SESSION SHORTLY

Evening Post, Volume CXXIV, Issue 26, 30 July 1937, Page 10

SESSION SHORTLY

TWO MAJOR BILLS

PRIME MINISTER'S TOUR

An indication that Parliament would meet about the end of August or early in September was given last night by the Prime Minister (the Rt. Hon. M. J. Savage) in an interview. Mr. Savage said that the major policy measures would be Bills dealing with national superannuation and health insurance. If it were found necessary to extend the session into the New Year that would be done.

Mr. Savage said he intended to visit as many parts of the Dominion as possible, including the South Island, and to meet and explain to the people matters in connection with the Government's legislative programme, and to inform them what had been accomplished by their representatives on their mission overseas. He will visit Auckland to meet the Minister of Finance and Marketing (the Hon. W. Nash) on the latter's return by the Mataroa on August 12.

Mr. Savage said it was certain that members of Parliament would not be called together until there was something for them to do. From now on until the session Cabinet would be busy with business connected with the preparation of legislation for Parliament. The Budget would be introduced as soon as possible after the Address-in-Reply debate had been disposed of.

The legislation dealing with national superannuation was going to take serious consideration. It could not be dealt with in a slip-shod manner. The same applied to the legislation dealing with national health insurance. Much material dealing with these schemes had been collected by Mr. Nash, who had had talks with the representatives of other nations to see what they had accomplished in the way of national superannuation and national health insurance. -As soon as the legislation dealing with national superannuation and national health insurance was in shape and in the necessary legal form it would be introduced without delay. Such legislation would be too farreaching to be skimped over. "We won't rush in, and we have to see the way we are going," said Mr. Savage. Asked if there would be legislation arising out of his and Mr. Nash's mission overseas, Mr. Savage said he was not at the moment in a position to say whether or not there would be, but it was quite possible that trade agreements might require legislation in some form.