the sale of country lands should they should tell us what is the reason for this only be resorted to in the last extremity-when holiday. We ought to go right on with business the Treasury was depleted and it was considered until it is finished. inadvisable or impossible to impose additional The HOME SECRETARY: Aren't you a separa taxation. But those sales were going on at tionist? a time when the Treasurer issued statements Question put and passed. showing that month after month the revenue was expanding by leaps and bounds-although SUPPLY. that was not due to the good manage RESUMPTION OF COMMITTEE. ment of the Government, but owing to the SECRETaRY FOR PUBLIC LANDS. kindness of nature and the energy of the people The H.OME SECRETARY moved that of the colony. .£7,275 be granted for salaries. The alterations HONOURABLE MEMBERS 011 the Government were only of a trifling character. The vote W'-'S side: What about the drought out West? only increased hy .£15. There were four pro Mr. STEWART : The policy of the Govern bationers at .£70 each. The accountant was to ment, taken by itself, without any of the receive an increase of .£30, which he was natural advantages which belonged to the colony, thoroughly entitled to. Something like .£125,000 would have been sufficient to stifle every industry, passed through his hands in the year, and con and reduce the colony to a state of insolvency. sidering the importance of the department, The CHAIRMAN: I would remind the hon. and comparing his work with that of the member that the policy of the Government is accountants in other departments, he deserved not before the Committee at the pre•ent time. an increase. His predecessor was pain £475 a That can only be discussed when the Speaker is year, while the present accountant would only in the chair. The matter now .before the Com receive £370 this year. The record clerk was to mittee is the vote for the Lands Department, receive an increase of £30. He was a very old and I must ask the hon. member to <Jonfine hi~ and deserving offioer, and one whom be would remarks to that vote. 1446 Supply. [ASSEMBLY.] Suppl,y. Mr. STEWART : I was discussing the land the courtesy to tell him that he was going to bring policy of the Government. up that question he should have been very glad The CHAIRMAN: I hope the hon. member to have had the information there, but that one will not misunderstand me. "When I rose the fact knocked his figures kite high.. The hon. hon. member was discussing "the policy of the member said those sales took place when Government." the colony was in a prosperous state, and that Mr. STEWART : In selling land. again was one of those beautiful pieces of The HOME SECRETARY : The financial policy misrepresentation they so frequently heard from generally. the hon. member for North Rockhampton. The The CHAIHMAN : I think the hon. member colony was not prosperous at the time those sftles forgot about the lands. were effected. 'l'he hon. member had carefully Mr. STEWART: Coming then to the ques .. disguised the fact, as far ae he was able to do, tion of land sales he found that by the Act of 1897 that those sales took place before the 31st of the utmost area the Government could sell in December, 1897, and they were now close on any one year was 150,000 acres. It was generally 1899. During 1897 the leader of the hon. mem understood that those sales of land should not ber's party was nothing better than a calamity be resorted to except in the colony's extremity. howler ; according· to his statements then the But what was the position to-day? The revenue colony was simply going to the dogs. It was not was expanding, and the colony was pwsperous, until this year that things began to look a bit and yet ·according to the last annual report of brighter for the colony. If the hon. member for the Lands Department the sales of land last year North Rockhampton had gone to the Lands wer~ larger than they had been in any year of Office and got the particulars of land sales up to the colony's history. The average saies per date-which would have been a fair thing for annum from 1869 to 1892 were 53,000 acres. In him bo have done-he would have found that the the year 1893 the Government sold 43,000 acres; state of things now was very different from what in 1894, 31,000; in 1895, 28,000; in 1896, 21,000; it was during 1897 .. but last year they sold 149,223 acres, or within Mr. STEWART: As a matter of fact the 747 acres of the limit allowed by the law. senior member for Ruckhampton had told him The Committee were entitled to some explana thal; the return of which he had given notice as tion as to why those sales were being continued.

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