PARLIAMENT

Otago Daily Times, Issue 21543, 15 January 1932, Page 6

PARLIAMENT

MEETING ON FEBRUARY 23 EMERGENCY LEGISLATION NECESSARY (Per United Press Association.) WELLINGTON, January 14. Parliament is to meet on Tuesday, February 23, to pass emergency legislation in order to strengthen the position of the State finances. A brief announcement to this effect was made by the Prime Minister (Mr G. W. Forbes) at the conclusion of a meeting of Cabinet this evening. Nothing but the date of the session was announced by the Prime Minister, but it is understood that, the legislation that will be brought down by the Government will be highly important. Although it is unlikely that the number of Bills to be introduced will be large, the measures will have an important bearing upon the future policy of the Coalition Government in its effort# to stem the continued decline in revenue and to assist the primary producer in particular and the country generally to combat the influences of the economic depression.

CONTROVERSIAL MEASURES EXTENDING POWER OF GOVERNMENT CLOSURE MAY BE REINTRODUCED (Special to Daily Times.) 1 WELLINGTON, January 14. Now that the Government has decided to hold a special emergency session, it can be said that the position of the Stata finances has been causing serious concern for some time. It has been an open secret that the Treasury has recently considered that the holding of a special session was highly necessary in order to cope with the position and extend the powers of the Government as far as its control of the national finances is concerned. At the present time the Government holds fairly wide powers for the taking of emergency measures in a time of financial stress, but it is considered by Cabinet that these powers must be considerably extended if the present depression is to be combated successfully. It is understood that so far as the Government is concerned the session will not be a long one. Its proposals will be presented within the compass of a brief programme, but it is likely that the measures to be brought down will be highly controversial, and that the Opposition will do much to block their-. progress. For this reason it is thought that the closure will be reintroduced, which will mean that the Government will be in a position to prevent inordinately long debates and to push through its Bills when it is once decided that they have been discussed fully, and that the privileges of members would not be infringed by bringing the debates to a sudden end.

The most far-reaching part of the legislation to be introduced by the Government wdll relate to finance. It is expected that this legislation will be very involved, and that it will also be drastic, as the Government is understood to have come to the conclusion that if it is to deal effectively with the present position it must be free to handle problems as they arise. There was an opinion that a session would not be held until March, but it is stated that the additional powers that the Government intends to take must become operative as from the beginning of the new financial year on April 1, and it is therefore necessary to have any required legislation passed before that date. »

One of the Bills that the Government will bring down will seek to amend the Industrial Conciliation and Arbitration Act with a view to removing restrictions relating, to award conditions, which are stated to be pressing unduly upon employers at the present time. This question was discussed by the Minister of Finance (Mr W. Downie Stewart) in his Supplementary Budget, presented to the House on October 6. He then said that the bearing of the operations of the Arbitration Court on farmers’ costs, unemployment, and the industrial situation in general had received the careful consideration of the Government. Mr Stewart sad it was considered that many of the conditions and restrictions now in operation in many of the Arbitration Court awards seriously militated against the employment of our people. The economic conditions existing at the moment demanded more flexibility for the purpose of making it possible for employers and employees to arrive at agreements that would enable costs to be reduced, and at the same time allow for the maximum employment and the fullest development of industries. It was proposed to amend the Act mainly on the lines suggested by the 1928 industrial conference, the chief feature of which was known as compulsory conciliation and voluntary arbitration.

This proposal was shelved for want of time at the end of the main session last year. However, it will be introduced by the Government during the forthcoming short session.

Apart from the? financial legislation and the measure to amend the Industrial Conciliation and Arbitration Act, it is understood that other emergency legislation will be brought down. _ The Prime Minister is expected to appoint a special economy commission almost immediately, and if this body can make any definite recommendations before the short session is completed these may be embodied in legislation. One of the most controversial questions at the moment relates to the possibility of another wage and salary cut throughout the public service. It is understood authoritatively that this question has not yet been discussed in the Cabinet, and that it is not likely to be considered. In the meantime, much will depend upon the work of the economy commission, but for the present the Government is confining itself to activities involving financial readjustments and to measures likely to give relief to the farmers.