COMING SESSION

Evening Post, Volume CXXV, Issue 148, 25 June 1938, Page 10

COMING SESSION

OUTLINE OF WORK

LONGER SITTING HOURS?

LIMIT OF THREE

MONTHS

Outside of the BUI giving effect to the Government's social security proposals and the Education Amendment Bill only legislation of an essential nature will be considered during the final session of the twenty-fifth Parliament, which will open on Tuesday. An intimation to this effect was given today in an interview by the Prime Minister (the Rt. Hon. M. J. Savage), who remarked that he still thought three months should be sufficient to dispose of the business of the session.

"We don't want to drag out the session at all," said Mr. Savage. "I am satisfied that we will get through easily in three months. Dragging a session out for five months or so has always been due to the fact that Governments have not had their legislation ready. That will not be the case in the coming session. We are not going to sit on waiting for legislation."

The proceedings on Tuesday would be confined to the formal opening of Parliament by his Excellency the Gov-ernor-General, Lord Galway, and the House would then adjourn until Wednesday afternoon, when a start would be made with the Imprest Supply Bill, Mr. Savage continued. The Bill would have to go through in the one sitting, since it had to be passed before the end of the month. On Thursday evening a start would be made with the Address-in-Reply debate.

rt was impossible to say how long the Address-in-Reply debate would take. It might go on for three weeks. This being the final session of the present Parliament) members would be likely to talk perhaps more than they otherwise would, and no attempt would be made to curtail the debate. "If it turns out that a lot of .members are anxious to talk we will have to sit longer hours, that's all," said Mr. Savage. "We have not the slightest desire to curtail members' privileges, but we have got to get the t business through. We might get pretty rapidly to the time when we will be sitting on Mondays as well. We are not going to sit here longer than three months, you can bank on that." The proceedings of the House would be broadcast daily, the broadcast ceasing at 11 o'clock each night. >

After the Address-in-Reply debate would come -the Budget, which should be ready for presentation. On top of that would come the social security proposals, the main legislative work for the session, or the Education Amendment Bill, which had been considered during the recess by the Education Committee of the House. The social security legislation should be introduced immediately after the Budget was disposed of, but that and the Address-in-Reply - debate might take four or five or six weeks.