The Press FRIDAY, JUNE 8, 1962. The Session

Press, Volume CI, Issue 29843, 8 June 1962, Page 10

The Press FRIDAY, JUNE 8, 1962. The Session

The Prune Minister (Mr Holyoake) drove Parliament hard last year to dispose of the controversial elements of his policy. Both Prime Minister and backbencher will have their reward in the session that opened yesterday. Mr Holyoake and his chief lieutenants will be able to go abroad as the need arises; and the House of Representatives will be able to tackle purposefully the nation’s business with little excuse for rancour. This arrangement of Parliamentary terms, as much a matter of good luck as good management, particularly fits the circumstances in which New Zealand finds itself. Old advantages, such as assured markets in Britain, can no longer be taken for granted; great new advantages, particularly the Taranaki oilfield, are making their appearance. Whatever the future holds, it will be different from what we have known. It is fortunate that, in looking into the unknown, Parliament will not be preoccupied w'ith battles long since won and lost. The programme outlined by the Governor-General (Lord Cobham) in his opening speech yesterday promised members no political excitement, but it showed them how both sides of the House could share in

shaping the new country emerging from a “gather- “ ing sense of climax ”. The House is first to be given the chance to improve its own procedure, the need for which cannot be doubted. Members should not, however, lose sight of. the value of tradition in preserving the rights of minorities. The actual legislation forecast is mainly to tidy up the Statute Book, to correct anomalies that have developed (as in the university colleges at Palmerston North), and to help protect the individual citizen. The outstanding event should be consideration of the proposed Ministry of Fuel and Power, which can provide both a plan for economic growth and the means to achieve it. Economic growth, according to the Speech from the. Throne, is to be the basis of the Government’s fiscal policy. Parliament should share in the promotion of this growth, a task for which it is better fitted now that the Opposition has largely shed its doctrinaire past. Overseas events, both inside and outside the Commonwealth, must profoundly influence the direction of progress, as his Excellency reminded members; but New Zealand can do much to help itself if a firm, intelligible lead is given by Parliament.