Motunui vote for House

Press, 3 May 1983, Page 1

Motunui vote for House

PA Wellington Legislation to overcome objections from Taranaki Maoris about waste disposal from the Motunui synthetic petrol plant would be introduced to Parliament either today or tomorrow said the Prime Minister, Mr Muldoon, yesterday. Mr Muldoon last month secured the support of the four Labour Maori members of Parliament to ensure the bill would be passed even with one or two possible defections from Government ranks.

The bill, which will provide for effluent from the plant to be discharged at waitara rather than Motunui as originally planned by the Government, would probably not be shown to the Maori members before its introduction, said Mr Muldoon after yesterday’s Cabinet meeting. “It does what I undertook to do,’’ he said. There was therefore no need to show it to the four, although that was for the Minister of Energy, Mr Birch, to decide. The Labour Party, has indicated that it will support the bill provided it says

exactly what the Maori members agreed to when making their decision to vote with the Government. The bill would be referred to a select committee as normal once it had been introduced. After its introduction and the completion of the Address-in-Reply debate, the House would rise, said Mr Muldoon. That would definitely be by the end of this week. The House needed to adjourn to enable select committee study of legislation to proceed. The Government had no further legislation to bring into the House and there was therefore no point continuing to sit, he said. Mr Muldoon said he did not know when the House would resume. The timing depended on the date of the Budget and the progress made by select committees.

The timing of the Budget did not depend on the ending of the wage-price freeze, he said.

Legislation before select committees includes two controversial measures to deregulate the air and road transport industries.