UPPER HOUSE.

Auckland Star, Volume LXIV, Issue 232, 2 October 1933, Page 3

UPPER HOUSE.

REVISION MOVE.

CABINET TO CONSIDER

STUDY OF N.S.W. SCHEME

FE W APPOINTMENTS SHORTLY

(Br Telegraph. —Parliamentary Reporter.) WELLINGTON, this day. Cabinet will shortly have under consideration a scheme for the complete revision of the constitution of the Legislative Council, based, in all probability, on the bi-cameral elective system proposed under the Stevens legislation now before the New South Wales Parliament. Pending investigation into co-related alternatives to the. present nominative method, it is anticipated that a few appointments, not exceeding half a dozen, Will be made, and these very shortly. The present membership of the Upper House •- 21, More, than one Minister already shares the view of the Prime Minister, which iu based on experience, that the jcvisionary body of legislators can effectively function on a smaller personnel than was general in New Zealand Tip to 1931. The official view favours keeping down the numbers until Cabinet has had a full opportunity of exploring the possibility of revising the method of appointment. Preliminary informal discussions have taken place,' but no concrete proposal w vet been taken Tip, although it is .i'cmihcaiit that those in the confidence ofthe Government have, during the week, l,een displaying more than ordinary interest in tiie data, available> from the archives, connected with the- New South Wales legislation. The first alternative for examination is obviously the Stevens Act. "Cut" Applied. It may bo recalled that since its inception in September, 1931, the TorbesCoates Coalition applied to the senior chamber the principles of the economy policy which is enforced in other directions There were 35 Legislative councillor's when the new Ministry assumed office on September 22, 1931. For a long period before that the number was about 40 The eeeond anniversary of the birth of'the Coalition passed with the membership at 21—its present strength. During the period, Sir James Parr's was the only fresh appointment, and there were only three reappointments —those, of the Rt. lion Sir Francis Bell and the Hons. C. J Carrington and J. A. Hanan. The rcappointment of the Speaker, the Hon. Sir Walter Carncross, had been made on March 17, 1931. several months before the formation of the Coalition. As the periods of appointment (seven years) expired, the practice was followed by the Prime Minister of neither reappointmg nor replacing the members, with the exceptions referred to. Thus, to-day, the legislative Council, in numerical sense, is a-mere skeleton of its former eturdy self. Mr. Massey's Legislation. Legislation exists in New Zealand, of course, for the reconstitution of the Upper House by the election of its representatives through the popular franchise. It was promoted and passed in 1914 by the late Mr. Massey in redemption of his electoral reform promises. On the Statute Book it has remained since, but it has never functioned. It cannot be made operative except by issue of a proclamation. One was issued in 1920, but hurriedly made nugatory by the passage of amending legislation the same year. It could be brought into operation now, but it is fathered that those co-operating with the Ministry prefer to allow the legislation to remain in a state of suspense. They ave in agreement that the Statute does not provide the most suitable system. Under it provision was made for a Legislative Council of 40 members. The Dominion was to be divided into four electoral districts, and councillors were to be elected under the system of proportional representation. It can now be accepted that the Government "will not adopt this method should it decide on a revision of the system of appointment. Likely Alternative. Those in touch with the latest moves predict that the alternative is more likely to be along the lines about to he followed in New South Wales, where, apparently, the amendment to the Constitution Act is to become operative this year. This measure will provide for a Council of 60 members elected by the members of the Legislative Council and the Legislative Assembly (the equivalent of our House of Representatives) of New South Wales. The ballot, which will be taken at sittings of both Houses, will be secret, and proportional representation voting will apply. The Statute provides for an interesting method of ensuring that after the first election one-quarter of the councillors will retire periodically, so that there will be a regular 'election of 15 councillors every third year. At the first election, however, there will be four separate ballots. The 15 members elected in the first poll will hold their eeats for 12 years. Unsuccessful candidates in that ballot will participate in the next series, when 15 more will be elected for a nine-year term. In a third election, the successful candidates will hold office for six years, and in the fourth «nd final ballot those who succeed will ], e appointed for three, years. Thus ev ery third year the Houses of Parliament will have the opportunity of clectlnS 13 members of the Upper House. _ Another provision in this legislation 13 one enabling Ministers who arc not councillors to speak in the Legislative Council for the purpose only of explaining any bill relating to any Department administered by them. They will not have the right to vote. About Thirty Members. Ihe operation of the measure is being patched with the closest interest by *, Zealand Ministers, as there is a growing feeling that the nominative system has outlived its usefulness and &nould be scrapped. Speculation as to details at present would be useless, and Judgment must be witheld until the government makes clear its intentions; out it seems reasonable to conclude "at what Ministers have in tentative prospect Is a Legislative Council of about 30 members, appointed under an elective system/which would keep it in ,l "c with current opinion, although somewhat independent of momentary -'Mnges or waves of popular excitement winch might force the directly-elected section, the Lower House, into hasty legislation.

Labour's Attitude. E\en at tliis early stage it is certain that the Ollicial Opposition will view with suspicion any move to amend the constitution of the Legislative Council unless the proposal conforms to the letter with its own accepted ideas of retoini. In any the Labour party is as interested in the. Upper House as it is in the Lower House. The measure of unpopularity the Government lias earned through its economy legislation has encouraged' Labour strongly to hope for victory at the next general election, which, if the current Parliament runs its course, will be held toward the end of I!).T>. Under the present system a Labour Government m power as well as in ollice could, l>y straight-out appointments, ensure that the senior chamber did not thwart its policy legislation, which, it would be entitled to claim, reflected the will and the desire of the electorate. Would the position lie so sure if in the meantime some other system were adopted?