THE PRESENT SESSION

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LV, Issue 17738, 26 March 1932, Page 13

THE PRESENT SESSION

■ MB. HOLLAND CRITICAL I GOVERNMENT AND ITS POLICY I (Per Press Association.) I WESTPORT, this day. ■ Mr. H. E. Holland;. Leader of the ■Opposition/- arrived in Westport fr6m ■Woffington last evening Discussing ■the jjblitiflal■ situation, he said tlmt so ■far a» the session bad gone it involved ■a shocking waste of public money [inasmuch u: as -the Government called ■Parliament4 together without having [agreed upon a 1 policy with which it ■wodld meet- the* House. It was quite ■clear -that’there were serious divisions ■within the ranks of Cabinet and the ■Coalition ‘ generally upon policy mat■tefgi «■«** .-v<. I More than a month ago, Mr. Holland ■ said, Parliament was called together Iwith a somewhat bellicose intimation ■from the Prime Minister to the effect ■that legislation was to be forced ■ through with promptitude and that no ■delays of the proceedings would bo I tolerated. On tho fifth day of tho ■ session* the closure Was introduced Bandy; with a few exceptions, was interI preted by the press as an earnest'Of ■ the Government’s intentions. It ■ transpired, however, that apart from | the bill td destroy compulsory arbitraItion, which apparently was drafted by B the Employers' Federation, the GovB er'liaotit' faad. no legislation ready. I'fftiw, added' Mr. Holland, after the ■ Brase had' been in session for a I month with only one bill—the MortgaI gois’ Relief Bill—passed through the I final stages, a‘somewhat lengthy ad--1 journmeat was found necessary to I enable 'the Government to prepare its I policy, which it should have had ready I before Parliament was convened. It I was 'morei than probable, considered IMr .that the I.C. and -A* I Amendment* Bill Would be passed by I the Legislative Council anff if this I should be so and if--the disastrous reI commendations of tho National ExpenI dittffo Commission should be adopted I the ‘most daugcrods hour in the history I of New Zealand would havo struck— I and- A all the Conditions making for inI duStrihl upheavals and insurrectionary I developments would have been created by’the 'CoAtes-Forbes Coalition. The .avoidance of-the-creation of such an atmosphere should be the concern of every‘Bane element in the community and in this connection the most hopeful sign. was the multitude of petitions which: had poured in ftom many hundreds of business . men protesting agaittßt-any ‘further wage reductions.*