CLOSE DIVISION

Otago Daily Times, Issue 25672, 21 October 1944, Page 6

CLOSE DIVISION

LIVELY INTERLUDE IN HOUSE VACANT GOVERNMENT BENCHES (F.0.P.R.) WELLINGTON, Oct. 20. There was a lively interlude In the House of Representatives this afternoon, when following the, Goyernment’s close call in a division which it survived by one vote, the Minister of Finance, Mr W. Nash, as the Acting Leader of the House, charged the Opposition with breaking an arrangement between the party whips. The division was called for by the Opposition after it had moved an amendment to reduce the Internal Marketing Department’s estimates by £5. Mr A. J. Murdoch (Oppn., Marsden), moving the amendment, said it was an expression of the Opposition’s opinion that the Government's policy should be aimed at placing the internal control of primary products in the hands of producers’ co-operative comr panies. Margin of One Vote It was apparent from the unusual number of vacant benches on the Government side that the result would be close, and this was confirmed by the announcement by the Chairman of Committees, Mr R. McKeen, that the amendment had been lost by 30 votes to 29;

Mr Nash protested that an arrangement between the party whips had not been observed. He had been informed that it was arranged to put the vote for the Internal Marketing Department before the luncheon adjournment. “We ought to find some way of taking one another’s word,” he added. The senior Opposition whip, Mr W. J. Broadfoot (Waitomo), said he had made his party’s attitude perfectly plain to the Chairman of Committees. “I did not know there was any hard-and-fast arrangement,” he said. Mr Nash: I was told there was by one of our whips, and on that understanding some .of the Government members went to a conference. Mr D. W. Coleman (Gisborne),’ the junior Government Whip, said he went to the Opposition junior whip, who had said the Opposition would allow the vote to go through before 1 o’clock. Mr K. J. Holyoake (Oppn: Pahiatua) said it was known to the Government members that the vote would be discussed in the afternoon. Some of the Government members had even spoken in the continued debate. Breach of Faith Denied

Mr Murdoch said he had intended to move his amendment before the luncheon adjournment, but was unable to get the floor. He disputed that thei;e was any definite arrangement, and denied there had been any breach of faith. Mr W. J. Poison (Oppn., Stratford) said that whenever there had been an arrangement between the party whips the Opposition* had always given it 100 per cent, backing. Mr Nash said he had been informed of the arrangement from / another source. , J . . The incident closed when the Chairman of Committees said he was not concerned in party arrangements. His duty was to call on members to speak when they' rose to do so.