Faulty bells blamed for tie in House

Press, 25 November 1982, Page 6

Faulty bells blamed for tie in House

PA Wellington The Government blamed a “mechanical breakdown" of Parliament's bells last evening for a tied vote which the Speaker. Sir Richard Harrison. had to break. Sir Richard ruled in favour of the Government after the vote was tied, 37-37, when the Minister of Energy, Mr Birch, was in a broadcasting media room where he could not hear the bells calling members to a division. Later, Parliament heard that an engineer had been called by the Clerk of the House, Mr Charles Littlejohn, to check the bells because they apparently were not working in some areas of the Beehive-Parliament Buildings complex. The acting Chief Government Whip. Mr M. E. C. Cox. said he believed a mechanical breakdown was to blame for the incident which removed the Government’s one-vote majority. It was the second time this year that the Government's narrow majority had been exposed.

On only the fifth day of the session the vote was tied, 3838, on the introduction of the Transport Amendment (No. 2) Bill and Sir Richard used his casting vote in favour of the Government then. The tie was caused that time because the Minister of Foreign Affairs. Mr Cooper, was at a credentials cere-

mony at Government House and did not have a vote pairing with a member of the Opposition. Last evening’s vote was on the second reading of the Local Authorities ’ Loans Amendment Bill, a measure introduced by the Prime Minister, Mr Muldoon. When it became obvious that the vote was tied, there, was frantic activity at the Government’s Whips’ bench, from which the Chief Whip, Mr D. C. McKinnon, is absent on a trip to the Antarctic. Calls from the telephones installed at the bench this year were made by Mr Cox, while the Acting Junior Whip, Mr R. M. Gray, anxiously helped. Mr- Cox later said that the Government had taken steps earlier this year to “block some loopholes” where bells were not heard, and installed flashing lights in areas off the voting lobbies. Mr Birch said he had missed the division because he was being interviewed by Radio New Zealand in its

office in the press gallery. “There were no bells in their office,” he said. “It is not a very pleasant thing to miss a division.” “But I was responding to a request for an interview and I was giving: it to them, and they did. ndt provide any bells which I expected they

would do in their office," he said. Broadcasting journalists later said the bells can be heard faintly in the room where Mr Birch was being interviewed. The Opposition Chief Whip, Mr J. L. Hunt, noted that his counterpart was away from Parliament and said the Government obviously did not have discipline that was tight enough. ? Later, during a point of order in Parliament, the Minister of Justice, Mr McLay, asked the Chairman of Committees, Mr J. F. Luxton (Matamata), whether the. bells could be tested before any divisions were called under urgency later last evening over the Sale of Liquor Amendment Bill, conscience measure. The Opposition member for Papanui, Mr M. K. Moore, said the impression | should not be given that it was the responsibility of Mr Luxton to ensure that the Government had a majority. “I think the point should be made that it is not your

responsibility to ensure that the bells are ringing or members are awake or are in some locked room,” said Mr Moore. “The occasion could soon come when the Government could fall and will fall and it will not be your fault, the bells' fault, or the security guards’ fault, but the Whips’ fault," Mr Moore said.