MARGIN OF ONE

Auckland Star, Volume LXXV, Issue 250, 21 October 1944, Page 7

MARGIN OF ONE

VOTE IN PARLIAMENT

AGREEMENT BROKEN?

(By Telegraph.—Parliamentary Reporter.) WELLINGTON, this day. An Opposition amendment on the estimates of the Internal Marketing Department in the House of Representatives yesterday afternoon was lost by only one vote, "when 59 out of the 80 members were present. There was a suggestion from the Government benches of a mutual arrangement to pass the item before lunch and that the Opposition had failed to keep the agreement.

The amendment was moved by Mr. Murdoch (Nat., Marsden), who sought to reduce the vote of £95,907 by £5 as an indication that the Government's policy should be aimed at placing the internal control of primary products in the hands of co-operative producer companies. He said that members of his party did not approve of the. present control by the Internal Marketing Department, and if it was abolished it would be a good riddance.

There was no discussion and the amendment was lost, the "ayes" being 29 and the "noes" 30. The narrow result was greeted with applause from the Opposition members.

The Minister of Finance, Mr. Nash, who was acting as Leader of the House, said that there had been an arrangement that the Internal Marketing vote would be passed before lunch. That was the understanding, which accounted for a number of members being absent at a conference. "We will have to find some way of taking one another's word," he concluded.

Mr. Broadfoot (Waitomo), the Senior Opposition Whip, said he had made it perfectly plain to the chairman what action would be taken, and he did not know of any hard and fast arrangement for passing the vote before lunch. He certainly did not make such an arrangement.

Mr. Nash: I understood so from the Whips.

Mr. Coleman (Gisborne), the Junior Government Whip, said he was told by Opposition members shortly before one o'clock that the vote would be passed before the adjournment.

Mr. Holyoake (Nat., Pahiatua) pointed out that the vote would have been passed two nights previously when the Opposition waived its right of further discussion, but a Government member moved the adjournment, postponing the decision until that day.

Mr. Murdoch declared that the Minister was incorrect in saying the Opposition had not kept its word. If Government members had sat down the vote would have gone through earlier.

Mr. Poison (Nat., Stratford) said he did not understand that there was an arrangement. If one had been made the Opposition would have honoured it 100 per cent.

Mr. Broadfoot: I gave no under taking.

Aft&r further discussion as to what had transpired between the party Whips, the Internal Marketing Department's vote was passed without alteration.