THE WEEK IN THE HOUSE N.Z. economy in the green

Press, Volume CXIV, Issue 33676, 28 October 1974, Page 2

THE WEEK IN THE HOUSE N.Z. economy in the green

(By

CEDRIC MENTIPLAY)

Though no White! i Papers appeared in Par-j liament last week, a! dark-green one on the . economic situation and a t pale-green one on trans--1 port in New Zealand i provided talking points enough. S Still more were provided » by small Government bills ( which came in during the s week, notably the Finance 1 (No. 3) Amendment Bill ; (which really legalised new - procedures in relation to electricity distribution) and

i the Police Offences Amendment Bill. | Parliament effectively lost ■ a day when, last Wednesday, the Prime Minister (Mr Rowling) and the Minister of Finance (Mr Tizard) disclosed details of the Government’s economic proposals to a group of selected citizens outside the House. Though Parliament sat that afternoon, it was notably preoccupied. The debate on the economy That night w’as plainly aimed at relieving pressures rather |than producing a finite re- ! suit. Progress was made, and 'this pattern will continue in

the week ahead. The emphasis will be on the discussion of legislation, and the appearance of the Supplementary Estimates is awaited. These are expected to be in the hands of the Public Expenditure Committee next Wednesday, but the House is not likely to debate these Estimates before the week-end. A target date for the end of the session has not yet been announced, though November 15 remains a strong possibility. The arrival of three measures last Friday (one of which, the Education Amendment (No. 5) Bill, has been passed to a select committee for discussion during the recess) means that there are now about 40 measures on the Order Paper.

The intention is to complete only about half of these, but no precise statement on which measures will be completed has yet been made. It is also unclear whether the Government proposes to bring in more legislation, notably to facilitate the economic programme announced last Wednesday. “NEW STYLE” The claim that the Opposition had been caught by the measures announced by the Government was made by Mr T. K. Burke (Lab., Rangiora) during the debate on the economy on Wednesday night. “These measures show a new style and a new method . . .”

The Deputy Leader of the Opposition (Mr Taiboys): A what?

Mr Burke: A moderate, reasoned approach, which is new. Compare these with the harsher, draconian measures of the previous Government, and of the Leader of the Opposition when he was Minister of Finance. Compare the measures of today with the panicky, stop-go measures of the previous Government, and its antisocial economic policies . . . deliberately aimed at putting New Zealanders out of work . . .

Mr J. B. Bolger (Nat., King Country: What about the low interest money you promised? Mr Burke: A party with a

special policy is in Government, while a party with an anti-social policy, which stopped thousands of New Zealanders building their houses, and which by miniBudget knocked industry to its knees ... is in Opposition. RABBIT FARMING The Agricultural Pests Destruction Amendment Bill went through its committee stage on Friday afternoon without further Opposition reaction, and without any attempt to put back the clauses which in the original measures would have facilitated rabbit farming. The requiem for the lost clauses was spoken by Mr R. L. G. Talbot (Nat., South Canterbury), when he said: “Fortunately, the bill is still called the Agricultural Pests Destruction Amendment Bill. If the operative clauses had been left in, the bill could have more properly been called the Rabbit Production Bill.”

His objections to the dropped clauses included the possibility of blackmarketing, the difficulty of laying down stringent rules, and the problem of back-door sales. The most disastrous effect, he added, would have been the psychological one on pest-destruction boards and on the farmer. WEST COAST ROADS Mr P. Blanchfield (Lab., West Coast) thanked the National Roads Board and its chairman (The Minister of Works, Mr Watt) for their attention to reading and 1 idging in the West Coast and Buller districts. “The Minister has had to pull out the stops to get the Cobden Bridge built. I give the Commissioner and his staff top marks for the wonderful job they have made of this bridge.” He deplored the “antiprogressive attitude” of conservationists on the West Coast. “If engineering were left to them, we would be right back to the original Morioris, running around in I their native culture,” said Mr I Blanchfield.