Legislative mountain melts away

Press, 19 November 1977, Page 2

Legislative mountain melts away

By

CEDRIC MENTIPLAY

The warmer weather this week combined with Opposition lethargy and other factors to provide the usual end-of-session miracle.

A main Order Paper of some 50 measures faded away at incredible speed. On Thursday evening, for instance, no fewer than 17 measures passed effortlessly through their third-reading debates and into the. Statute Book. Second readings and committee stages were ruthlessly cut down, and the House actually raced ahead of imposed urgency.

Those cynics who have seen it all before must conclude that, as usual, the Order Paper was kept in an unnecessarily padded condition. There seems no valid reason why some of those 17 measures, on which there was apparently no political disagreement, should not have been passed weeks ago. The Acting Prime Minister (Mr Taiboys) appeared* embarrassed yesterday morning that he could give the Leader of the Opposition (Mr Rowling) no idea as to when the session would end. This is also hardly a new situation. The ending of any session is almost entirely in the hands of the Oppostion party. There are many measures on which Labour could yet decide to stand and fight, if the will to do so is there.

All the same, it was odd to hear Mr Taiboys saying that there seemed to be enough on the Order Paper

to warrant a Tuesday sitting, but that sittings on Wednesday and Thursday might be limited to evenings only, in order to allow select committees to work.

Another odd thing about this week, considering its lateness in the session, was the continuing arrival of Government measures. These included the Companies Amendment Bill, the Sale of Liquor Amendment Bill, the Licensing Trusts Amendment Bill, the Geothermal Energy Amendment Bill, the Higher Salaries Commission Bill, the Pipelines Protection Amendment Bill, the Social Security Amendment (No. 2) Bill, the War Pensions Amendment Bill, and the Primary Products Amendment Bill.

Nine major measures — including several which will put Budget measures into effect. plus the last of the “industrial relations package,” — starting their Parliamentary run this , week give cause for thought. So does the Government insistence that most of them go through without select committee reference.

No wonder Opposition members lodged their protests, ineffectual though these may be in the face of the Government majority.

Just how many of these measures must be passed this session is one of the keys to the date of rising. ■Another key relates to whether select committees will be allowed to get. on

with their work next week, and which bills will be returned to Parliament as a result. Before it rises, Parliament is committed to dealing with the four industrial relations bills, the Town and Country Planning Bill (when it gets back from its committee), and the remaining stages of the long-suspended Contraception, Sterilisation, and Abortion Bill.

With all these open questions, plus the unknown attitude of the Opposition on each one, I can sympathise with Mr Taiboys in his reluctance to give a firm rising date. Perhaps Mr Mulsoon will be able to do this soon after his return from the United States. Until a firm date is give, however, December 9 cannot be discarded as a likelihood. Special note must be taken of the battle fought by the Acting Speaker (Mr J. R. Harrison) to get oral questions answered. Earlier in the session, as few as seven questions were being answered in the allotted time. Mr Harrison’s handling has succeeded in more than doubling this output. This week’s oral question quota, with its multitude of supplementary questions, was completed. It is obvious, however, that the faster the pace, the more the questions asked. This week Parliament was dealing with an average of more than 20 questions in each day’s 40-minute period.