Greymouth Evening Star. AND BRUNNERTON ADVOCATE MONDAY, AUGUST 31, 1925. PARLI AMENTARY REFORM.

Greymouth Evening Star, 31 August 1925, Page 4

Greymouth Evening Star. AND BRUNNERTON ADVOCATE MONDAY, AUGUST 31, 1925. PARLI AMENTARY REFORM.

The self-pity displayed by some Members of the House of Representatives, last week, over the amount of work they are being called upon to do. and the late sittings, was replied to by an unsympathetic Prime Minister, with the assertion that, /‘Talk, Talk, Talk!” was mainly responsible. In saying this, Mr. Coates also expressed the opinion of the majority of the electors. Members got indignant over the large expenditure incurred through the protracted enquiry regarding the sale of the Poverty Bay Meat Works, but they ignored the heavy annual cost to the country through their own valueless verbosity. The Parliamentarians could make the session shorter and more productive if thqy so desired, but too many are out for “limelight,” or to attack political opponents. It is difficult to believe in the sincerity of last week’s Complaint, as the remedy is entirely within the Members’ power to provide. Indeed, the task of drastically reforming Parliamentary procedure is one that the Government might well undertake. Tradition and precedent have too much sway, and the whole business needs re-modelling. .An interesting article on the subject recently appeared in the “Mercantile Gazette,” which can claim to speak for the commercial community. It compares the expedition shown by large business enterprises, dealing with revenues and expenditures far beyond New Zealand’s national figures, with the time-wasting inefficiency of our legislators.-Jt emphasises that at the meetings of the directors of the commercial concerns, it is the unwritten law that no long-winded speeches shall be made, and that all matters shall be dealt with and finished as rapidly as may be consistent with the nature and scope of the matters before them. Two or three instances are given of corporations such as the Canadian Pacific Railway, the P. and (.)., the General Motors Corporation of America with its one hundred million capital, and the great banking corporations of England, all of which are governed by directors who meet at stated intervals. At these’ meetings, if every person present insisted upon making longorations, even if they were germane to the matter discussed, the business for which the meeting was called would require weeks instead of three or four hours, which is ordinarily required to clear off the order-paper. Contrast this with (In l deluge of talk Irmii I lit* Me.m-

bers of Parliament, often on very mijior issues! One reason why shrewd business, men decline to stand for Parliament is because so much of their time would be wasted listening to valueless speeches. The ‘Mercantile Gazette’ declares that at no time in the history of Now Zealand sine’e it has been self-governing has there been so strong a feeling of exasperation and contempt at the waste of time which goes on in Wellington every year as at the present moment. The country’s business is neglected for months in order that the. members may gratify, their desire to talk, and legislation is then rushed through during the last two or three weeks at a pace which makes it impossible for them to scrutinise with the care which should be given every section of any Bill which is intended to become law. It urges that the procedure should be reformed so that only a limited number of men in eacli Party speak on the Address-In-Reply debate, which would thus be ended within a day or so. Another oft-madd proposal, is that a time limit to bl cm bers’ speeches should be drastic, except in the case of Party leaders, as most other speakers could deliver what value they could contribute to a debate, within a few minutes. It is to be hoped that Mr. Coates will give this matter of time-saving serious consideration, as national interests suffer whilst Parliament is used more for debate than legislation, which is supposed to be its real purpose.