Speaker Changes Mind; Minister Withdraws

Press, Volume CIII, Issue 30602, 19 November 1964, Page 3

Speaker Changes Mind; Minister Withdraws

(A'eu? Zealand Press Association! WELLINGTON, November 18. Amid Opposition cries of “shame” and “withdraw” the Minister of Finance (Mr Lake) alleged in Parliament today that the previous Labour Government had told departmental officials to “cook” economic figures on the proposed Nelson railway.

Speaking in the second reading debate on the Finance Bill (No. 2), Mr Lake said the public expenditure committee had been informed of this after the Labour Government was voted out of office in 1960.

Officials had been instructed by the Labour Government to “cook” the figures, said Mr Lake.

This had been told to the chairman of the committee and could be substantiated.

“This is a shocking state of affairs.” said Mr Lake. Mr A. J. Faulkner (Opp., Roskill) then asked the speaker whether the word “cook” was in order.

The speaker (Sir Ronald Algie) said the word was very close to the borderline but he could not rule it out of order.

But later, Sir Ronald Algie told the House he had changed his mind about the use of the word and asked the Minister to withdraw it.

“Speakers’ rulings are very often given off the cuff, and they must always be put right if they are wrong.” he said. Sir Ronald Algie said he had consulted past speakers’ rulings, and to “put the record straight,” he felt he should ask the Minister to withdraw the word. Mr Lake agreed.

Earlier, Mr Lake said he had been informed of the matter after the change of government.

He said the officials said they had been instructed to give excessive freight figures. The Leader of the Opposition (Mr Nordmeyer) said: “You have been wrongly informed.”

Mr Lake: I won’t withdraw this.

Mr Lake said the Opposition had made comparisons between the Nelson railway

and the Kaimai railway deviation.

Provision was made in the bill for the deviation which would cost £5.7 million, he said.

Earlier. Mr N. E. Kirk (Opp., Lyttelton) said the same arguments for the Kaimai deviation could be used to construct the Nelson railway.

the question had to be considered not only on cost but in national interest.

A railway line opened up tremendous development in a district and the Nelson railway was for this purpose. the Nelson railway would have been completed in four years.

In five years the Government subsidy on the national railway had increased from £103,000 to £170.000. In two years the cost of providing an imaginary railway would exceed the cost of constructing the actual line.

Was it just a question of Nelson being represented by an Opposition member whereas the Bay of Plenty had a Government member? asked Mr Kirk.

The bill was read a second time.