KEEN DEBATES IN HOUSE

Press, Volume LXXIII, Issue 22196, 13 September 1937, Page 8

KEEN DEBATES IN HOUSE

Strenuous Sittings Expected IMPREST SUPPLY BILL FIRST (From Our Parliamentary Reporter.! WELLINGTON, September 12. Now that it has completed the formalities associated with the opening of Parliament, the House of Representatives is in a position to go ahead with the work of the session. Although it is not expected that there will be a rush of radical and far-reaching legislation, such as was experienced last year, at least until after the midsummer break, indications are not wanting that debates in the House will be unusually keen since the Government has been in office for the greater part of two years and has had an opportunity of acquiring sufficient "political sins'* for Opposition members to work upon. „ „ co The regular sittings of the House are likely to begin on a strenuous scale. An Imprest Supply Bill will be introduced on Tuesday and .since a measure of this kind not only allows members to talk about almost anything at all but.also has .to be passed at one sitting it is not improbable that it will be well into the early hours of the morning before the bill is put through. j The commencement of the Adciress-in-Reply debate is fixed for Wednesday. If Tuesday night's sitting is an extended one it is possible that the House may not sit on Wednesday afternoon, but in any case the debate, which will be broadcast, will not "be started until 7.30 p.m. There will be only two speeches on Wednesday n ig h t_ihose of the mover, Mr J. Thorn (Govt., Thames), and the seconder, Mr J. G. Barclay (Govt., Marsden)—and it is difficult to forecast just how long the debate will last. The Prime Minister (the Rt. Hon. M. J Savage) has stated that it depends on the Opposition, but it is believed that Government members will be allowed considerably more latitude m debates than they enjoyed last year, so that there is a possibility that the ■ debate may be At present the next business in sight at the conclusion of the Address-in-Reply debate is the presentation of the Budget, a document which will ba awrited with keen interest. The Minister for Finance (the Hon. W. Nash) has been working on it for some time and has had frequent conferences with Treasury officials. Mr Savage said during the week that the Budget would be ready when the House was ready to receive it, so that it may be concluded that it is well on towards completion. After the Budget debate the mam business will be consideration of the estimates, and when these have been disposed of together with other routine activity, there will be plenty in the programme of legislation so far outlined to keep the House going until well on towards Christmas. All interest will then be centred on the national health and superannuation proposals, which are scheduled for introduction in the second part of the • session. ______________