SOCIAL SECURITY BILL PASSED

Southland Times, Issue 23610, 10 September 1938, Page 8

SOCIAL SECURITY BILL PASSED

CONCLUDING STAGES IN EAKLY MORNING 12 DIVISIONS DURING PASSAGE / (From Our Parliamentary Reporter) WELLINGTON, September 9. Nearly a month of intermittent discussion on the Government’s proposals for national superannuation and health services came to an end in the House of Representatives early this morning when the Social Security Bill was put through its final stages and passed. The measure has now to be approved by the Legislative Council and then to receive the Royal Assent, but its provisions will not come into operation until April 1 next year. The Bill was introduced in the House on August 12 and the second reading debate began the following week. This discussion extended over six sitting days and then a start was made with the detailed consideration of the Bill in committee. This*process was accelerated by the taking of urgency on Wednesday and again yesterday and last night’s late sitting enabled the most important measure of the session to be disposed of. Towards the end of the committee stages early this morning various Government amendments which had been introduced earlier in the sitting were read into the Bill and then the formality of the third reading was observed.

lite arguments against the Bill, chiefly on financial grounds, were summed up by the Leader of the Opposition (the Hon. Adam Hamilton), the Rt. Hon. J. G. Coates (Nat., Patea), Mr H. S. S. Kyle (Nat., Riccarton) and Mr A. C. A. Sexton (Ind., Franklin) and the final reply on behalf of the Government was delivered by the Minister of Finance (the Hon. W. Nash). The only divisions taken during the passage of the Bill through all its stages were on six Opposition amendments covering the financial and taxation aspects of the pronosals and on six closure motions put forward by the Government to curtail long debates on individual clauses.

When Mr Nash resumed his seat this morning after his third reading speech he received a round of applause from Government members and the Bill was then 'read a third time and passed without a division. The House rose at 3.10 a.m.