DREARY DEBATE

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXII, Issue 22215, 16 September 1935, Page 11

DREARY DEBATE

fItfEEK IN PARLIAMENT SHADOW OF ELECTION I BRIGHTER topics ahead budget to-morrow night [nr TELEGRAPH—SPECIAL REPORTER] WELLINGTON, Sunday Speeches in the House of Representatives during the past week have been, generally speaking, as dull as only an Address-m-Kcply debate can make theni. There has been much wearisome reiteration of electioneering points, Tvith the accomplished fact of high exchange played off against the visionary bait of guaranteed prices, and in somo respects there has been justification for the statement that the final session of miv Parliament is little better than a centralised election campaign. On four sitting days during the week 25 speakers were heard in the Address-jn-Rcply debate, compared with 13 in the previous week. Labour headed the list with 12 members, while the views of eight Government supporters and five Independents were also given expression. Before the session opened, the Prime Minister, Mr. Forbes, indicated that the Government would prefer to see the debate cut short, as there was ample legislation ready to receive the attention of the House. Many Government Speakers

However, Government members must take equal blame with Labour for delaving what should be the normal business of the session. Until Friday afternoon they spoke practically man-for-ninn with the Opposition, but then the debate showed definite signs of collapsing, three Labour members following one another in succession. There arc still seven Labour members who have not spoken, but it appears that an agreement has been reached for 'some speakers on both sides to remain unheard, so that the debate can be concluded before the tea adjournment on Tuesday. Round the lobbies, and even in the House itself, the main topic of Parliamentary conversation is the coming general election, and that possibly accounts for the electioneering flavour miparted to most of the recent speeches. Very little in the way of constructive politics has -emerged from the debate. Mr. C. A.'' Wilkinson (Independent Eginont) has suggested a housing commission, Mr. A. E. Jull (Government— Waipawa) has advocated a crossbred scheme of electoral reform with different voting systems for town and country, and Mr. A. J. Stallworthy (Independent —Eden), in an excess of optimism, has advised the Government to reduce' taxation by £7,000,000 a year. ' Auckland Protest Meeting

The only live talking point of the week was provided by the report of the meeting in Auckland organised by a group of clergy so that a mass protest might be entered against the conditions of unemployment relief. This was seized on avidly by both Labour members and Independents, and it was probably unfortunate that the Minister of Employment, Hon. S. G. Smith, saw lit to make a reply before full details of the meeting were available in Wellington. However, the fact remains that the Auckland clergy, or those of them who supported the meeting, have gained all the political publicity they could have desired. The coming week in Parliament promises; to be much more interesting. First and foremost there will be the Budget to be presented by the Minister of Finance, Mr. Coates, on Tuesday night. The subsequent Budget debate mav not Tival in loquacity the Address-in-Rcply discussion, but speeches from both sides of the House are certain to be many and iong. # , , ~ Once the Budget is disposed of the wav will be clear for legislation which is "steadily accumulating. So far 11 Government measures have appeared, eight of them introduced by individual Ministers, while three were brought down by Governor-General's Message. None of them is particularly important, although the number of adverse petitions presented in the House suggests that a degree of concern is being felt in some quarters over the Commercial Trusts Amendment Bill. Length ol the Session

Two other amending bills on which there may be some discussion, those dealing with mental defectives and the registration of masseurs, are regarded officiallv as being worthy of consideration. It is stated that better provision is urgently needed for the inmates ol mental hospitals, while with reference to the provision to allow doctors and nurses to practise actino-therapy tho official view is that people properly qualified in medicine and nursing are fully competent to deal with a branch of medical science of which increasing use is being made. # Other bills are also projected, but Budget considerations have probably delayed a final shaping of the Government's legislative programme. The opinion is still held in the lobbies that the session is not conclude before the eud of October.