LONG CABINET MEETINGS

Southland Times, Issue 22917, 16 June 1936, Page 8

LONG CABINET MEETINGS

ROUTINE WORK MINISTERS TO MAKE SHORT TRIPS ' FRESH LEGISLATION BEING PREPARED (From Our Parliamentary Reporter.) Wellington, June 15. The start of the midwinter recess of Parliament has brought little or no respite to Cabinet Ministers. After the House of Representatives adjourned last Thursday the Ministers had a day’s comparative rest, but on Saturday and again to-day lengthy Cabinet meetings were held, starting at 9.30 o’clock in the mornings and extending until six o’clock in the evenings. There will be a further meeting of Cabinet tomorrow.

In discussing the position this evening, the Prime Minister (the Rt. Hon. M. J. Savage) said that Cabinet was gradually overtaking the arrears of detailed and routine matters, many of which had had to be postponed while questions of broad national policy were being considered during the session. He hoped that as a result of to-mor-row’s meeting, the bulk of the routine business would be disposed of and that subsequently Ministers would have more time at their disposal for the planning of the legislative programme for the second half of the session.

After to-morrow there will be a partial and temporary exodus of Ministers from Wellington. The Minister of Marketing (the Hon. W. Nash) will leave on Wednesday for Hastings, where he will address the National Dairy Conference on details arising from the Government’s scheme of guaranteed prices for dairy products. Mr Nash will probably return to Wellington on Thursday. South Island Visit. The Postmaster-General (the Hon. F. Jones) will probably leave for Dunedin about Wednesday, and next week the Minister of Education (the Hon. P. Fraser) is likely to visit several provincial centres in the North Island conferring with education boards and hospital boards about their activities. Later Mr Fraser hopes to be able to visit the South Island. The Minister of Public Works (the Hon. R. Semple) hope- to travel north during the recess, investigating various matters under the control of his Department, but no date for his departure has yet been fixed. Judging from Mr Savage’s comments, all trips to be made by Ministers will be brief. The Prime Minister is determined to have another important instalment of legislation ready for consideration when Parliament resumes on July 21, and he will be unable to spare Ministers for long from attendance round the Cabinet table. One function at which most of the Ministers will probably be present is the unveiling of a memorial to the late Sir Maui Pomare at Waitara on June 27. The Prime Minister himself proposes to attend the ceremony.