New members move fast on perks

Press, 2 December 1978, Page 1

New members move fast on perks

“A Wellington Newly elected members of Parliament sitting on knife-edge majorities while they await the beginning of special vote counting are already using Parliamentary privileges.

The privileges include free air travel, cars, and postage. The new member for Kapiti (Mrs Margaret Shields) who has an election-night majority of nine, booked a flight to a Rotorua conference through the Parliamentary bulk air account. However, she later cancelled the booking. The assistant Clerk of the House (Mr D. McGee) said that all candidates with election-night majorities were treated as members. “We do not pick and choose. All those elected are provisionally treated as members until they are sworn in,’’ he said. Should the special votes overturn any results the deposed members would be billed for services used, Mr McGee said. Mrs Shields said yesterday that she knew when booking the flight she would have to repay the cost if special votes overturned her majority. She said that she saw no harm trying to get on

with the job while she was a member of Parliament. “But 1 do think it’s slightly unfair in the case of public servants like mebecause we can be left in limbo until the final count," Mrs Shields said. “If we are elected our pay is back-dated to election day. But if we are not elected we don’t get paid for the period we have not been able to work.”

Figures supplied from the Electoral Office last evening show that the trend in special votes will decide which political party forms the next government. The totals so far of special votes in seven marginal electorates outweigh the election-night majorities five times in some electorates and more than 10 times in others. The National Party has a majority of six seats on the election-night count. Returning officers had been asked to telegraph special vote totals until 2 p.m. yesterday to the Chief

Electoral Officer (Mr J, L, Wright).

Figures from all electorates had not been received when counting stopped last evening. However, figures were available from seven marginal seats.

The electorate and numbers of special votes, with the leading party and election-night majority in parentheses, are: Gisborne (National 116) 1555; Hastings (Labour 296) 1720; Hunua (Labour 246) 2587; Invercargill (National 144) 2090; Kapiti (Labour 9) 2061; New • Plymouth (National 90) 1894; Western Hutt (Labour 186) 2250. Figures were not available for Miramar, where National has a majority of 183.

Special votes have all been cast, and have until 7 p.m. on Tuesday to reach the Electoral Office. Mr Wright expects that some counting will be completed by next Friday, and a complete result to be. declared on Monday, December 11.