Address-in-Reply to give way to Budget

Press, 27 May 1978, Page 2

Address-in-Reply to give way to Budget

By

CEDRIC MENTIPLAY

A generally mild-tempered House learned this week; .that a Budget of more than (usual significance would be’ [presented next Thursday, a [week before the date originally advised. I Whatever the reasons, the reaction has been one of re-; lief. The Address-in-Reply | ’ debate, the first of the for-! [mal offerings, never has; I seemed to have much point! [in it. Basically its subject is; !a resolution that a loyal; ; address be presented to Her ■ Majesty in reply to her [Speech from the Throne. i It is very possible, how- [ ever, that the Queen has not even read in detail the Speech from the Throne, delivered on her behalf by her representative, the Gov-ernor-General (Sir Keith Holyoake). Nevertheless, a majority of members have now spoken in this debate, which will end on Tuesday or Wednesday. After that, members led by the Speaker (Mr Harrison) will wait on Sir Keith at the Vice-Regal residence, and present the “loyal address.”

Normally the Address-in-1 Reply debate lasts at least!

(three weeks. This year it is ‘ virtually over in two, which represents some sort of a gain. This debate has been somewhat better than those of the previous five years, in that members have spent a little more time talking about the local and regional problems, and less in lambasting the "other side.” | However, even a fortnight of : this has been somewhat hard to take. The smooth metamorphosis into “Budget week” has also brought a ! unity of purpose that was lacking in other sessions. At least this time there has been a minimum of the obvious procedures of “keeping busy until the Budget comes down.”

This in other years led to hours of pointless debate on private members’ legislation and notices of motion, none of which had the remotest chance of success.

It is accepted that the Address-in-Reply debate is necessary, but most members must be grateful that it has been allowed to exhaust itself as quickly as possible, and that the session’s piece de resistance, the Budget, is close upon us. More than ever, the Budget is the pro-

duction on which all things turn, for the rest of the year, and conceivably for the next three. After it will come the session’s first imprest supply debate next Friday, in which the main argument will concern the Government’s stewardship. It will also see the first motion of the session, which could (but is unlikely to) result in the House sitting until Sunday, Against these happenings, the week just ended was a quiet one. The- Speaker kept his firm? hand on members, even quelling the Prime Minister (Mr Muldoon) on two minor occasions, and the House was better for it Question-time remains more effective and less repetitive than it has been, and as many as 26 oral questions, with their supplementaries, have been disposed of in a single 40-minute period. But the pointless notices-of-motion . continue to roll in. most of them unfunny or unhelpful. One of them even got lost on its way to the clerk’s room. As one member commented: “It might have been destroyed by the cleaning-lady, particularly if she had read it first.”