Dam agreement ‘Parliamentary’

Press, 27 July 1982, Page 18

Dam agreement ‘Parliamentary’

The Leader ’ of the Social Credit Political League. Mr Bruce Beetham, has made a statement on the Clyde Dam controversy. In a letter, Mr Beetham writes: "I would like to clarify a few matters arising from Social Credit’s part in the solution to the Clyde Dam impasse. The threat of both special Government empowering legislation cutting across the due process of law while it is in progress, and of an Order-in-Council which would have by-passed not only the judiciary, but Parliament itself, has been averted by Social Credit’s actions. “In the whole constitutional debate over the Clyde issue, too many people have failed to appreciate the important difference between the abuse of executive power (which has been removed in this matter) and the rightful exercise of Parliaments ultimate authority over both the executive, and the judiciary, under our British-type Government system. This latter is still possible, though unlikely to actually occur. “The agreement between the Government and Social Credit over the issue is a ’Parliamentary’ one, and creates a situation no different from that which can apply at any time on

any issue where the altitude of a Parliamentary majority is clear. In other words the 'agreement' provides for no different a situation from that which occurs with legal action proceeding on any matter where the litigants' know, or have good reason to believe, a majority in Parliament is opposed to what they want to achieve. “To say the agreement represents the end of democracy is extreme, absurd, and extravagant nonsense, and Mr Minogue knows it, as does anyone else who has any real grasp of the nature of our constitutional arrangements. If Mr Minogue genuinely believes his own criticism, he should be asked to explain how he came to tell the private Clyde contractors three weeks ago that if the legal process went as far as having to go to the Privy Council he would support Parliamentary intervention at that point. “That position is not really any different from that which Social Credit has adopted. Is Mr Minogue piqued because he was tardy in offering his own Government his support on this basis and saw Social Credit take over his ground? Is that why he turned the full force of his criticism upon what had been his own argument?”