A SECRET SESSION

Dominion, Volume 34, Issue 137, 6 March 1941, Page 6

A SECRET SESSION

Probable In House Next Thursday DAY AFTER OPENING OF PARLIAMENT

Review Of War Situation

A secret session of the House of Representatives is likely to be held next Thursday, the day following the opening of Parliament, to enable members to hear and discuss in private the latest developments in connexion with the war. Four secret sessions were held during last year's session of Parliament, two of them extending over two days. The last meeting of the House in secret took place on December 5, the day before the end of the 1940 session. The Prime Minister, Mr. Fraser, in an interview last night, said that if it suited the convenience of the House a secret session could be held on Thursday of next week, when the war situation, particularly as it affected Great Britain, the Near East, and the Pacific, could be reviewed. The war effort generally of New Zealand could also be discussed. Parliament will be opened on Wednesday by the Governor-General, Sir Cyril Newall. The ceremony in the Legislative Council chamber will be followed by the usual sitting of the House of Representatives, but this meeting on the first day of a session is generally of brief duration, the business being of a formal nature only. The Address-in-Reply debate is expected to begin when the House resumes the following week.