What the M.P.s were saying A mixed grill from yet unsettled House

Press, 28 May 1979, Page 2

What the M.P.s were saying A mixed grill from yet unsettled House

From

CEDRIC MENTIPLAY

i Although now at the end 'of its second week, Parlia!ment shows no sign of settling down. In the early speeches of members in the imprest supply and Address-in-Reply debates, party gibes tended to get mixed with regional comment and general advice, and this ha- , bit shows no sign of abating. [ Sir Basil Arthur (Lab., [Timaru) produced a letter ;from the chairman of the [Timaru branch of the National Party, which somehow [reached a wrong address. He quoted the letter: “Dear (National Party) member: Another election year has come and gone, and once more we have to struggle to keep the National Party morale high. Parliamentary and organisational arms of the party have done a lot of soul-searching, and I hope they have realised why we just scraped in in 1978.” One might wonder what place this has in a debate related to the granting of money for wages and essential services — but tradition allows this sort of thing in an imprest supply debate. Sir Basil Arthur’s comment: “That circular was signed by Mr D. A. J. Walker, a nice chap who has stood against me three times and been cleaned up three times. If he puts something like that on paper I believe him, because he is honest and tells the truth.” Others might ponder that’ it is a little early for the 1981 election campaign to have begun. There is much Parliamentary work to be done between now and then, and possibly insufficient time in which to do it.

Marlborough forestry An appeal to Marlborough people to make up their minds on whether they want a forest industry has been made by the new member for Marlborough, Mr D. L. Kidd (Nat,), who is in no

doubt that the gains are [there — if really wanted. “The district has to work through its arguments about [a forest industry,” Mr Kidd said. “The Planning Tribunal is hearing appeals on the code of ordinances for the counties’ planing scheme. That goes back four years or so” (when the forest in-, dustry, with Mr Kidd as president, lodged its first objections to the county’s first planning scheme). “Much progress has been made in the meantime,” Mr Kidd said. “The appeals will settle what will happen, but once you have made the rules, it is a question as to whether anybody wants to play. It could be that we have the rules we like — and somebody else has the forests.”

A change in zoning could open everything up again, but people could well go elsewhere before the matter was finally decided. “People in Marlborough who believe there will be a forest industry one day which will provide jobs and exports might be counting their chickens before they are hatched,” Mr Kidd said.

“It is not a question of the Government’s being on one side or the other. Marlborough has been given one of the top priorities in forestry grant finance. We have fourth rating in the country. The Government has made its commitment. Now it is a matter ’ of whether Marlborough wants it.” The feminine touch Mrs Mary Batchelor (Lab., Avon) began her speech by congratulating a member of the Government. But her congratulations to Miss Marilyn Waring (Nat., Waipa) were, predictably, on “her efforts to make excuses for her Government.” “It was a very good try on her part, considering she had an impossible task,” Mrs Batchelor said, “because for the actions that have been taken by the Govern-

ment there are no excuses.” Among the actions for which Mrs Batchelor alleged there are no excuses were “actions taken without recognition being given to the effect those actions wili have on people we represent,” and “actions by a small group of Government executives without allowing Parliament some knowledge of what is intended, or Parliamentarians an opportunity to discuss it.”

But Mrs Batchelor professed surprise that nowhere in her speech did Miss Waring mention the impact of Government actions on families, the rising cost of living, or related subjects. Leaving her congratulatory theme, Mrs Batchelor said: “It is almost as though, having spent three years trying to push the worker right into the ground, the Government has got tired of bashing him, and has now decided to take on the children.”