Greymouth Evening Star. AND BRUNNERTON ADVOCATE FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER. 12th., 1924. DECADENT PARLIAMENT.

Greymouth Evening Star, 12 September 1924, Page 4

Greymouth Evening Star. AND BRUNNERTON ADVOCATE FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER. 12th., 1924. DECADENT PARLIAMENT.

The cost qT New Zealand’s Parliament during i|s average session has been estirnaled. at about £2 per minute, and at this'price, the proceedings should be a.s valuable as they are. expensive. No one pretends that adequate return for the money is forthcoming, and no one

in authority makes any serious attempt to have more business-like' methods instituted. Economy with efficiency is continually recommended to the nation Fy Ministers and Parliamentarians, but they do not realise that tlie prescription is required by a very “sick” House. It is not a new story, this Parliamentary decadence, and even the Members, themselves, have no illusions about the estimation in l which their talents ate generally held. Whilst the country does. not. bother much, neither will they.. Members declare that ,the fault is; entirely with their political opponents, or through the party-system, or through their own pet scheme not being in operation, but no scheme, however perfect in theory, can be worth while, unless those, working under it do their part. Men not measures are mainly responsible for the deficiencies of Parliament, to-day, and until the men change, or are replaced, there seems to be little chance for the improvement so greatly needed. The electors do riot expect the House to shelter nothing, but modern Pitts, Gladstones, Ballances or Seddons, nor do they insist that the speeches must sparkle with wit arid genius. They have a right, however, to demarid something better than the verbal exchanges characterising this and recent sessions. Similar but more effective debates take place daily in any primary school playground, when boys are arguing the finer points of marbles, cricket and other sp p ort. The worse of it is that the principal offenders in the House are riot the private Members, but the Cabinet Ministers and the leading men of the opposing parties. “Don’t let us waste time,” plaintively appeal these leaders, after an hour or so’s squabbling, 'as if time was the only thing being misspent. The debate on Wednesday on electoral reform supplied another instance of how not to do it, and it is certain th'at the session will witness more such demonstrations of incapacity. There is room for reform in electoral methods, but there is greater need for it in the House.' Appeals are frequently made to prominent business and professional men to take a more active interest in national politics, and to offer themselves as candidates for Parliament. When such qualified persons read what takes place in the House, is it any wonder that they are coy, and decline to surrender their time for such purposes. This is no party matter. Reform, Liberals and Labour are equally at fault, and their displays get worse instead of better. There is very little result so far, for the “work” of the many weeks of the present session, and although bills will be rushed through before it closes, that does not remove the evils now being criticised. New Zealand is justly claimed to be a wonderful country, and there is no truer evidence of this than in it being able to maintain its prosperity and general welfare despite the ineptitude of the Legislature supposed to be responsible for national advancement.