Legislative Assembly Hansard 1895

Queensland Parliamentary Debates [Hansard] Legislative Assembly TUESDAY, 6 NOVEMBER 1895 Electronic reproduction of original hardcopy Question of Privitef!e. [6 NoVE:Mmm.] Savings Bank, Etc., Bill. 1561 I refer to the report on page 472 of the pro ceedings in reference to the motion for the approval of the plans of the proposed railway extension from Mirani to Cattle Creek. The SPEAKER : Do I under;tand that the hon. member is referring to something that took place in committee ? Mr. POWERS: I am referring at present to '' Votes and Proceedings." The SPEAKER : Recounting something that took place in committee ? Mr, POWERS: Yes. The SPJ<JAKER: Then the hon. member is not in order. That must be decided in com mittee. The hon. member cannot raise a ques tion of privilege in the House on what has taken place in committee. He must raise the questio.n in committee. Then the committee can report to the House, and the House can act on that report. Mr. POWERS: I thought that as it was a question of privilege I would take the earliest possible opportunity of correcting "Votes and Proceedings." Although the proceedings took place in committee, surely this House can correct the " Votes and Proceedings." The SPEAKER : There is no report whatever from the committee. Progress only has been reported ; and the House cannot recognise what has been done in committee until a report has been received from the committee. Therefore, the hon. member must raise his question in committee. Mr. POWERS: I accept your ruling, and I will take the earliest opportunity of drawing attention to the matter when the House is in committee. LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY. SAVINGS BANK (SECURITIES) BILL WEDNESDAY, 6 NOVE:>!BER, 1895. SECOND READING. The COLONIAL TREASURER (Hon. H. M. Nelson): I brought this Bill on to-rlay The SPEAKER took the chair at half-past believing it to be of a simple, non-contentious 3 o'clock. nature, otherwise I should not like to interfere QUESTIONS. with the practice we have established of devoting MERINGANDAN-GOOMBUNGEE RAILWAY. Wednesdays to Supply. But it is advisable to Mr. THORN asked the Secretary for Rail· advance the Bill one stage as early as possible. ways- The Bill is a very simple one, and the necessity 1. Is it the intention of the Government to lay on the for it arises from what we now consider, as far as table of the House this session plans of the :\ierin the savings bank is concerned, to have been an gandan-Goombungee railway, promised in 1890? accident-that is, that on the occasion of the 2 Also, to proceed with trial survey from Crow's Nest suspension of the Queensland National Bank in to Nanango, promised in 1890? 1893, moneys of the savings bank were locked The SECRETARY FOR RAILWAYS up under the agreement which this House made (Hon. R. Philp) replied- with the bank. I may mention that the Bill in 1. This question contains an assumption, and is no way affects the Queensland National Bank, therefore irregular; but, leaving that out, there is no intention of tabling the plans this session. or the agreement between that bank and the 2. This will be considered during the recess. Treasury. The relationship between the two will remain exactly as it is now. One clause of the }fACTORIES AND WORKSHOPS BILL. Savings Bank Act prescribes that at least two Mr. DUNSFORD asked the Premier- thirds of all moneys lodged in the savings bank 1. Is it the intention of the Government to in traduce shall be invested in Government securities. this session a measure "for supervising and regulating factories and workrooms,'' as promised by the Governor, That has been the system of our savings bank in his Opening Speech, on the 25th of June last. since 1862, and it differs from the system in force 2. If so, when? in most of the other colonies in this respect--that The PREMIER (Hon. H. M. Nelson) re the savings hank, like any other bank, has plied- borrowers, otherwise it would not be able to pro A measure dealing with the subject in question has vide interest. But our savings bank has only been prepared ; but the progress of the business of the one borrower, and that is the community at large. House has not been such as to render it probable that the The savings bank exists, as hon. members know, Government will be able to introduce the measure not for the sake of the individual depositors, but during the current session. for the sake of the community as a whole. It is QUESTION OF PRIVILEGE. very much in the same position as our rail ways Mr. POWERR : I rise to a question of and other institutions of a purely socialistic privilege, and intend to conclude with a motion. nature-that