WIDE POWERS FOR GOVERNMENT

Southland Times, Issue 23922, 14 September 1939, Page 6

WIDE POWERS FOR GOVERNMENT

Emergency Measure

Passed

NECESSITY CONCEDED BY OPPOSITION “RUNNING Ok COUNTRY BY EXECUTIVE” (From Our Parliamentary Reporter) WELLINGTON, September 13. With the Opposition conceding the necessity for the operation of the measure, the Emergency Regulations Bill, which invests the Government with absolute power to take control of all activities and undertakings if such a step is considered necessary in the public interest, was passed by the House of Representatives this afternoon.

In moving the second reading of the Bill, the acting Prime Minister (the Hon. P. Fraser) said that only the welfare, safety and conservation of the lives of the people of New Zealand could justify the Government in bringing down such a Bill and he asked the assistance of the House in putting it through as quickly as possible. Members had been familiar with the war regulations for a long period of years, said Mr Fraser. When the last war was fought the regulations were placed on the Statute Book in 1914 and their elimination after the war was over was gradual. Even now, some of the regulations of those days could be immediately put into force it the necessity arose. That was one of the reasons why the termination period had not been stated in the present Bill. The 1914 Act was just as comprehensive as the one now before the House. On this occasion, the English Act had been largely adopted, with certain modifications to meet local conditions. Even the wording of the British statute had been taken. » .« In briefly outlining the clauses of the Bill, the Minister said provision had been made for every possible emergency. For instance, the Arbitration Court might have additional work to cope with and power was taken in the Bill to establish courts and tribunals to meet eventualities of that kind. N.Z. SHIPS IN AUSTRALIA Mr S. G. Holland (Nat.-, Christchurch North): Can you control New Zealand ships in Australia? The Minister said that if the owner of a ship registered in New Zealand wished to sell it in Australia, the Government could prevent the transfer to the new owner. Persons convicted of an offence under the regulations under the Act would not be denied trial by jury, he continued. That was not the case with the 1914 legislation. “This Government needs the powers conferred by the Pill if New Zealand is to give of its best,” concluded Mr Fraser.

“The Bill no doubt contains the most drastic provisions,” said the Leader of the Opposition (the Hon. Adam Hamilton). “There is nothing pleasant about its name—nothing sweet-sounding such as Social Security.” The Bill indicated to the people that New Zealand was at war, said Mr Hamilton, and it was just as well to remind people of the fact with few shocks. The people of New Zealand were freedom-loving and the Bill drastically curtailed that freedom. Mr J. Thorn (Lab., Thames): So does war.

Mr Hamilton said there would be no such Bill unless there was a serious ■ demand for it. It was at a time such as the present that there must be interference with the precious liberty everybody held so dear. It was part of the sacrifice that had to be made to achieve success. The war crisis had thrown greater responsibility on the Government and on the representatives of the people. The Minister had said that the British Government had taken similar powers to those contained in the Bill. The experience of the -British authorities should be a wise guide to New Zealand.

“The Bill amounts ’ the adjournment of Parliament and the runnug of the country by an executive,” continued Mr Hamilton. “That is about what it means. It is a case of national emergency, almost a state of martial law. The acting Prime Minister says it is necessary, and we have to abide by that.” CONFIDENCE OF PEOPLE It was a great thing for the Government to have behind it the confidence of the people they were asking to submit to the regulations, said Mr Hamilton. He was sure the Government would make every effort to see that no use was made of the regulations to disturb unduly any people. It was for the Government, with such extraordinary powers in its hands, to see that the regulations were used judiciously and wisely. He trusted they would only be used for purposes for which they had been taken—for prosecuting the war. It was nc-essary to have law and order within New Zealand’s own boundaries, and the Government would have the necessary authority for that purpose. Mr Hamilton said that the Government would be acting without Parliament. The work would have to go on whether Parliament was sitting or not, and while Parliament procedure might be too slow in a state of emergency, Parliament was a “good old safeguard” of the people’s interests. Mr Hamilton suggested that a better course would be to adjourn the House so that Parliament could be called back from time to time when far-reaching decisions had to be made. This might be considered to be a cumbersome method of dealing with the problems that would arise, but the Government might be wise to give Parliament the opportunity of expressing an opinion on its proposals. . , Replying to the debate, Mr Fraser thanked members for their broadminded approach tc the subject. The Bill was an exceptional measure, justified only in an actual emergency.. The trust imposed, by the Legislature upon any Government that had to assume such a responsibility was very great indeed.' The trust must be executed conscientiously, moderately and with a due sense of human values. . Mr Fraser sajd he would like to name the period for the duration of the regulations and undertook to look into that aspect of the matter, 'the Government or anybody in the House had no desire to be a dictator. The measure of the Government’s success would be a fair administration of the laws. Coercion was the worst possible weapon. There should be unity in the military, economic and social sense.