M.P. explains why he ruled out inquiry

Press, 27 September 1986, Page 6

M.P. explains why he ruled out inquiry

PA Wellington The chairman of Parliament’s Finance and Expenditure Committee has told Parliament why he felt it was inappropriate to conduct an inquiry into the early Budget release.

Mr Trevor de Cleene (Lab., Palmerston North) told Parliament that as he was Parliamentary Under-Secretary to the Minister of Finance he would be investigating his own Minister. He noted also that another select committee was to hold an inquiry. The Minister of Finance, Mr Douglas, had offered to resign when he

learnt the Budget had been released early. That offer was not accepted by the Prime Minister, Mr Lange. Since then Opposition members have sought an inquiry into the issue through a Parliamentary select committee. The chairman of the Government Administration Committee, Ms Fran Wilde (Lab., Wellington Central) has* already said that her committee would investigate, but the House was told that Mr de Cleene’s committee would not.

“As Under-Secretary I thought I could not chair

such an inquiry pursuant to my duties to the Finance and Expenditure Committee,” he said. National’s spokesman on expenditure, Mr M. E. C. Cox (Manawatu), who had pressed for the inquiry, agreed that Mr de Cleene should not have chaired it

"But it is easy enough to move out of the chair of a select committee and it has been done frequently,” Mr Cox said.

He said Mr de Cleene had used his casting vote on the committee to block the move for an inquiry.