PARLIAMENT IN SESSION

King Country Chronicle, Volume XXXIII, Issue 4803, 28 June 1939, Page 2

PARLIAMENT IN SESSION

LITTLE LEGISLATION. LAND AND INCOME TAX CHANGES.

With extremely little in the way of major legislation in sight, the session of Parliament which opens officially this afternoon promises, at the moment, to be rather a dull affair, and speculation as to possible developments lacks its customary stimulus. That is not to say that the Government has run out of original ideas. No Government ever does, and they all have the habit of springing surprises, acceptable or otherwise. However, after its spectacular exploits of the

last three years, in Parliament and out of it, the Government will probably be satisfied to take things easy for a while and sit back and answer questions. And when it comes to asking them, the National Party in Opposition is not likely to run short of material, particularly as comment on current political events lately has taken the form of a series of large

question-marks. After its record-breaking achievement in writing its policy into the law of the land, the Labour Government now can do little else but await developments and patch up any weaknesses that might show. Weaknesses and imperfections have become apparent, some of them serious and alarming, and it is obvious that a deal of patching will be required to remedy them. To that extent it can be ex-

pected that much of the legislation likely to appear this session will be of a corrective nature. One of the most important features will be a Bill to amend the land and income tax laws. The Minister of Finance (the Hon. W. Nash) has had the report of the special Departmental Committee in his hands for a considerable time, and while it was

believed that the legislation arising out of it would be deferred again this session, latest advice from official quarters is that it will make.its apjiearance. It is likely to make rather unpleasant reading for almost everyone, particularly those who enjoy higher incomes, as some increase in direct taxation appears inevitable. The Prime Minister, the Rt. Hon. M. J. Savage) has already stated that

that amendments will be necessary to the Social Security Act, and these are bound to be many and varied. As Minister in charge of this Department Mr. Nash will be directly interested, though the Minister of Health (the Hon. P. Fraser), who has yet to straighten out the bother with the B. M.A., will handle anything affecting his side of the Act. Mr. Fraser also has an Education Bill on the

stocks. It was circulated at the end of last session among those bodies directly concerned, but its future has not yet been determined.

The Minister of Transport (the Hon. R. Semple) will have some legislation dealing with the growing problem of transport, with particular reference to drunken and accident-prone drivers. Industrial insurance is likely to be the subject of legislative action, and

same action is bound to be taken regarding - rents in furtherance of the principle embodied in the Fair Rents Act. Banking legislation is not likely to be brought down, in spite of the apprehension that has been felt in certain quarters.

The Budget this year will be the centre-piece of the session, just as it always is. The surplus of £BOO,OOO for the year just ended, while it came as

a surprise to many people, indicated fairly conservative planning last year, but with the heavy appropriations that will be required for defence and social security, to name two major items, considerable paring will have to take place in other directions. An obvious move is a substantial cut in Public Works allocations, and the form this will take might be interesting.

Another point that must cause the Minister of Finance grave concern is the loss that the Consolidated Fund will be called upon to recoup on behalf of the dairy industry. The Minister of Agriculture (the Hon. W. L. Martin) has already indicated that the deficit on the sale of butter and cheese abroad is approaching the £2,000,000 mark.

The Opposition can be expected to give a better account of itself than it has done during the past three years. During and since the General Election it has become welded into a much more cohesive unit, and with the stiffening of anti-Government opinion of recent months it has a bigger responsibility than ever; in addition to which, with the effects of the Government’s actions becoming more and more apparent, there will be plenty of openings for attack. All in all, proceedings in the House should have their interesting moments, and with the Government on the defence it is not difficult to visualise some torrid interludes, particularly if a few personalities get mixed up together. Mr. Nash’s Position. Mr. Nash will be the focal point in the House, and things- will not become really warmed up until he returns from England. As Minister of Finance, as Minister of Social Security, as Minister of Customs, and as the man behind the import restrictions, Mr. Nash will not get much peace from the Opposition.

His position draws attention to the questionable wisdom of concentrating so much responsibility in the hands of one man, no matter how able he might be. No one questions Mr. Nash’s ability in many directions, but it is humanly impossible for any one man to manage these three important Departments in the way they should be managed. The disposition of responsibility among Cabinet seems unwarrantably lop-sided. While the House is sitting the Royal Commission that has been appointed to inquire into the meat and wool industry will be taking evidence and preparing its report. Its task will take some months, and its findings will be of extreme importance to the sheep industry, as this is the most searching investigation even planned. The possibility of the report giving rise to legislation this session is remote. The Government has very wide powers conferred on it by legislation.

Legislative Council.

A number of new members will take their seats in the House of Representatives, and there will be some important executive changes in the Legislative Council arising out of the expiry of the term of Sir Walter Carncross as Speaker, after a record of service said to be unequalled in the Empire. The election of a new Speaker is fixed for July 18, and the possibility of the Hon. Mark Fagan, who has shown conspicuous ability as Leader of the Council during the last three years, being elected Speaker js strongly favoured. A candidate for Mr. Fagan’s post as Leader is the Hon. D. Wilson, national secretary of the Labour Party, and the Hon. T. Doyle’s name has been mentioned as a possible Chairman of Committees. The appointment of one or two new

members to the Legislative Council might have a bearing on the allocation of executive posts.