THE WAY, IF THE WILL

NZ Truth, Issue 913, 26 May 1923, Page 4

THE WAY, IF THE WILL

Bis Bill's Bundle Of Bills Production m Parliament. (By "Tempus Fidgets.") It; is at least as much a compliment as it is a reproach to Mr. Massey to say that m his own person he constitutes seveneighths of the Government. — Wanganui "Herald." A number of important questions were bound to crop up, among which would be the question whether Mr. Massey would attend the Imperial Conference m October next. — Mayor McEwan, at Petone. To arrange business so that the early session flood .of talk may be curtailed, and attention given to serious work will ; call for great powers of management. — Auckland "Herald." ■--', Many bills, it is understood, are now ready for submission to the House.- — Hardy annual, same-old-lie, news item. The keynote of modern progressive business methods is Efficiency. Why on earth shouldn't the same system be insisted upon 'm our political methods and Parliamentary system? No business firm - would permit a j tithe of the wastage that goes on In j New Zealand's political life. No' boss of a business would allo,w his hands to waste the time that the t Big Boss permits to go on session after session. No leader of a gang would allow his lieutenants to be so lax m their departmental duties as the Prlminlster allows with regard to unpreparedneas session after session; v ;.x^.-.y;> - ; ■"■.:, ; :: -vv\ H', Mr. Maßsey's ■'.■o^ :^.^^'.^^'^i»Bff i^ charges— for they. are' not new dla^ < .' . co veries, by any manner of means— is that "the Premiers ar\d Cabinets of the ; past have always followed the Bama procedure." . ' Correct! But why follow a wasteful and woeful precedent? Besides, doesn't the term REFORM mean anything, Mr. Massey? \ The Reform Party adopted that name following on a declaration that the colony (as it was m those days) needed Reformation — and the Reformers were going to clean up the national household. What has been the result? . Not a blamed Reform worth the name — the committal, .on the other hand, of much that comes under the . title of Deform. New Zealand is still In need of REFORM. V Can it be done — can Efficiency m • Reform be effected, even if the Refs. stay m power? Certainly it can. All that is needed from the Head of the Government Is Initiative. \ But it will be allowed that it is an Awfully Hard Thing to Introduce into our political system. JEt needs a strong . and courageous REFORMER .to accomplish such a thing. Big Bill is a "Fat Man" to-day. He wants to sit back and take his ease. But he can't do that! He SHOULD do something. He la, paid by the taxpayers to Get Things Done. The Priminister has told the world and his wife that he, is leaving it to the House to say Whether he shall go to London. That's all "me eye!" He intends going. * N ■ . •>•' : And he isn't Big Boss Billiam for nothing. Where's there's a Will, there's a Way — and Billlam's name is Will. The Way is to London. i "TJ<V has, a sneaking regard for Big Bill, largely because he loves a benevolent autocrat. He does not love Bluffer Bill when he is Reformatively a malevolent autocrat. "Truth" also likes Bill's smile—cartoonically. Therefore, conjointly, the writer would like to give Billiam a few tips to help him on the way to London. The Way— lf only he would exercise the Will to Reform, for the Dominion's good and for the sake of the consist- • ency of his party 1 — the Reform Party. ':■-■•■ It is granted that the way of the Reformer is hard. But it is harder on the national purse if inefficiency is permitted to push holes through the Treasury. Careful observations made session after session away back into the dark and dim past show that one-third of each session is wilfully wasted m talk and adjournments and other loafings that get the country nowhere. There is too much talk that is neither criticism nor constructive m the way of helpful suggestion. : And it must be remembered that the men who do this hot-air verbose business aTe the pick ot* the electorates. They are the elected at the people. Therefore, ispo facto, they are men from whom Initiative is to be expected. Each and every member on the floor of the House should bo a man of ideas. He should only occupy the time of the House when he has something worth while to say. Each member should have this truism stuck m his hat; Do your thinking before you »et up to speak— not after you have sat down! On the Prlrninlster*s part, he should cut out all occasion for killing time. Kill the wastage and the wasters Instead. It is an old legend that the Debate on the Address-in-Reply was invented for the purpose of the Leader of \he House getting the measure of each member, on the principle that as a man speaks so he is. That explanation might paes for the first session, but the wastage goes on with each of the three or four sessions of every Parliament. What use is such a debate, anyway 7 The real Reform would be to stipulate that four men from each party should be heard on such a debate— and let the Address go at that. And so with many of the other mark-time debates and time- wasters — let a proportion of members voice the views of their parties. Undemocratic? Not on your life — It is Efficient Democracy to the nth degree. It will be said that Big Bill the Boss is not a big enough leader to initiate any Reform m the Talk Tempi©. Well, here's his chance. Pleased are the People who havo Premiers that are Prepared. 'Get some Preparedness, Mr. Massoy. Get some Efficiency. Get some Punch and Pep into Parliamentary Procedure — even unto condemning Precious Precedent to Perdition. ■ If you do — you can cut a clear month v out of ' the coming session, and so get to London on time. If you don't show that you have the Will to find the Way, then the way of the Deformor will be that of the Conservative—out into the Wilderness.