ACTS OF PARLIAMENT

Dominion, Volume 31, Issue 142, 12 March 1938, Page 12

ACTS OF PARLIAMENT

Delay In Issue Of Copies

To Public SUGGESTION BY MEMBER A complaint that copies of Acts of Parliament were not made available to the public soon enough after they became law was made by Mr. T. D. Burnett (Opposition, Temuka) in an urgent question he asked the Prime Minister, lit. Hon. M. J. Savage, in the House of Representatives yesterday.- He suggested that in future Acts should not become operative until such time as copies were available from the Government Printing Office. Mr. Burnett mentioned the case of the Fair Rents Amendment Act, and said that although the Act came into force at the begiiming of December copies of it were not obtainable until the end of January Mr. Savage’ said that the Acts In--Icrpretation Act provided that every act assented to by the Governor-General came into operation on the day it received his assent, unless the act itself prescribed the time

from which it was to take effect. It "was not proposed to amend the Acts Interpretation Act as suggested by Mr. Burnett. Owing to pressure of other urgent work in connection with Parliamentary business. said Mr. Savage, the Government Printer was at times unable to print the necessary supply of acts immediately they received the Governor-

General’s assent. The printing of acts •s in their final form was work which required the utmost care and could not be rushed, and large supplies were necessary to meet all requirements throughout tho Dominion. Referring to Mr. Burnett’s specific complaint concerning the Fair Rents Amendment Act, Mr. Savage said this act was one of ten received by -the Government Printer about the beginning of December for printing in final form. Copies were available for sale to the public on January 12. the number printed off being 2700. Unavoidable delay was caused by the fact that the Government Printing Office was closed from December 24 until January 5 for the Christmas, New Year and annual holidays. “The necessity for supplies of acts being available to the public as soon as possible after they come into operation is fully appreciated,” said Mr. Savage, “and every effort will be made to reduce to a minimum the time taken in printing supplies.”