is, that as the community of I flnd that "Votes and Proceedings" uo to a Queensland are all shareholders in our rail ways, certain point are absolutely correct, but as' to the so every person in Queensland is also a share rest they are absolutely incorrect, and as they holder in the Queensland Savings Bank. The practically accuse me of doing something I never rate of interest that depositors get upon their did, and the House of doing something it never deposits is not >tltogether regulated by the did, I propose to move that the parts of " Votes rate of interest the bank receives, although it and Proceedings" which are wrong be omitted. must to a large extent be dependent upon that. 1562 Savings Bank [ASSEMBLY.] (Secut'ities) Bill. The Act provides that the Governor in Council the savings bank, it would require at the shall regulate the rate of interest from time to very least £200,000 or £300,000 to carry on its time, and there is a minimum rate of 3 per cent. business. A private bank gets no interest upon and a maximum of 5 per cent. Dealing now its working balance, whilst the savings bank with the investment of money, and seeing that in its relation to the Treasury gets interest the Act requires that two-thirds of the whole not only upon its investments, but also upon of the moneys deposited shall be invested in its working balance, calculating the amount Queensland Government securities, it will be upon the average weekly balance. It may be obvious to hon. members that this £500,000 asked what is the use of these securities at all? which is locked up in the Queenshmrl National \Vell, their use is simply to secure the depositors. Bank for some years to come is not available for It might hapyen that a very large number of this purpose. The trustees of the bank are, depositors might wish to draw upon their therefore, notable to comply with the provisions of accounts. That is a consummation I should the Act, and it is very desirable that they should very much like to see-people withdrawing their be in a position to do so. · This Bill, therefore, money for the purpose of investing it in private provides that, as far as regards this £500,000 enterprise, either taking up land, or embarking which is locked UJ•, we shall issue Government in mercantile transactions, or in any ordinary debentures for an equal amount. and that these business. debentures shall be handed over. to the trustees Mr. GLASSEY: They should lend it to the of the bank to be held for the savings bank. State for the purpose of enabling the State to do The Act provides that thc> trustees can deal with that. the securities held by them in only one way. The COLONIAL TREASURER: That is They are not allowed to speculate, or to buy and what we do now, but it would be just as well for sell. As soon as they h:we invested in the the community at large if a very considerable securities, they must hold them until a certain portion of this money was devoted to other pur conting\ncy_ arises, and that contingency is the poses. That is to say, instead of letting it lie in bank bemg m need of cash. In order that this the savings bank, it should be circulated. It is fact shall be fully ascertained, the Act provides not the object of the trustees or managers to hold that the trustees mu"t get a certificate from the out great inducements to people to put their Auditor-General and the Under Secretary for money in the savings bank. The savings the Treasury to that effect. 'Without that certifi bank is not intended for that kind of thing. cate, the trustees cannot deal with the securi It is intended more for small savings. ln ties in any shape or form. They must hold England and other places, the limit of savings them until such contingency arises. Hon. bank deposits is very small-something like £30. members will see that if the Act were compiied With our savings bank we allow as much as with, and two-thirds of the moneys held by the £200; anything beyond that carrie,~ ne interest. bank were invested in Government securities, On the other hand, we provided last year for the :md at the same time this £500,000, which is in vestment of trust and other moneys not likely equal to one-quarter of the deposits in the bank, to be required for a long time. That is one of the two together are· equal to eleven-twelfths of the objects of the Bill-to put the savings bank the whole of the funds which would be locked up, securities on a thoroughly sound and good basis, and there would, therefore, be only one-twelfth such a basis as will enable those securities to be left for a cash working balance, which, of course realisable at any time, on the best and most would not be sufficient.

Load more