Session Expected To Continue Next Week

Press, Volume XCVII, Issue 28701, 26 September 1958, Page 10

Session Expected To Continue Next Week

(New Zealana Press Association)

WELLINGTON, September 25. The Parlamentary session will not end tomorrow as the Prime Minister (Mr Nash) hoped. it will finish next week when he will be out of the country. The situation was partly clarific in the House of Representatives this afternoon by an exchange between the Leader of the opposition (Mr Holyoake) and Mr Nash.

Mr Holyoake said the Opposition had given full consideration to the suggestion made by Mr Nash in the early hours this morning, and it could not agree to finishing the session tomorrow, “no matter how much it wished to co-operate.” Before Mr Nash’s motion for urgency for the 19 bills on today’s Order Paper, Mr Holyoake said he felt too much was being left for the last day of the session if it w?~ to end tomorrow morning. The Opposition was quite firm in its conviction that to complete the business by tomorrow morning was asking too much and was not in the interests of the people or the country. Half a day was inadequate for a discussion on electric power and trade matters.

There were before the House 11 bil'' ai the committee stage and another eight were at the second reading stage. Three of the bills were very contentious, although the amendments to the Trade Practices Bill would take some of the “sting” out of it. The Family Benefits (Home Ownership) Bill was an important departure from principle

and there would be a fair amount of debate on that measure. The Dairy Products Marketing Commission Amendment Bill was of major interest to the Opposition because its members represented all the dairy seats. Mr J. B. Kent (Government. Westland): All the seats’ Mr Holyoake: With the exception of Westland. The Minister of Agriculture (Mr Skinner): We have some dairy farms in Buller, too. Mr Holyoake: Well, we represent most of them. Late Hours That explained why some Opposition members were still 'clamouring to speak on the bill, continued Mr Holyoake, who aided that there were -further discussions on some bills when they were in the committee stages. “If these bills are to be completed tonight many of them will not be broadcast and a late disc ssion will not enable the newspapers to report them. The people are entitled to know what is going on,” said Mr Holyoake. The House had been sitting till midnight for the last five or six weeks and to', almost unprecedented times when normally, there was only sufficient business to occupy the House for 24 hours a weeK.

Mr Holyoake said the House should sit normal hours for the rest of t.us week and for next week and conclude the session in decent fashion which would be in the interests of the prestige of Parliament, of the people, and of the country. He urged Mr Nash to reconsider his proposal to end the session tomorrow.

Mr Nash said he would move for urgency, nevertheless, and if the House decided to go on next week it could do so. "If we finish on Friday, all right—if we finish next week, all right. I will hot object," said Mr Nash.

'rhe Deputy-Leader of the Opposition (Mr Marshall) asked Mr Nash for his reasons m moving for urgency. But Mr Speaker (Mr Macfarlane) said that, in the past, reasons had not always been given.

The motion was put and urgency was accorded to the remaining business on the Order Paper after a division was taken.