Parliament radio hours extended

Press, 10 December 1983, Page 8

Parliament radio hours extended

PA Wellington The Government agreed to extend broadcasting hours for yesterday afternoon’s debate on controversial industrial law after Parliament’s switchboard was jammed by callers wanting to hear it on radio.

The extension of broadcast hours until 6 p.m. was made as the Government tried to speed up the Industrial Law Reform Bill’s passage through its committal stages under urgency by breaking it up into parts for consideration.

The Minister of Labpur, Mr Bolger, said this should avoid repetitive debate but not stop amendments being moved. Earlier, the Leader of the House, Mr Thomson, had declined to extend broadcasting hours past Friday’s normal rising time of 1 p.m., meaning that it looked like almost all of the debate which was expected to end in the early hours of this morning would be off-air.

This had been met with cries of “shame” from the Opposition benches. However, Mr Thomson

told the House — as debate began on the bill providing for voluntary unionism and youth pay rates, about 12.45 p.m. — that the Deputy Prime Minister, Mr MacIntyre, had emphasised there was very wide public interest on the measure.

The Deputy Leader of the Opposition, Mr Palmer, said the Opposition had earlier suggested that the broadcasting hours be extended. “In my judgment, the explanation offered is not the correct one,” he said.

“The correct explanation is that the member for Hamilton West )Mr M. J. Minogue) will not support the Government unless they conduct this debate on the air.” Mr Thomson denied the suggestion. Many members of the Government wanted the broadcast to proceed, he said.

Debate on the bill was held up yesterday morning as members argued over how the bill should be debated. Bills are usually debated clause by clause in the committee stage, but Mr Bolger moved that the bill be considered part by part.

He had earlier moved without dissent that the 175-page 77-clause bill be separated into 12 separate bills. Mr Bolger said debating the bill part by part would ensure “the committee does not have to wait hours and hours, taking innumerable divisions with members to a considerable extent wasting time simply trooping into and out of the voting lobbies and listening to the bell ringing for hours and hours.”

The motion was loudly opposed by the Labour Party, Mr Palmer saying it would mean that several’ detailed clauses in the bill would not be properly scrutinised.

The committee stage offered the chance of the most detailed examination the House gives to a bill, he said.

Mr W. P. Jeffries (Lab., Heretaunga) interjected that the motion was “against democracy.”

The debate on Mr Bolger’s motion was interrupted when the House began a one-hour lunch adjournment at 1 p.m.