Opinion Shift Favouring Upper Chamber Claimed

Press, Volume CIII, Issue 30389, 13 March 1964, Page 15

Opinion Shift Favouring Upper Chamber Claimed

(Neu) Zealand Press Association)

. WELLINGTON, March 12. cth Tck. C nJ° n ° f a nate ? n a provincial basis might give the S ° t Krd nf f^ SOm t r ? dre k ss f /' r lts grievance that it had less than a third of the seats m the House of Representatives, Mr A. F. Ma I n ". ,nt ’’ p chl . < : f executive officer of the Constitutional Society, told the Parliamentary Committee on Constitutional Reform today.

However, he believed a partly-nomin-ated, partly-elected second chamber would find greater acceptance among New Zealanders. The committee is hearing submissions supporting a petition to Parliament last year calling for the establishment of a second chamber of Parliament, then a written constitution. Members of the committee sre Mr R. E. Jack (chairman), •he Postmaster-General (Mr Scotti, the Leader of the Opposition (Mr Nordmeyer), and Messrs W. Nash, D. J. Riddiford. H. G. R. Mason, W. A. Sheat and N. J. King. The Deputy Prime Minister (Mr Marshall) and the AttorneyGeneral (Mr Hanan) are overseas Mr Manning said as long as there was only one chamber of Parliament New Zealand was extremely vulnerable to dangerous political developments because the country’s constitutional law was obscure and liable to

change without the knowledge and consent of the people. The creation of a second chamber was the first essential step before any move to introduce an effective written constitution. Members of the society who had taken part in the campaign for signatures to last year’s petition, said Mr Manning, had indicated that in three years public opinion had changed considerably and that the need for a second chamber was more widely recognised than it had been in 1960. “The society has found that there is a substantial body of public opinion which supports the principle that the constitution should be more accessible to the citizens than it is at present, embodied in a number of statutes, lead ■'ng decisions by the courts and in unwritten conventions,” he said. “Those who favour a written constitution appear to believe it should be simply phrased and readily understandable, so that the average citizen can learn from an early age the basic form of government—the legis-

lature, the executive and the judiciary—and the democratic principles on which the freedom of the individual is based. In cross-examination, Mr Manning said that if the issue was properly explained to voters, the majority would be for a reformed second chamber along the lines the society recommended to the committee. Influence Of Minister Mr Manning suggested that two statements by the At-torney-General supporting an upper chamber had had considerable effect on public opinion. Mr Sheat said that during the recent election campaign not one person in his electorate had mentioned the creation of an upper house. “I suggest the society has not got evidence that there is a widespread demand for these constitutional changes,” he said. Mr Manning replied: “A lot of people who did not see the petition or sign it have expressed to us their support.” Mr Manning will be further cross-examined when the committee meets tomorrow. This morning Mr Riddiford asked Mr A. C. Brassington, vice-president of the Constitutional Society, if an increase in the numbers of the House would provide a solution to the difficulties. “No, it would be an evasion of the issue,” Mr Brassington said. “The Parliamentary system is in the process of breaking down, and if you increase the number of members you will only get splinter groups. Then New Zealand will have what you have in France.”