Greymouth Evening Star. AND BRUNNERTON ADVOCATE. SATURDAY, JULY 11th., 1931. LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL.

Greymouth Evening Star, 11 July 1931, Page 6

Greymouth Evening Star. AND BRUNNERTON ADVOCATE. SATURDAY, JULY 11th., 1931. LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL.

M ucn is heard of unemployment these days, but not all of those with insufficient work to do have adequate publicity directed on their lack. For example, few realise,'in this respect, the woes of the .members of the Legislative Council, yet they can justly claim to be among those with little work to do. On Thursday, for instance, the members of the Upper House sat for half an hour, and then called it a day, and wearily wended their way homewards. Yesterday, history repeated itself, the Council starting labours right early, at 11. a.m., and adjourning at 11.30 a.m. This record of little attempted, little done, is not unique. The. annals of the Chamber, for the most part, unfold a similar amount of devotion to duty, from the beginning of a session till its end.

Any regret that Councillors may feel at there being no work available for them, when the Lower House is overwhelmed with prospective legislation, is assuaged by the knowledge that their salaries are paid, regardless of what efforts are. demanded from them. The ordinary Councillor gets about £3OO a year, plus travelling expenses incurred in going to and from Parliament. The Speaker receives about £7OO, and the Chairman of Committees about £4OO. Members

not attending the Council’s sittings may be fined, but rarely are. Considering the few occasions the Council meets, and the short time usually spent on the country’s business, Councillors cannot claim to be much underpaid. Some of the objectors to legislators’ sweet idleness are urging drastic reforms in the Upper House, including a 50 per eent. cut in the number of the Councillors, now about 40. Other critics recall that so long ago as 1914, Parliament approved a bill making the Legislative Council elective, instead of the members being appointed by the Government. The date for the change was to be specified by subsequent proclamation,

which has not yet been issued, and is not likely to be, meanwhile. The country which is supposed to be groaning under the burden of heavy taxation, partly due to administrative extravagance, would find some relief by lessening the cost of the Legislative Council, and there is a growing demand for action in this direction. Not that the Councillors are perturbed. The knowledge that public opinion would not support, at present, anything so drastic as the abolition of the Upper House, and that the Government has no enthusiasm for heroic measures where the Council is concerned, helps the Councillors to remain calm. Nevertheless, it is well for the public to reflect on the position, and to consider whether greater economies could be achieved, and better results obtained, where the Upper House is concerned.