When Parliament Meets

Manawatu Times, Volume 61, Issue 66, 19 March 1936, Page 7

When Parliament Meets

Monetary Problem Will; Be Dealt With First

PRIME MINISTER AGAIN EMPHASISES NO DELAY

(Spocial to “Times,”) W ELLINGTON„,.Last Night,

l’laus for tli o opening of Parliament on Wednesday next are well advanced, and; according to a .statement-made today by the l'rimo Minister (the lion. M. J. Savage), there will bo a minimum of delay in placing important legislation before members. Mr. (Savage made it plain that the coming session would be a working one, and that in the early part at least there would be no delay in grappling with major problems. He said there would bo five or six major Bills ready for presentation when Parliament met, and the Government aimed to secure their passage through the House as rapidly as possible,' so that benefits to the. people would not be delayed. Mr. Savage said that the first Bill that Parliament would be asked to consider would be a measure dealing with the monetary problem, as a result of which the Government hoped to pave the way for other features of the policy to which the Labour Party was pledged, lie said that practically everything hinged on the solution of the monetary problem, and the Government was naturally anxious to make known its proposals to the representatives of Jho people and tho country as a whole at the earliest possiblo opportunity. Every care would be taken to ensure that the proposals of tho Government would be clearly understood. As ho had stated previously, the Labour Party was keen to retain the good will which had already been extended to it by the public, for it felt that if it had the people behind it there was little that it could not accomplish, So far as the mass of the people were concerned, they had every reason to look forward to tho work of Parliament with hopeful feelings. There wero probably some people who were looking forward to the session with misgivings, but. he could assure tho people as a whole that there was not the slightest reason for dread. Industrial Legislation. Following the Bill dealing with tie monetary question, said Mr. Savage, consideration .would be given to the industrial legislation which had been prepared under, the supervision of the Minister of Labour (the Hon. H. T. Armstrong). A feature of this legislation was the restoration to the workers of the right to state their case to the Arbitration Court. Under the legislation both sides would have an opportunity of stating their case to on independent tribunal. - Although the Government WM anxious to improve tho standard of living of the people, there was no intention to call upon employers «£ labour to pay out moro than their industries could stand. “Tho Government realises, ” said Mr. Savage, “that there is no path to prosperity through the bankruptcy of anybody. What we want to do is to improve the lot of. everybody. If that is done,--then the employer will be in a better- position to pay higher wages. We are not asking him to do the impossible.” The Prime Minister said it was conceivable that unions might tie delayed in getting their applications for new awards heard by, the Court, and 5t might be necessary for the Government to take some action to tide workers over the intervening period. That could be done in some other way, apart from the amendments to the Industrial Conciliation and Arbitration Act. “There is one thing that is certain, however,” * Mr." SavfcgJT added]* “and that is that any steps taken to defeat the object of the legislation, such as deliberate delay in taking the case to the Court, will not bo tolerated. The Government is not going to stand for stonewall tactics on the part of any) body.” ' " ' i Pair'Rents; ' Mr Savage was questioned aa to the Government’s intentions in regard ta rents. He said he wa s fully aware of the position in the main centres, and the Government had not lost sight of it. The Government would see to it that rents, as well as anything else, were on an equitable basis, and if it were necessary to do so it would not hesitate to introduce legislation on the subject. Tho Kent Restriction Act at present in operation was practically useless, as it had :io real meaning, and probably the Government would bring in a . Fair Kents Bill or some other measure aimed at overcoming the difficulty. There would be little use in giving people more money and other benefits if those benefits wore going to go into the pockets of landlords seeking to take advantage of the position. Th» people could rest assured that tha Government would watch the position most carefully. A Working Institution. Commenting generally on tho worl of the coming session, the Prime Minister said that the Government’s aim was to turn Parliament into a real Working institution. .Members would not be asked to come to Wellington to cool their heels while waiting for legislation to be prepared. In the past there had been a lot of delay in getting down to business, but that would be avoided in the future.