PARLIAMENT FACES HEAVY PROGRAMMESATCHEL INCIDENT LIKELY TO PROVIDE A FRUITFUL TOPIC

Greymouth Evening Star, 20 September 1949, Page 8

PARLIAMENT FACES HEAVY PROGRAMME — SATCHEL INCIDENT LIKELY TO PROVIDE A FRUITFUL TOPIC

WELLINGTON, This Day (0.C.).— Evidently regarding the debate on the Holmes satchel incident as one of its most telling efforts of the session, Opposition members, despite the whole day spent on Wednesday in debating the question,- are not letting the subject die,. They are still making either direct or faintly disguised references to the now celebrated satchel on the slightest provocation. A question which is frequently being propounded is this: How great has been the effect on the public of the Opposition’s protest and its condemnation on the floor of the House of thee tactics adopted by the Government following the removal of the satchel? The answer to that question is not easy to find, but it would seem to be this: The incident itself and the events immediately following did have a very great effect on public opinion, particularly among civil servants. At the present stage, however, the affair is assuming an. almost academic aspect, and the effect of the debate would probably be .merely to causfe a temporary flicker of flame among the smouldering ashes of discontent which were kindled at the time.

Obliged To Raise Issue Nevertheless, the Opposition was obliged to raise the issue—indeed, it was its duty. That being so, the Leader of the Opposition, Mr Holland, did not rise, unprepared, when he moved the no-confldence motion. He presented the case well in. a speech which many consider was easily his best of the session. One thing, which was not revealed in the House, despite repeated Opposition challenges, was the identity of the officer in the Prime Minister’s Department who removed the satchel from the car, but his identity is now no secret to those close to political circles, and must be known privately to Opposition members. A feature of the debate was the avoidance of any serious discussion of the Communist aspect. National members preferred to direct the main attack towards allegations of “snooping” and “Gestapo tactics,” and the Labour ranks were content to reply to those allegations without raising further substantial issues. In other words, the complaint was against the Government alone, and not against the Public Service Commission, the finding of the courts or Holmes himself. . Two of the major measures of the session which were promisled for last week will not make their appearance until today at the earliest—the Military Training Bill and the Gaming Amendment Bill. In view of the Prime Minister’s forecast that the session will end on October 21, and the apparent concurrence of the Opposition in that view, it is becoming obvious that many of the promised 37 Bills will have to go overboard, perhaps to reappear next year before the new Government Five Weeks Remain With only five weeks remaining before the end of the session, the House will have to increase its pace to deal with the legislation. All Thursday was spent discussing measures of predominantly local interest, and progress on the Estimates has been disappointingly slow. As is traditional, the House spent some time discussing New Zealand’s overseas representation, with inevitable emphasis on the Moscow legation, but, although lengthy the debate

bn the Estimates for the External Affairs ‘Department was this year surprisingly amicable. * „ ' , One rumour which was effectively scotched was that which circulated some time ago to the effect that representatives of the Island territories might be appointed to the New Zealand House of Representatives. The Prime Minister, Mr Fraser, made it clear that the answer is “No” for many years to come, although representation without voting power may come some time in the forseeable future, ’ The forthcoming election is looming larger in the minds of members, and the tendency is developing for the parties to concentrate their fire on the opposing benches who are occupying their scats only bv virtue of slender majorities. Paralleling that tendency is an obvious desire to give as much credit as possible tp one’s own colleagues who are somewhat shakily placed. Members with slender majorities are being increasingly subjected to barracking whenever opportunity offers. A typical incident happened at the end of the week. Mr Watt, who holds only a narrow majority at St Albans, was perched on the arm of the chair of Mr Rae while the latter was talking and he overbalanced, falling to the floor amid guffaws from amused legislators. Quipped Mr Connolly: “You-ve lost year seat.” Rubbing salt in the wound, the Defence Minister. Mr Jones, added: “You’ll have a greater fall than that shortly.” Mr Baxter, too, has had his share of barbs directed at him, but the robust Raglan member generally gives as good as he gets. In keeping with the spirit of the past ■ Mr J. J. Maher, who is well known in' racing circles, has confided to a favoured few that he intends naming his next horse Satchel.