PARLIAMENTARY NEWS

Otago Daily Times, Issue 21774, 13 October 1932, Page 11

PARLIAMENTARY NEWS

NOTES FROM PRESS GALLERY (Special to Daily Times.) WELLINGTON, October 12. REPEAL OF LEGISLATION, One of the largest deputations ever to approach the Government will wait on tlie Prime Minister (Mr G. W. Forbes), Mr J. G, Coates, and Mr 11. Masters tomorrow morning to urge the repeal of the Board of Trade Act, the Commercial Trusts Act, 'hnd the Cost of Living Act. The, deputation will be headed by the Associated Chambers of Commerce, and will include delegates from more than 30 different trade organisations from all over New Zealand, representing thousands of manufacturers, distributors, and retailers. Already scores of petitions have been before the House of Representatives praying for an amendment of the Commercial j Trusts Act. MAORI. ELECTIONS. An appeal by Mr E. T. Tirikatene for an amendment of the electoral law to provide for the conduct, of the Maori elections on the same basis as those for European members of Parliament drew a promise from the Prime Minister (Mr G. W. Forbes) in the House to-day that the question would be considered when an alteration of the law was contemplated. Mr Tirikatene asked that the _ Maori elections should be conducted with, the same secrecy as the European elections. He said that the present system of election was unjust to the Native race, in that it made no provision for a secret ballot. This had the effect ofhnaking the elections “ extremely farcical.” THE ARBITRATION ACT. Although the Industrial Conciliation and Arbitration Act Amendment Bill proposed by Mr J. M'Combs (Lyttelton) was talked out at the tea adjournment of the House of Representatives this evening, the Labour Party is determined to continue its efforts to secure a return to the system of compulsory arbitration in industrial disputes. In the House tomorrow Mr M'Combs intends to ask leave to introduce an Amendment Bill No. 2, so that unless the Government intervenes the whole discussion is likely to be renewed at Friday’s sitting. Attacks by Labour members on the system of voluntary arbitration instituted by the Government drew replies from both the Prime Minister and the Minister of Labour (Mr A. Hamilton), and led to an interesting debate on this highly controversial question. The Bill proposed by Mr M'Combs seeks to restore to the Industrial Conciliation and Arbitration Act, 1925, all those provisions which were struck out by the amending Act of last session. It declares that the workers shall have, all their legal rights restored as they existed prior to the passing of the 1932 Act, and that all industrial awards and agreements made under that Act arc to be regarded as null and void. ’