“It Is Absurd to Say We Have Political 'Cold-Shivers'”

Northern Advocate, 1 December 1937, Page 6

“It Is Absurd to Say We Have Political 'Cold-Shivers'”

Mr.Semple

i Per Press Association. —Copyright.] WELLINGTON, This Day. “1 T IS ABSURD.” SAID THE MINISTER OF PUBLIC WORKS, THE HON. MR SEMPLE, IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES LAST NIGHT, “FOR THE OPPOSITION TO SAY THAT THE GOVERNMENT IS REVERTING TO THE THREE-YEAR PARLIAMENT BECAUSE IT HAS THE POLITICAL ‘COLD SHIVERS.’.” Members of the Opposition had taken the opportunity, during discussion on the committal of the Electoral Amendment Bill, to point out that the earlier an election was held the better it would suit Pic Government. The committee stage was reached late in the evening sitting, but the House had nm disposed of the second clause before the adjournment. , There was a lot of talk on the Bill. Following the Attorney-General, the Hon. H. G. R. Mason, who is handling the Bill, and the Leader of the Opposition. the Hon. A. Hamilton, Mr E. L .Cullen (Government—Hawke’s Bay) stated that the question of the life of Parliament should be left to the people themselves. He suggested that every Maori voter should have his name taken at the polling booths so as to form the foundation 1 01 a permanent Maori roll.

Longer Parliament Belter. Mr H. S. S. Kyle (Opposition—Riccarton) said that a four or five-year Parliament was better than a threeyear Parliament. He asked the Prime Minister if he was still favourable to letting the people decide the matter by referendum. How was he going to decide what the people wanted? If the matter were put to the people they would favour four years. Mr J, A, Lee (Government— Grey Lynn) said he remembered when the life of Parliament had been extended to four years. It was in a clause in the Finance Bill and the closure had been applied half an hour after it had been introduced. Then there had been an extension which had gained another three-quarters of an hour’s debate on the subject. The last Government had changed the rules during the game. He was not going to say there was anything wrong with four-year government, but there definitely was something wrong with the breach of democratic trusteeship which laid down the rule of threeyear Parliaments.

Thousands Will Welcome Bill. Mr S. G. Smith (Opposition—New Plymouth) said that as a matter of expediency there was something to be said for < the present Bill. There were thousands of people throughout the Dominion who would welcome it, because it would enable them to vote the present Government out of office a year sooner than would otherwise be possible. Mr J. Thorne (Government —Thames) said that any extension of the life of Parliament without the consent of the people was a violation of the principles under which this country had been governed for some 60 years. The motion for committal was carried and the House proceeded to consider the Bill in the committee stages. Clause two had not been nassed when the committee reported progress.

Against Proportional Representation. Mr Lee also opposed the suggestion for proportional representation. Whenever this mode of voting had been tried out. Democracy had fallen overboard very rapidly. The people themselves should be given the right to determine the length of the life of Parliament. Mr W. A. Bodkin (Opposition—Central Otago) suggested that there were many reasons which made it expedient for the Government to press for an election. Mr W. J. Poison (Opposition—j Stratford) expressed sympathy ] with a number of members on the Labour benches, who, he held, were being forced to cut short their political careers by 12 months. He did not agree with the suggestion that there should be a referendum on extending the life of Parliament. The Government of the day should decide on its own responsibility what should be the life of Parliament. However, he was not concerned about the three-year Parliament which he thought would suit the Opposition’s purpose even better than the four-year term. Change In Maori Elections Due. He agreed that the change in the system of Maori elections was due. but liic Government, while it was about it. might have seen that some fairer system of representation for Maoris than the present one. was adopted. He instanced the fact that the member for Southern Maori had been returned on a franchise of some 350 or 360 votes. It was surely unfair that a man with such a small franchise should have equal rights in the Government of the country with a member representing a large city constituency. Mr A. S. Richards (Government— Rosldll) said the present Bill put into effect the promise made by the Prime Minister on the hustings during last election. The Labour Party always carried, out its, promises, he added. Extension Was Violation of Constitution. The Minister of Public Works, the Hon. R. Semple, contended that the extension to a four-year Parliament was a violation of the Constitution, which had been observed in this country for very many years. The Government was restoring the three-year Parliament because it was a right which had been taken away from the people without their consent, and, in fact, in an unconstitutional way. Mr F. W. Schramm (Government — Auckland East) did not think any Government could carry out its policy in three years, but he voted for the Bill because a promise had been given to the people to return to the three- j year term. Personally, he favoured a j term of four years. ' i Election Now Would Suit Labour. The Rt. Hon. J. G. Coates (Opposition —Kaipara) congratulated Mr Schramm on the independence of his opinion, stating that it was most refreshing to hear a member of the Government rise in his place in the House and express such views. Personally, said Mr Coates, he had for a long period favoured the fouryear term. It would suit the Government to have an election now, said Mr Coates, because the longer they went on, the bigger the hurdle they would have to face. The question of the four-year Parliament had been talked of for 50 years, and if all members of the House said what war-right they would vote for the four-year term. The Hon. F. Langstone. Minister of Lands, suggested that the previous Government had extended the life of Parliament because it knew it was going in for further wage reductions and a policy of destruction. Under the Bill the Maoris would have a secret ballot at the elections, something they had never had before, and the election would be conducted on the same lines as that for the pakeha. Furthermore, it would provide the basis for a written roll of Maoris. Mr J. O’Brien (Government —Westland) said it was not the four-year Parliament to which the Labour Government. objected, but the method by which it had been achieved.