LIFE OF PARLIAMENT.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXVIII, Issue 21049, 7 December 1931, Page 11

LIFE OF PARLIAMENT.

tprospect of extension. i F ROM THREE YEARS TO FOUR. 'EARLY CONSIDERATION LIKELY. PRACTICE IN OTHER COUNTRIES. r BT TIXEGRArH.— OWN CORRESPONDENT.] •WELLINGTON, Sunday. One of the nlPSfc important policy questions which, it is understood, Cabinet will consider in the near future, relates to the extension of the life of Parliament from three to four years. Should an session be held in February, it • that the issue will be raised by the Government- almost at once. There has been a growing opinion in (political circles during recent years that a three-year Parliament is too short, and the possibility of extending the term was discussed freely among members during the last session. It cannot bo said that the Ministry itself has come to any agreement on tho question, although it is JnioTvn that several members of the Cabinet are in favour of extending the period. This highly important issue was not made a featuro of the election campaign by any party, but it was raised at several meetings throughout the country, and candidates who were questioned were almost without exception in favour of a longer Parliament. In addition, the general public received candidates' statements on tho question favourably, so that it cannot be argued that the subject is being sprung on the country wholly without warning. Learning Ministerial Duties. The main contention of those favouring an extended term is that tho period of three years between general elections is insufficient for a Government to carry through a legislative programme to its logical conclusion. It is maintained that continuity of policy cannot be assured, and that there is too great a danger of the work of government being summarily upset by an election at the end of three years beforo its members generally, and Ministers in particular, have been given an opportunity of completing tho work they set out to do on being installed in office. For numerous reasons the Parliamentary machine is necessarily slow-moving, and many factors combine to make it impossible for a Government to pursue its course quicker than at present, in spite of the fact that Parliament itself is not innocent of wasting much time during sessions. Even were Parliament to meet for only a few weeks each year, this would not get over the fact that tho machinery of government operates all the year round, and the administration, which is inseparable from tho carrying out of Cabinet policy, would not bo hastened merely because Parliament not sitting. Rapid changes in the personnel of a Cabinet are considered to be definitely undesirable, and it is well known that a Minister who comes to his work as an ■executive novice after a general election tan be regarded as fully conversant with tho duties connected with his portfolio only after two, or even three, years. This, therefore, was the chief reason behind the opinion of a section of the previous Parliament, warranting an extension of the term in New Zealand from three to five years. Next Licensing roll. Certain difficulties stand in the way of any change being made in the immediate future, one relating to the licensing poll, which was postponed this year. Tho Licensing Poll Postponement Act of last session put off the poll until the second general election after the passing of the measure, so that if the present Parliament runs its full course, there will be no referendum rintil the end of 1934. Should the life of Parliament be extended by a year, the poll will be delayed until 1935, a. circumstance which was not anticipated by the New Zealand Alliance or the licensed trade when the postponement was agreed to. Precedent for a longer Parliamentary term is provided by the practice in other parts of the Empire. The term of the British House of Commons is five years, although there is frequently a dissolution before the period is up. Until recent years the term was seven years., .in Canada the House of Commons is also elected for five years, and the South African House of Assembly holds office for a similar period. The Australian Federal House of Representatives provides a parallel with New Zealand, members being, elected for three years.

SITUATION If E VIE WEI). EARLY SESSION URGED. MR. H. E. HOLLAND'S VIEWS. [BY TELEGRATH.—PRESS ASSOCIATION.] WESTPORT, Saturday. • Ihe Leader of the Labour Party, Mr. •H. E. Holland, returned to Wcstport yesterday. He was met several miles out by a large gathering of people, by whom ne wag escorted into town. In the evening he attended the Buller Labour "victory ball," at, which there was a very large attendance. On his entry ho was greeted with cheers and the singing of He's a Jolly Good Fellow." Speaking in response to the welcorning speech of the president of the Labour Representation Committee, Mr. Holland reviewed the political situation* as the election had lc-ft it. Ho said tho anticipated repercussion of the British election had not eventuated. The Coalition and Independents had gone to tho country with 60 members and had como back with 56. The Labour Party had gone cut with 20 and had come back with 24. There had been no substantial change, hut Labour alone had improved its position. The seats won from United by Reform, and vice versa, involved no fundamental principle, tho changes being purely personal. New Zealand now had a Government with two heads and no policy, said Mr. Holland. The Coa'.ition had asked for and received a blank cheque, and it was now a question of lio.v the blank would ho filled in. The position was so utterly desperate in 'relation to unemployment flnd its compunion problems that Parliament should be called together at the tsrliest possible moment, and tho Government should be required without delay to formulate the policy it had promised from the hustings. Labour had no causo to be dismayed with the election result, the speaker concluded. Notwithstanding the combination made for its defeat, it had won additional seats and had missed others by significantly narrow majorities, while its aggregate vote had been substantially increased. Its position as the only pos- • Bible alternative Government was peri jnanently established.