“WASTE OF TIME”

New Zealand Times, Volume XLVIII, Issue 11048, 3 November 1921, Page 5

“WASTE OF TIME”

ALLEGATIONS IN HOUSE INDIGNANT DENIAL BY PRIME MINISTER. LAW DRAFTSMEN OUTPACED. ' T" Ministers had not had time nor opportunity that morning, 6tated the Prime Minister, in the House of Representatives, yesterday afternoon, to prepare information for the answers to questions. He, therefore, proposed that the House should proceed to the orders of the day, and the answers to questions would be brought down on a more suitable occasion. Mr T. K. Sidey (Dunedin South) objected that hon. members had not had an opportunity of moving the notices of motion standing in their tamer,, and he did not feel inclined to give way in regard to it. Mr Massey : You don’t look like it. (Laughter.) If hon. members wanted to waste time that was the way to do it. Mr Sidey said that every old member of the House knew how much time the Government had wasted this session. The Government could not talk about waste of time. Mr Massey: I contradict that flatly. The House has never got through so many bills since Parliament was first arraigned. Mr Sidey: I don’t feel inclined to give way. Mr Massey maintained that the Houee had passed bigger and more important bills so far this session than had been passed at the same stage in any previous session. The difficulty was that the House had been passing bills so quickly that the law draftsmen could not keep pace with it. Cabinet had been extremely busy, and had not had time to- deal with the answers to questions. The next day he proposed to bring down the Financial Statement ; so ’ that It could not be said that much time had been wasted on it, especially considering that along with it were the proposals in connection with the revision of the tariff, which were not dealt with in an hour or two. The Speaker proceeded to put the motion, when Mr J. McCombs rose to object. The Speaker pointed out that if any 'member objected when the motion was being put, that was ait end to it. Mr McCombs: May I not state my objection? The Speaker said that an objection at that stage would he fatal. The motion must be carried ’unanimously. Mr McCombs resumed his seat, and the motion was carried, the Prime Minister saying, “Thank you very much.”