Law critic criticised

Press, 31 May 1977, Page 7

Law critic criticised

PA Wellington The senior Government Whip (Mr W. F. Birch) and Professor Geoffrey Palmer, Professor of Law at Victoria University of Wellington, have crossed swords about the effectiveness of the present Parliamentary system. Professor Palmer, in a recent article in “The Listener,” expressed concern about the number of laws and regulations being passed in New Zealand. He said the Executive had got out of control, and Parliament — the traditional check on the powers of the Executive —■ was not performing that function satisfactorily. Mr Birch, speaking to the Mana Lions Club, said nothing could be further from the truth. "Professor Palmer’s article implies that there has been a gradual erosion in the function of Parliament down through the

years, but he should be aware that the last Constitutional change of any great significance was the abolition of the Legislative Council in 1950,” said Mr Birch. “Since that time, the Standing Orders of the House have been changed to adapt to modern needs. But apart from increasing the work of select committees and opening those select committees to the public, the changes have been relatively minor to the Standing Orders. By and large they have only changed after the Standing Orders have been thoroughly examined by Parliamentary committees, and agreed to by the House.’ Mr Birch said there was no way a Government could have laws passed through Parliament unless it had the support of the majority of members. A recent change had been the establishment of caucus committees to

examine policy issues in depth, and these committees were particularly busy during the parliamentary recess. Parliament was not perfect. but it was not static, he said. The three-year Parliamentary Elections were the final check on the power of the Executive. “It is time New Zealanders stopped knocking the system, and recognised Parliament for what it is — the outstanding strength of a democratic system,” said Mr Birch. Professor Palmer, in a statement later said the ascendancy of Cabinet over Parliament was so obvious that “only a partisan politician could deny the truth of the proposition. “If Mr Birch was in the position of having to use the legislation produced by Parliament, he might be more concerned about its shape,” he said.