Canterbury Members Ask Many Questions

Press, Volume C, Issue 29548, 24 June 1961, Page 10

Canterbury Members Ask Many Questions

trrom Utir Parliamentary tieporteri

WELLINGTON. June 23. | Canterbury members of i the Opposition were responsible for half of the { written questions which : were directed at minis- • tert when the House of . Representatives resumed today. Questions directed at the. Minister of Railways (Mr! McAlpine i all showed con-1 cent at the decision to close, branch lines and raise suburban tares Mr N. E. Kirk (Lyttelton >1 asked Mr McAlpine whether! "J be persists with his inten-i tian tn deprive the people of Banks Peninsula of their rail- > way will be undertake to; create a national railway in! its place ". Mr M. A. Connelly (R>ccartoni asked the minister whether tie would indicate what steps were taken, before the decision to close branch lines was made, to ascertain if there were development proposals under consideration which might increase railway usage and revenue. Mr J. Mathison <Avon> asked whether the minister would quote the section tn the National Partys manifesto which hinted even remotely that rail fares would be increased within a few months of the General Election Mr Mathison also asked the MBa Prime Minister (Mr Holvoake> whether he agreed

that notification of the deferment ot some projects necessary for the development >f the Cook Islands should have been conveyed to the Cook Islands Legislative Assembly by Mr McKay (Marsden) and not the Minister of Island Territories He asked the Minister in i Charge of Tourist and Health . Resorts (Mr Eyre) whether it, was his intention to abolish, the Tourist Consultative Com- 1 mittee “and lose to free ser-! vices a competent grout; ■ of men representing the main, (sections of the tourist industry” Mr Kirk asked the Minis-; (ter ot Health (Mr Shelton'! iwhether he could give an 'assurance that the proposal! I to charge people for the med)-, cine issued free under the! social security scheme' adopted at the National Partys annua) conference in! 1960 would not be imple-! mented “or that any gesture to this policy would be made by edging further medicines off the free list " Mr Kirk also asked the Minister of Education (Mr Tennent) “that in view of his leader's endorsement of the Labour Party’s policy to build gymnasiums at New Zealand schools, he will take steps at an early date in order ! that our nation's children (will not be deprived of this [valuable facility even though , a National Government is in, ' office.”