RUSH TACTICS

Hawera Star, Volume XLVI, 21 August 1926, Page 5

RUSH TACTICS

AND EMPTY BENCHES.

PUSHING WORK THROUGH A PARLIAMENTARY COMPLAINT. (By Telegraph.—Special to The Star.) WELLINGTON, Aug. 20. “We lia-vo too many empty benches in the House as it is.’’ declared Mr. H. IC. Holland, Leader of the Opposition, when protesting against the increasing pressure which the Government is putting on members, one feature being the .sitting of the select committees while the House itself is deliberating The matter arose when, a motion was moved by the Prime minister to commence Monday sittings at 2.30 p.m., though it is usual to hold the first of these sittings only in the evenings.

Mr. Coates was reminded of this by the: Opposition leader, who regarded the innovation as another example of “heavy weather” in Parliamentary circles. He worked 12 to 16 hours a day, he said, and if things went on as the Government designed it would be necessary to have an eight-day week and twenty-five hours a day.

Mr. G. W. Forbes (National] Leader), referring to the suggestion that the Prime Minister need not rush things to get the work completed before his departure for London, declared that he did not look forward to a. Parliament without the Prime Minister, because there would then be nobody to give a definite answer to members’ questions, Parliament did not function too well under such conditions. “The idea seems to be that when the Prime Minister leaves New Zealand the Government goes away,’’ declared Mr. J. A. Lee (Auckland East) witli asperity, but a Labour colleague, Mr. E. J. Howard, thought it would be quite a good idea to train an understudy in case accidents happened. The Prime Minister laughingly assured Mr. Holland that in fixing 2.30 p.m. as the time for beginning the sittings, lie thought he was paying him a compliment by meeting him lialf-way as an advocate of morning sittings. He had an idea that if the House put through a certain amount of work on Monday afternoon members could spend ail evening at home. Incredulous laughter greeted this statement, especially as Mr. Coates almost immediately expressed a wish to have the Public Works Statement discussed on Monday evening. However, he met the objectors by agreeing to start the Monday sittings at night, though when Mr. Speaker inquired how the motion was to be worded in regard to other Mondays he was jocularly informed by the Prime Minister that it did not matter, as the Government proposed to take Saturdays too.