PARLIAMENT

Evening Post, Volume CXVIII, Issue 50, 28 August 1934, Page 11

PARLIAMENT

TO-DAY'S PROCEEDINGS

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

The House of Representatives met at £.30 p.m. today.'

Mr. J. Hargest (Government, Invercargill) was granted three (fays' leave of absence on account of illness.

Continuing the debate on the second reading of the Customs Act Amendment Bill, Mr. D. G. Sullivan (Labour, Avon) said that anybody who had gone through tho factories of New Zealand could not say that they were not well equipped or inefficient. The Opposition was not asking for the protection of inefficient industries, but for the protection of industries that vrcro efficient. The Prime Minister, ho said, had changed his attitude, as far as secondary industries wore concerned, since he had become a member of the Coalition. The Prime Minister had gone over holus-bolus to the rural Reformers and had deserted tho secondary industries.

Mr. Forbes: That is not so.

■Mr. Sullivan said that New Zealand was putting a different interpretation on the Ottawa Agreement, from the interpretation of othor sections of the Empire, and New Zealand's interpretation was detrimental to this country. If the- British competitor had reasonable opportunity under tho Australian tariff, and the tariff had been accepted by Britain, why was it necessary to lower the New Zealand tariff to give the British competitor a reasonable opportunity to- compete? Could it be said that an explanation had been given?

(Proceeding.)