LITTLE BUSINESS FOR HOUSE

Press, Volume XC, Issue 27405, 19 July 1954, Page 8

LITTLE BUSINESS FOR HOUSE

PARLIAMENT

Budget May Appear . This Month DEBATE ON ROXBURGH LOSES INTEREST (From Our Parliamentary Reporter) WELLINGTON, July 18. The House of Representatives is running out of business pending the introduction of the Budget. The special debate on the reorganisation of the Roxburgh hydro-electric scheme contract will continue next week, but the debate has lost its interest. It will be followed by a debate on the Murupara paper and pulp project which was visited by a Parliamentary party before the session opened. The Murupara debate is not likely to be long or of great interest. The Leader of the Opposition (Mr Nash) has even suggested that it is not necessary at aIL

On the Order Paper there are 23 Government bills, all in the second reading stage, but few are contentious. Some of them in former times, would have been mere clauses in a statutes amendment bill.

In spite of the efforts of the Prime Minister (Mr Holland) to have bills introduced early in the session to avoid a* last-minute rush, there are only the same number of bills now as were introduced on the first day of the second part of last year’s session. Mr Holland has striven this year to have the Budget introduced earlier than usual, and before the sessidn op.ened, July 22 was freely mentioned as a possible date. Departmental difficulties, however, caused a revision o*f opinions, and a date in August was thought likely. Now that Mr Holland has to look for busines for the House, departmental work -has been intensified, and July 22 may be nearer to Budget day than the August dates mentioned.