GOVERNMENT BILLS

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LXV, Issue 19666, 25 June 1938, Page 16

GOVERNMENT BILLS

NOTICE TO SHEEPOWNERS

FEDERATION PROPOSAL AT> R AXLE.AIENT WTTiI AI.P.’S The concern felt by farmers regarding legislative plans, which at times have not been disclosed until too late for full discussion prior to the pirns being passed into law, was the subject of correspondence recently between the Poverty Bay-East Coast Sheepowners’ Union and the New Zealand Sheepawners’ Federation. At yesterday afternoon’s meeting of the executive of the Poverty Bay union, a letter from the secretary of the federation, 'Mr. W. M. Nicholson conveyed the following suggestion:—

“During the last two years most of the legislation has been brought down by Governor-General's Message, as Government measures, and in very many cases put ’through the Lower House in the one sitting, passing the Upper House the following day, while in other cases the bills have been referred to the particular House committee for urgent attention, being reported back from the committee to the House and put through the last reading at very short notice.

“Mr. Acl'and asked me to suggest that with a viiew to meeting the position along the lines you suggest, and to save the maximum of time, that an arrangement should preferably be made with your, local member of Parliament to supply direct to your office a printed copy o! the bills being brought down affecting our industry. You would then ,be assured of getting the bills in the shortest possible time, and have a correspondingly better opportunity of forwarding your views on them, either to this office or direct to the member or Minister in charge of the particular bill.

Head Office’s Difficulty

"I can assure you that during the last two years it has been extremely difficult for this office to obtain even one copy of some of the bills brought down, in sufficient time 'to enable us to make effective representations to the Minister concerned. Unfortunately. an increasing .percentage of our legislation--is brought clown either by Order-in-Council or by regulations issued by Ministers under powers given them by various amending Acts during the past two years." The letter, when read to the meeting, evoked a question as to who was the local member.

The (president, Mr. C. 11. Williams, considered that both Mr. D. W. Coleman and Mr. A. G. Hultquist. M.P. s, should be approached in the matter He hoped that the arrangement could be made effective. Mr. Acland’s proposal was approved by the meeting as representing the most suitable means for securing advance information of legislative plans.