THE SESSION

Evening Post, Issue 50, 27 August 1935, Page 10

THE SESSION

OPENING THURSDAY

PABIiIAMMT'S LAST LAP

CONFLICTING POLICIES

EYES ON THE BUDGET

The fifth session of the twenty - fourth Parliament will be opened at 2.30 p.m. on Thursday by his Excellency the Governor-General (Viscount Gal way). This will be the first time since bis appointment that his Excellency has opened Parliament. Although Parliament Buildings have taken on the signs 'of activity usually associated with the opening of the session, very few members have arrived so far. A number are expected tomorrow, and by Thursday there should be practically a full muster. -It is generally expected that the session will last from eight to ten weeks.

Parliamefit will enter upon the last lap of its existence on Thursday. Normally the General Election would have been held last December, but the Government decided to postpone the Gen? eral Election for one year. When the present Parliament expires towards the end of October sitting members will be required to go to their electorates and give an accomvt of their stewardship during four of the most momentous years in the history of Parliamentary- Government in New Zealand. They will find the political atmosphere outside of Parliament complicated.

■ In: 1931 the Coalition Government went to the country on a blank cheque ' policy and it was returned with a comfortable majority in practically a •straight-out fight with Labour. This year there are indications that ■ there • will be a plethora of parties and-can- ■•• ididates, with two major parties—Labour' and Democrat —definitely oppos- ' ed to the Government, which on this ■ occasion is appealing to the electorate -under the name of Nationalist. In ad- : ; dition,1 there will be Liberals, Reformers, .and a host of Independents con- ., testing the right to sit in Parliament. A TALKING SESSION. The last session of a Parliament is usually devoted to much talk and very : little work, and this year is likely to • be no exception to the rule. Both Na- :.. tionalist and Labour members—as yet the Democrats have a representation . of but two—will be anxious to make ;' ■: every post a winning post so far as the enunciation of party policies is concerned. Labour has already made pub- . lie the main planks of its .platform, and its supporters in the House, numbering twenty-three, are bound to use - the forms of the House to elaborate on guaranteed prices and other features of 'the' party's , programme. The Nationalists will be bound to retaliated for up to the present they have had little opportunity of doing, so in the country, and the chances are that the set debates, such as those on the Address in Reply and the Budget,, will be'largely devoted to party recriminations. Piquancy will be added to the , situation by virtue of the fact that a hundred and one candidates outside ■ the House will be on the hustings'putting forward their pet arguments, and , this is bound to make sitting members restive. ADDRESS IN REPLY. • Formalities will occupy members for the first' two days of the session, and the serious .work will probably not commence until the. Address-in-Reply debate is launched in the House on Tuesday of next week. On this occasion the. motion is being moved by ' the ' Government member for Waira- ';. rapa (the Hon. A. D. McLeod), who is not seeking re-election this year, and seconded by-the Government member for.Waikato (Mr. F. Lye). The opening speakers will be followed by the Leader of the Opposition (Mr. M.J. Savage), who may be expected to take full advantage of the opportunity pre-J ;'. sented of stating the policy which Lab--1 our will advocate on the hustings. - After Mr. Savage has spoken the way •; will be clear for the general expression - of opinion on political subjects, and ■■ it is expected that the debate will last :■ the best part of two weeks. To the outsider the Address-in-Reply debate may appear to be something of a waste ■of time,' but the seasoned politician ; regards it as an excellent means of ■;.• allowing members to "blow off steam." BUDGET PROPOSALS. Main interest this session will centre on theßudget, which will be presented to the House by the Minister of Finance (the Rt. Hon. J. G. Coates). In this will be disclosed the main items . in the Government's legislative programme. Election sessions are usually notable for displays of "window-dress-ing" on the 'part of the powers that be, and the public this year will keenly await the presentation of Mr. Coates's financial proposals. For a long time the taxpayer has had scant considera- ■' tion from the Government, and each year has seen his burden increased. What is in store this year? Probably at the moment only Mr. Coates can tell, and very likely he has not yet ■ '■' completed his arrangements. After years of difficulty, the Government has been able to reveal a surplus in this year's accounts, and the civil servant and the taxpayer are both looking for a measure of relief. It has to be remembered, however, that the circumstances which made for a surplus this year were largely fortuitous, and whether the Government will feel justi-, fied in: granting increased wages and salaries and reducing the burden of taxation remains to be seen. Mr. Coates ■ - will-take'the public into his confidence .at the right time. ■ ~ LITTLE LEGISLATION.

As to ordinary legislation it appears that the coming session will be fairly barren.. There will be a number, of minor measures, mostly of an amending character, but unless measures of importance emerge from the Budget, members will have little to engage their attention except the Address-in-Reply debate, the Budget debate, and the Estimates. From a purely political point of view—and that is the view that will count—the session is likely to be a momentous one, probably one o£ the most momentous in the history of the Dominion. , ■ .