DEFEAT AVERTED
STORMY TIMES AHEAD ! N.S.W: GOVERNMENT AND ITS .'•';, ; LEGISLATION ;,:,',:-;,:■'- i ' j FORTY-EIGHT HOURS BILL -, , -I ~,;; : ; ; : ',vSYDNEY,^2 3rkM^: : ;. |For the second time within a week the New. South Wales Government, led; by Mr ; ,T." R. Bavin, Premier, has: been ace of defeat on the floor 'of , .tlieXovver'.'Hoiiae.. . ;. . ' *-j The 'first- time- they, were saved by one vote,.and oh the second occasion;the Speaker,: Sit" Daniel Levy, exercised his l'ight'-as a private member tovvote .■,= ill committee, and .swung the : vote, the , count of which was equal.. - Y ■ :,~/;', •'-'The first measure On which the .Government was nearly wrecked was the 48- - Hour Week'Bill; ■■' ' "" ; "-' l '-.,,
<lt ?has beeh a contentious.matter in'',.'•/ the. House, ;tHe Press and in the public ;■? mind for many weeks past... Mr_ Bavin V announced; then that he, was . gbing' to ■ introduce a bill to revert to the 48 hour week, as the 'working basis in New, South >'. Wales,. - Stormy meetings of the Government.party were held almost daily, and,; the matter was thrashed out over and over again., Many supporters of the Nationalist Government cohtendedithat , the'Premier had-made'a definite promise in his policy speech at thegeheral elec-; tibhs in .1927-liAt to interfere'with :.the. hours of' Work,; which had been fixed by •- the Lang Government at 44 per week.; 1
CTRC?UMSf ANCES ALTERED / j
i Mtt Bavin's, reply to his critics was, in effect, that he had mad© the promise not to interfere; with the working hourse when the St.-Jte \v;is in the crest of a Wave of prosperity. , The recent depression, ihe sluttip; in business and the ia- , crease'in unemployment throughout the Stats .ih the; meantime rendered some drastic action .imperative.. The remedy/ the Premier said, was in the lengthen: :;* , jng b'i the hours of work, : thus-leading '■'lb more : production and gradual- regain,-. . . .ing of lost trade »and business. _ • | 'After?several Weeks the new hill was '.'•prepared, fo\ 4 -placing'before theVHouse, -.:);.' And many of the malcontents in the ,' Gbyertimenfc .ranks were appeased. However/*, When,heads came to be counted it " that four or five government supporters were likely to adhei-e to their views, that the Premier should 'hpt go bade on his election promise and , i thai- they'would,' therefore,, vote against i the bill. ; l■. ■■ '<'■ _,, -, I Packed: galleries of .spectators ; filled ,-j the Legislative. Assembly; on; the three nights : that the hill was -under discus-. ; - sion. Then it was seen thal;the Gbverii- . ,ment wou)d v face a crisis when .the. bill '"cam¥t6"'afdivision. ' ' "' "";.■'." : ".V..'■.'.'-'■"■ ■ ,With a majority, in ordinary matters of 47 to 42—liv<- members—the Government on this occasion was faced with the fact that Mr Sanders,' an.independent member for Willoughby, who usually Supports the; Government, .and Mr Tressider, the Randwick Nationalist member/ had expressed their intention of | voting; against'/the'. Government/ while ; : ; : Mr J. Jtoss'/V.of Alburyj ei- • ; pressed;: himself m opposition.- to the :. bill but had not indicated how he intended toivote. MR ; SGSS:'MUCH SOUGHT• AFTEJR K
: iter & day Mr Koss became 1 , the; moat ; sbugluV-after ; member He was besieged by Press. s , tivesj arid, private members' of-the yairi- • ? bits parties, .while the;:party! Whips ' ; , \V;ere engaged" in many long rwnversa-. tions withjhirii." : , •''['- i-TChere was;an even greater gallery pt . ohioqkefcsV,wheri the night of r the final , r division arrived. All eyes weretfbcussed oriil^Epssiwhen'lie entered.the cham- vber at the division.. His vote for'- the GoTOrninbnt'wbuld riusan- its salvation . by-:,45-vptes-tQ .44, ,;while if; he v ,' with "the Opposition it would be necei-. sary for the. Speaker to leave: the Ghiir to'save the Government from defeat. C
i , The j Government would stand or faUjbn the : , hours' question; ; i> Mr Ross settled the-matter ;iA one • of 'the shortest made in the Assembly. He? wasVthe last speaker before the division. ?Mr "after due. corisideratibhj I have deblded . to vote"'with the Governmentibii this ■■'.■■ bill." , .'J; !•••?• Cheers and groans rang through the : chamber -frorii imbmbers "ahd onlookers, j and it was,"teii lriinutes before the j Speaker cbuld be heard ordering ; the division bells to be rung. ■_'•
THE CIVIL SERVICE" '
. Hardly liad the excitement of "this question subsided when the Government ■ introduced'" another contentious measure > dealing with7the oif Vorfc in . the Civil Service. .Hitherto:members of the -Public, Service had enjoyed several privileges, among them being freedom from Saturday mornTng work. Faced with a heavy deficit the Govethnient decided on an economy Mmpaign in the Public Service,, and announced', that - they would revert 7to , Saturday morning work and Uhtroduba a system of rationing of-work in tie Public ."Service whereby--, each .officer : would, forego • one week's work arid wages in -every thirteen. The alterna ti^e s Was dismissal for many members of the various and salary .'. prunings. '■'"■j ,; "'- ' '■''■ ' . "Mr Tressider and Mr Sanders again ; announced their decision to oppose the Government, while Mr A. E. y. Reid, the Nationalist member for Manly, prOj- ' vided the l third Government member necessary to place the Government .in'.-.,:' danger. Certain modifications in /the , bill were asked for by him, 7and he crossed the House to''.', vbte, with; the/ Opposition; As the division; was "taken. - in committee, the. Speaker, Sir DanielLevy, took his place on the Goternttent 7 Beiiehes. Matters looked serious for the Government until it- Was 'discovered that an unexpected,illness had robbed the Opposition of the vote of theniember for - ':X]-'' : .i So; for?the .second"time'withinithe week, the Government was saved from ■ defeat.-; Tjhese narrow escapes coming in the Hast. session of' Parliament -, before : the. general electiors augur-s .considerable trouble for the Nationalist Party when they go on the hustingsin, October next. .. ">^*7
Several seats are already in,danger owing to the antagonism engendered in the Public Service by the Government's . rationing of work policy; 7 The storm has not yet passed, and the New South Wales Government is faced with several possible defeats oii a number of contentious bills which aire listed, for diseussion within the : ineit; few weeks.■*"■■ ■'. T ' : " ■'-,''■'■'■,' y'~-
Permanent link to this item
https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/NEM19300531.2.133
Bibliographic details
Nelson Evening Mail, Volume LXIV, 31 May 1930, Page 14
Word Count
953DEFEAT AVERTED Nelson Evening Mail, Volume LXIV, 31 May 1930, Page 14
Using This Item
Stuff Ltd is the copyright owner for the Nelson Evening Mail. You can reproduce in-copyright material from this newspaper for non-commercial use under a Creative Commons BY-NC-SA 3.0 New Zealand licence. This newspaper is not available for commercial use without the consent of Stuff Ltd. For advice on reproduction of out-of-copyright material from this newspaper, please refer to the Copyright guide.