PARLIAMENT.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXVIII, Issue 20921, 10 July 1931, Page 13

PARLIAMENT.

UNEMPLOYMENT DEBATE

BARRIERS TO PROGRESS.

STRING OF AMENDMENTS.

labour party active.

one concession possible.

[by telegraph.—special reporter.] WELLINGTON, Thursday.

Although some concessions have been In ado by the Prime Minister, the Rt. Hon. G. W. Forbes, in the hours he has asked the House of Representatives to work during the early stages of the Unemployment Amendment Bill, he decided to-day iio apply spurs, • and force tho measure trough at one last sitting. This clearly meant that members would have to sit up until all hours, for although there was no suggestion of determined obstruction, there was enough to be said about the first four clauses to keep the House .occupied until lato tonight.

Three clauses -went through in quick time in the afternoon, but the fourth proved a definite stumbling block. The Labour Party tabled no fewer than 12

amendments to this clause, which relates

to the imposition of the flat rate levy of * £1 a year and the wages and income tax of threepence in the pound. Prime Minister's Denial.

It was not long before the Prime Minister complained that members on the cross-benches were guilty of deliberate obstruction, but this raised an instant denial from the Leader of the Labour Party and other Labour members, who declared emphatically that although they were exercising their rights to introduce amendments, every one contained a constructive suggestion and it was their desire to improve the bill according to their beliefs. Mr. W. J. Jordan (Labour —Manukau)

countered the statement of Mr. Forbes ~ concerning the number of Labour amendments by pointing out that the Government itself had introduced no fewer than 20 amendments by Governor-General's Message. ' It was a slow process to dispose of the amendments but the Labour Party was tnie to its word and although it had much to say, the divisions were taken at comparatively frequent intervals. The burden of the Labour proposals was that greater consideration should be given to lower-paid workers in the enforcement "of the levy and the emergency taxation, and their amendments aimed to relieve the burden on a graduated system. Extent o! Outside Support. The amendments were so framed that Labour attempted to exempt first of all those with incomes not exceeding £l5O & year from the tax, and when this was

defeated amendments . were scaled down until an effort was made to allow exempv tion in cases where the combined income for man and wife did not exceed £52 a year.

It was of interest that several Reform and Independent, members went into the lobby with the Labour Party on various divisions,. and it was significant that when an amendment by Mr. W. E. Parry (Labour—Auckland Central) seeking to exempt. relief workers from any tax was reached, several members who previously supported the Government threatened to vote with Labour. This question had given rise to much discussion previously, and finally the Prime Minister promised that if the amendment was held over, he would look into it further, thus making one of the outstanding statements in a particularly uninteresting day. Mr. Forbes and the Closure. .Discussing a -statement made by him earlier in the day that he might have to apply the closure, Mr. Forbes said in an interview this evening that he would not do this unless there were definite signs of obstruction. In the light of later developments, he did not think there would be any necessity to take this action. The closure was a last resort, and he was anxious that members should have their full debating rights. Toward midnight, Labour again took up the cudgels on behalf of unemployed women, claiming that they were being denied citizenship in that no definite provision for assisting them was being made. During this discussion a remarkable scene occurred, when Mr. R. Semple (Labour —Wellington East) refused _to withdraw a remark, in spite of being ordered to do so by the Chairman of Committees, Mr. W. A. Bodkin. Mr. Semple rose to speak on the question of women's rights under the bill. He onenea with the words, " I want to say tfiat in my opinion the Ministry has lost its manhood." The Chairman: Order, order! Mr. Semple continued to speak. The Chairman: The hon. gentleman aaust withdraw or resume his seat. As Mr. Semple endeavoured to continue, the Hon. A. J. Murdoch, Minister of Agriculture, rose to his feet, obviously intending to bring forward a point of order. Mr. Semple then declared in emphatic ierms, " I will not withdraw." Mr. Murdoch (who had resumed his neat): Ring him down. The chairman stood up, whereupon Mr. iSemple promptly sat down. The House was still sitting at a, late ibour. TRADING COUPONS BILL. EARLY INTRODUCTION. EFFECT OF REVISIONS. [BY TELEGRAM. —SPECIAL REPORTER.] "WELLINGTON, Thursday. It was stated bv the Prime Minister, the Rt. Hon. G. W. Forbes, to-day that he expected he would be able to bringthe Trading Coupons Bill before the House of Representatives at an early date. Mr. Forbes said the bill was at present in the hands' of the law draftsWan, and while there would be no material alteration in the intention to be expressed in the measure, it was being remodelled so that this intention might be made perfectly clear.

REPRINTING of statutes.

POWERS OF GOVERNMENT. [By TELEGRAPH.—PRESS ASSOCIATION.] WELLINGTON, Thursday. The Reprint of Statutes Bill was received by the Legislative Council to-day from the Statutes Revision Committee .without amendment. Moving the second reading, the Leader °f the Council, Sir Thomas Sidey, said the bill gave the Government power to re pi'int the Statutes instead of having them consolidated. CQnsolidation took niany years, but it was anticipated that reprinting could be completed in one year. An Editorial Committee, consisting of" the Chief .Justice, the Attorney-General and the law draftsman was being set up. • Sir Francis Bell said the public would appreciate what the Government had done. Tlie bill was read a second time, put through the remaining stages and passed. The Council adjourned until to-morrow.