BUSINESS FOR PARLIAMENT

Southland Times, Issue 25709, 19 July 1943, Page 4

BUSINESS FOR PARLIAMENT

SESSION TO RESUME TOMORROW (Special) WELLINGTON, July 18. With the resumption of the parliamentary session on Tuesday afternoon members of the House of Representatives will be reassembling for their last meeting of the present Parliament before its dissolution and the general election. When the House adjourned on July 2 an afternoon had been devoted to a discussion on the estimates of departmental expenditure, and it is expected that consideration of these will be continued this week. No official indication has yet been given about the remaining legislation to be introduced and dealt with before Parliament disbands, but the programme is believed to be fairly considerable. Amendments to both the War Pensions Act and the Social Security Act will be necessary to give effect to the increases in war pensions and in age benefits announced in the Budget, and as these are to operate from July 1 the two measures will have to be retrospective. The usual washing-up Bills, the Local Legislation Bill, the Reserves and Other Lands Disposal Bill and the Native Furposes Bill will also have to be passed, as well as the Appropriation Bill. ELECTORAL ACT An amendment to the Electoral Act may be necessary to deal with the position of military defaulters in detention camps in voting at the general election. When the question was raised in the House the last day it met the Prime Minister, Mr Fraser, said he had not had time to look closely into the matter and that as the law stood at present he could not see how the men in detention camps could vote, nor could he see any reason to make any differentiation between persons under restraint in institutions. However, it is now thought that a bill will be necessary to put the question beyond all doubt so far as these men are concerned. From several quarters indications have been given of the Government’s intentions to bring down a measure stabilizing property values, but this bill has yet to appear. RETIRING MEMBERS

Even if there are few or no changes of representation in the electorates contested by sitting members, there will be several new faces in the next Parliament, for a number of members are not seeking re-election. These are the Rt. Hon. G. W. Forbes (Nat., Hurunui), Mr W. Lee Martin (Lab., Raglan), Mr J. G. Cobbe (Nat., Manawatu), Dr D. G. McMillan (Lab., Dunedin West), Mr C. A. Wilkinson (Ind., Egmont), Mr H. G. Dickie) (Nat., Patea) and Mrs W. J. Polson (Nat., Mid-Canterbury), who entered Parliament as Mrs A. N. Grigg. The seats held by the late Hon. J. G. Coates (Nat., Kaipara), Sir Alfred Ransom (Nat., Pahiatua) and the Hon. P. K. Paikea (Lab., Northern Maori) are still vacant, the election of successors to these members having been postponed until the general election. The general impression is that the session resuming on Tuesday will last about three weeks and that members will be anxious to expedite the transaction of business to enable them to begin their election campaigns. Although it has been announced that the general election is to take place in September, the exact date has not yet been revealed. The Prime Minister has indicated that he hopes to do this when Parliament resumes. The Minister of Marine, the Hon. J. O’Brien, said in Greymouth a week ago that he thought he could safely say that the election would be held between September 11 and September 30.