LABOUR CAUCUS

Dominion, Volume 31, Issue 203, 25 May 1938, Page 12

LABOUR CAUCUS

Meeting In Wellington To-day PLANS FOR SESSION Parliament Likely To Meet Next Month A caucus of members of the Parliamentary Labour Party will be held in Wellington to-day. The Prime Minister, Rt. Hon. M. J. Savage, who will preside, said in an interview last evening that the meeting was likely to extend over two days. “Members of caucus,” said Mr. Savage, “will be given a rough outline of the legislation to be submitted to Parliament at the forthcoming session. Obviously only a rough outline of the Government’s legislative proposals can be given because the Bills have yet to be drafted. It is only a fair thing to give your Parliamentary supporters an idea of pending legislation and what it is proposed to do in the immediate future. The old idea of things was for a Cabinet to do just as it liked and only call a caucus of its supporters when it got into difficulties. Our job is to tell our supporters what we are doing and what we propose t< do in order to avoid getting into situations like that. “There is nothing unusual in having a caucus of the Parliamentary Labour Party just now,” Mr. Savage continued. “The Labour Party will always l>e having caucuses, whether the Government or in Opposition, so that every man in the party will know what is happening. Take the ease, for instance. of a Labour Party member atTauranga—we don’t want that man asked a question and not know what the answer is.

"We are approaching the last session of the present Parliament. All the Bills are not drafted yet, blit We will be able to give the caucus the substance of them. We will always follow the practice of keeping otir supporters informed of what we are doing, for that is the way to keep a party solid. If you trust a man he will trust you; similarly, if you keep him at a distance, be will react likewise.” Asked if he could indicate when the session of Parliament would open. Mr. Savage said that no decision had yet been made. Cabinet would have to decide when Parliament was to be called together. There was no reason to believe that Parliament would meet at other , than the normal time, toward the end of June.