PASSES FOR LIFE.

Hawera Star, Volume XLV, 22 January 1926, Page 5

PASSES FOR LIFE.

FOR LEGISLATIVE COUNCILLORS. CONTROVERSY IN SYDNEY. BY CABLE—PRESS ASSOCIATION—COPYRIGHT. SYDNEY, Jan.. 21. Besides the heated debates in the two Houses over the abolition of the Legislative Council, a fierce controversy is proceeding in the Press, chiefly on the condemnatory side. Widespread indignation is expressed towards members accepting gold life passes for the sole purpose of destroying the Council. This is freely described as bribery. An indignation campaign is being organised and arrangements are being made to bold a series of meetings throughout the city and suburbs, at which Mr Bavin, leader of the Opposition,, and other prominent opponents of Mr Lang’s methods will deliver addresses. In the Assembly, Mr. Motternan, in moving the second reading of the Bill granting gold passes to members of the Council, indignantly denied the alleged bribery. He said that it was impossible to make any differentiation between old and new members in granting passes, and appealed to the Opposition to cease making insulting charges, which were baseless. The charge of bribery was malicious and malignant propaganda. Mr Bavin declared that in the past the passes had been granted: to members to enable them to perform thenlegislative duties, but now the Government proposed to grant the passes: to people who have no duties to perform. Much opposition to the proposal would have been removed if the Government bad first abolished the Council and then asked the House to make some recognition of the services of the memylicctpd* The leader of the Country Party also strongly attacked the Government’s action over the Council. After a number of other _ condemnatory speeches had been delivered, the closure was applied and' the Bill read a second time by 44 to 38.