Late sitting frays tempers
PA Wellington Tempers frayed at Parliament on Wednesday night and early yesterday as the Government rushed to get legislation, including its Clyde high dam empowering bill, into law.
After the longest sitting of Parliament this year had ended at 3.35 a.m. yesterday, some members were back at 8.30 a.m. for an urgent meeting of the select committee considering the Clyde bill. The committee hearing had been marked by interruptions and delays as the Government- moved to have it sitting outside normal hours so that the legislation
can-be in place before a commitment to a dam-build-ing contract expires.
Feelings ran high on Wednesday night as members on the committee had to leave for divisions in Parliament on other contentious legislation. Among the first to fall asleep was the member for Selwyn, Miss Ruth Richardson, who lay under a blanket unnoticed.by her colleagues until the last minute of the tenth division. She expects her first baby in March.
The Labour Party has offered to make a pair available for Miss Richardson for late-night sittings during her
pregnancy. The Senior Labour Whip, Mr J. L. Hunt, said yesterday that Miss Richardson had “graciously” accepted the offer on Wednesday, although she did not expect she would need a pair often. By the scheduled sitting time of 8.30 a.m. yesterday only the Government members and the Social Credit leader, Mr Beetham, were at the Clyde dam committee table. The Labour members were slow to arrive, and the rest of the committee waited in silence.
The Labour Opposition on Wednesday had forced a twohour debate against a Gov :
ernment motion that the committee should sit outside normal hours, and the Junior Government Whip, Mr M. E. C. Cox, accused it of filibustering. Witnesses had waited for almost five hours for the committee to resume, and when they gave their evidence there were some sharp exchanges.
An Otago scientist, Dr Alan Mark, told Mr Beetham he was the key to the issue.
Mr Beetham accused Dr Mark of being emotional, to which Dr Mark replied: “How can you be unemotional over this issue?”
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Press, 24 September 1982, Page 3
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350Late sitting frays tempers Press, 24 September 1982, Page 3
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