THE SESSION

Press, Volume LXXX, Issue 24365, 18 September 1944, Page 4

THE SESSION

UNUSUAL FEATURES LAST WEEK OPPOSITION CRITICISE ‘ ADMINISTRATION (From Our Parliamentary Reporter.) _ WELLINGTON, September 17. The administration of the Government was under fire practically ail last week in the. House of Representatives. One annual taxing bill had been disposed of on Tuesday evening. The disposal of surplus Army cars, appointments to the Public Service, and the method of conducting inquiries into Public Service irregularities were all targets for the Opposition. The Army cars led to some Of the most unusual features of the session. Discussion of Ministerial replies to questions on Wednesday afternoon had proceeded very smoothly until shortly before the tea adjournment, when an attack was made on a reply given by the Minister of Supply (the Hon. D. G. Sullivan) to a question on the cars, asked by Mr R. G. Gerard (Opposition, Mid-Canterbury). The tea adjournment interrupted a vigorous debate, and after tea, a bill dealing with psychiatrist nurses was discussed at length—by Government members, after the Leader of the Opposition (Mr S. G. Holland) had given approval to the measure and had made a few suggestions for consideration. Opposition members were anxious to get back to the question of the cars, an opportunity for which had been promised by the Prime Minister, and they did not hesitate to express the opinion that Government members were stone-walling their own bill. However, they did get some opportuni'y and used it in such a way that the next day the Prime Minister (the Rt. Hon. P. Fraser) felt constrained to take the unusual course of moving an adjournment so that the Ministers concerned could deal adequately with the question, in half-hour speeches, instead of the five-minute speeches allowed on questions. Although the Prime Minister had indicated that the Public Accounts Committee would inquire into the alleged irregularities, it took the House all day to complete the discussion. The hint that this gave of critical Opposition examination of the estimates was fulfilled on Friday when only three classes were disposed of. The vote for the Public Service Commissioner’s office took most of the time.