FREEZING WORKS

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXI, Issue 21929, 12 October 1934, Page 13

FREEZING WORKS

EMPLOYMENT OF WOMEN WORKING CONDITIONS AN IMMEDIATE INQUIRY [by. TELEGRAPH —PRESS ASSOCIATION] WELLINGTON, Thurßday A question whether the Minister of Labour would furnish the House with the fullest possible information regarding girlf? employed, in or in connection with freezing works in the Dominion was asked by Mrs. E. R. McCombs (Labour —Lvttelton) to-day. Mrs. McCombs asked also for details of the type of work being done by them, and the conditions under which they w<ire working. The Hon. J. Bitchener, acting-Minis-ter of Labour, said from the information at present in possession of the department, he was advised that where women were employed in freezing works, they were, with the exception of one establishment, engaged in bag-making or in the preserving department, and that the conditions of work were generally satisfactory. The Minister of Health had already given a promise to the House to have an immediate investigation made into a case where women were employed in the casing department of a freezing works. Periodical insertions were carried out by officers of the department^' CLOSURE ATTEMPTED MEMBER'S EFFORT FA HLS RULING BY MR. SPEAKER [bt telegraph—SPEClAL reporter] WELLINGTON, Thursday The first attempt this session to apply the closure was unsuccessfully made in the House to-night during the second reading debate on the Gaming Amendment Bill. Mr. R. W. Hawke (Government — Kaiapoi), an opponent of the bill,, was speaking when Mr. H. M. Campbell (Government —Hawke's Bay) at 11.20 rose to a point of order and moved that the question be put. Mr. Speaker said that was not possible under the Standing Orders, which provided that the question could not be put while a member was speaking. " In any case," added Sir Charles Statham, " I would not vet be ready to approve." It is necessary for Mr. Speaker or the Chairman "of Committees to decide whether a reasonable opportunity for discussion has been given before accepting a closure proposal. Mr. Speaker's intimation showed that the opponents of the bill would succeed in talking it out,, as another opportunity for discussing it is unlikely to be provided this session. Resuming his speech, Mr. Hawke said he was not a regular debater in the House, and it hurt him more than» the bill going through to be interrupted as he had been. !by Mr. Campbell. LIFE OF PARLIAMENT EXTENSION TO FOUR YEARS COUNCIL PASSES BILL [by, TELEGRAPH —PRESS ASSOCIATION] WELLINGTON, Thursday The Electoral Amendment Bill, providing for the permanent establishment of four-year Parliaments, vras passed by •the Legislative Council to-day . The only speaker on the resumed second reading debate was this Hon. T. Bloodworth (Auckland), who, while not objecting to the alteration, said a far more important change than the extension of Parliament's life vras reform in the procedure of the Legislature. Speaking in Committee, the lion. W. H. Mclntyre (Nelson) suggested that the inoperative Legislative Council Act of 1914 should be repealed. He was convinced that the public was not in favour of elective power for the Council. Tho Leader, the Hon. R. Masters, promised to discuss the question with the Prime Minister.