THE SESSION

Press, Volume LXXX, Issue 24335, 14 August 1944, Page 4

THE SESSION

DEBATES LAST WEEK

INDICATIONS OF NEW LEGISLATION

(Prom Our Parliamentary Reporter.) WELLINGTON. August 13. Some indications of legislation likely to appear this session were given during the Budget debate last week. Of these, one that will attract immediate interest is the statement by the Miniser of Finance (the Hon. W. Nash) that questions about compulsory earthquake insurance will be answered m a bill which is being prepared. Legislation will also apparently be necessary to provide for New Zealand s participation in the international monetary fund and world bank, and possibly in the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration and the world food and agricultural organisations. Mr Nash made his comment on earthquake insurance when replying to Mr W.-J. Poison (Opposition, btraiford) in the Imprest Supply Bill debate. Mr Nash said the present amount of £5,000,000 in the combined war damage and earthquake insurance fund would not meet any major disaster. The reserves of the country would, if necessary, be drawn on under the proposed legislation. The House will return to the Budget debate this week, probably when it meets again on Wednesday. So far there have been seven Opposition speakers and six Government speakers, with the speech of the seventh Government speaker, Mr F. Langstone (Government. Waimaiino). interrupted at the stage where he was beginning to develop his ideas on how New Zealand’s national debt could be reduced. Both he. and Mr C. M. Williams (Government, Kaiapoi), wno preceded him on the Labour side of the House, showed independence of thought in their contribution to the debate. After Mr Williams had spoken it was noticed that the Prime Minister (the Rt. Hon. P. Fraser) went over to his bench and engaged him in animated discussion, the nature of which was the subject of speculation on Friday by Opposition speakers, the suggestion being that Mr Williams’s apprehension about the international monetary proposals had not found favour.

Even if there are no more interruptions to the Budget debate, it is likely to last until the end of the month. .

The Government showed its recognition of the debating, powers of the Minister of Health (the Hon. A. H. Nordmeyer) when he was given the opportunity of replying to the Leader of the Opposition (Mr S. G. Holland) on the first night of the debate, in the absence of the Hon. D. G. Sullivan, who had engagements in Christchurch. Usually this responsibility has been given to one of the older members of the Ministry. The censorship interlude on Friday provided the liveliest debating so far this session, and many times the Speaker had to call the House to order when cross talk was preventing the member holding the floor from speaking. Twice, while the Prime Minister was speaking, Opposition members raised points of order on the grounds that he was reflecting on the character of Mr F, W. Doidge (Opposition. Tauranga). The atmosphere of the House has become steadily more intense, which may make the length of the Budget debate less noticeable than it was last year, when after a few weeks it was dragging enough. Controversial questions have alreaoy been raised to provide material for the clash of the evenlymatched parties. Rehabilitation, housing, and allegations of wastefulness in the services have been prominent topics, and after the result of the butter-fat negotiations are known members will have still another subject on which to join issue.