HOUSE DEBATES ESTIMATES

Press, Volume LXXXIII, Issue 25300, 27 September 1947, Page 10

HOUSE DEBATES ESTIMATES

PARLIAMENT

POLICE DEPARTMENT DISCUSSED

PROGRAMME FOR NEXT WEEK OUTLINED

(From Our Parliamentary Reporter.) WELLINGTON, Sept. 26.

Apart from one question, the House of Representatives spent an interesting day debating the Estimates to-day. Most attention was given in the earlier part of the day to the Estimates lor the Prime Minister’s Department, and a number of Opposition, speakers devoted their speeches to criticising the information section. One description given by Mr F. W. Doidge (Opposition, Tauranga) was that they “were backroom boys” whose job was to listen in t<x broadcasts of Parliament, and then to send in to members suitable replies to telling questions.

The debate led to one bitter exchange between the Prime Minister (Mr P. Fraser) and Mr Doidge about reported remarks of Sir Apirana Ngata in the General Election. Mr Fraser finally said that members of the Prime Minister’s inforrhation section at least had as many journalistic ethics as had Mr Doidge.

The debate was marked by frequent clashes between Opposition speakers and the Chairman of Committees (Mr Clyde Carr). One of the worst of the clashes was when the Leader of the Opposition (Mr S. G. Holland), who had been told by Mr Carr that he was not the chairman, retorted that while other Government members had been interjecting without complaint for hours, he had said only three words in two hours, and had immediately been penalised. Later in the day the House discussed the Police Department Estimates. Almost all speakers praised the work of the present Police Force, but some Opposition members said that the overtime bill was proof that the Police Force was sadly understaffed. Mr R. M. Algie (Opposition, Remuera) said his home in Remuera had been burgled three times in 12 months, and that householders were paying a special levy to have former policemen working as nightwatchmen. , Before the House adjourned at 5.20 p.m., Mr Fraser said the Workers’ Compensation Amendment Bill would be introduced this session, but members would have to wait for its introduction for details of the measure. He said he would neither confirm nor deny newspaper reports that the bill would give the State a monopoly of workers’ compensation insurance. Discussing the next week’s business, Mr Fraser said the Estimates would be considered on Tuesday, the Licensing Commission report on Wednesday afternoon, and the Control of Prices Bill on Wednesday night. On Thursday the same procedure would be followed.