ALLOWANCES TO MEMBERS

Southland Times, Issue 22956, 31 July 1936, Page 8

ALLOWANCES TO MEMBERS

Mr Savage Replies To Attack (From Our Parliamentary Reporter.) Wellington, July 30. Opposition criticism of the clause in the Finance Bill providing for the payment of allowances to Members of Parliament travelling on public business within New Zealand at the request of a Minister, drew a vigorous reply from the Prime Minister (the Rt. Hon. M. J. Savage) in the House of Representatives early this morning. “For political bunk I have never heard anything to equal what I heard to-night,” said Mr Savage. “Opposition members talk about men going around the country at the publics’ expense. That comes well from members of a Government which delegated its powers to boards, commissions and committees and to men who could not obtain a seat in this Chamber. We are almost accused of opening the door to the expenditure of funds without end, just because we wiped out boards. We will wipe out a few more of them before ve are finished.” Mr J. Hargest (Nat., Awarua): You .lave a mission at Samoa and another it. Rarotonga. An Opposition member: And at Geneva. Mr Savage: We sent Members of Parliament to Samoa to clean up the mess left by the gentlemen of the Opposition. Mr Savage added that he thought he would at least have had a fair run from the Opposition in the passage of the Bilh “We asked the Opposition to pass this Bill, so that we could make the payments this month,” he said, “but apparently they are trying to block us.