THE PARLIAMENTARY SESSION

Otago Daily Times, Issue 24833, 5 February 1942, Page 4

THE PARLIAMENTARY SESSION

The fact that the interrupted session of Parliament will be resumed to-day will excite only languid interest in the minds of the public. It is not likely that the constituencies will be much enlightened by the -proceedings of their elected representatives. Even those curious people who seek to derive some information, and possibly some entertainment, from listening to the wireless recordings of the utterances of members of the House of Representatives will almost certainly be disappointed. They are, of course, perfectly indifferent to all that goes oh 'in the Legislative Council of which it was said lately with a great deal of truth that it has become a bad joke, and no better because it is expensive. But the House of Representatives is a body of the people's own creation. It is supposed to reflect their views. Their views, however, can only be correctly formed on the basis of accurate information.' Unfortunately for them the participation of the Dominion in the war which has now been brought very close to our shores serves as

a pretext for denying them much of the information that must be afforded to them if they are to be enabled to arrive at sound • conclusions. They may take it for granted that they will hear nothing of the most important discussions in the resumed session of Parliament for there is no reason to suppose that the Government will depart from its practice of using its obedient majority to force the House into secret session. And so it is that the people of the Dominion will be, as they have been since the war started, kept in ignorance of matters that are of the most vital concern to them. The public does not expect, and has no right to expect, that it shall be taken into the confidence of the Government in respect of actual plans for the prosecution of the war. There are, however, many questions related to the war effort in which it is deeply interested and concerning which it may fairly claim that it should not be left in the dark. There is no precedent in the House of Commons for the l'epeated holding of secret sessions. The British Government not only does- not seek to escape criticism in public of its war policy. It invites criticism and it freely acknowledges that it benefits from criticism. It is partly for this reason that the sittings of the House of Commons possess a public value which those of the House of Representatives in New Zealand lack in present circumstances.