“RUBBER STAMP REPLIES”

Sun (Auckland), Volume II, Issue 416, 26 July 1928, Page 14

“RUBBER STAMP REPLIES”

CRITICAL MEMBERS

ANOTHER BUDGET OF QUESTIONS (THE SUN'S Parliamentary Reporter.) WELLINGTON, Wednesday. What were freely termed “rubber stamp replies” drew from members of the House some criticism when the answers to another budget of questions were put before Parliament this afternoon. “Unsatisfactory and ambiguous,” was the term applied by Mr. W. D. Lysnar toward a reply made to one of his questions by the Prime Minister. Mr. Lysnar was by no means pleased with the answer to a question about the line to be followed by the RotoruaTaupo railway, of which the Prime Minister said that it would for the present bo carried far enough to tap both planted and indigenous forests, that was, a distance of about 2S miles. Mr. Lysnar was also critical of an answer given by the Hon. O. J. Hawken to a question by Mr. Lee Martin (Raglan) concerning the activities of the Union Cold Storage Co., allegedly an offshoot of Vestey Brothers. “Our existing legislation may be ample,” said Mr. Lysnar, “but when you’ve got a weak Minister, what can you do?” (Laughter.) CONCERNING RAILWAYS In a whole budget of answers to questions concerning railways, was contained the definite information, for the benefit of Mr. J. G. Ellis (Oroua) that the night limited express between Auckland and Wellington could not make Feilding a stopping place. To Mr. Armstrong (Christchurch East), who recently complained that a second-class car on the Limited was overcrowded while on the same train was a Ministerial car containing only one passenger, the Prime Minister replied that the car concerned was overcrowded for only a portion of the journey. As its name implied, the train was a limited one, and accommodation had to be reserved. On the other express on the same evening there were over 100 second class seats to spare. DIRECT NEGATIVE To Mr. Lee Martin, who had asked if it were a fact that the Bank of New Zealand had such an excess of deposits over advances that it had an agent in Australia seeking to place three million pounds in investments, the Minister of Finance gave a reply notable for its brevity. “I am informed that it is not a fact,” said the terse answer.

The Government’s policy concerning possible manufacture of paper from New Zealand wood pulp will be formulated when the report of Mr. A. R. Entrican (State Forest Service), who is reporting on Canadian operations, is available, which should be about the middle of September, said the Hon. O. J. Hawken,, in reply to Messrs. S'eddon and Hockly. “I consider the criticism quite uncalled for,” said the Hon. K. S. Williams, Minister of Public Works, re-* plying to Mr. H. G. R. Mason, who had drawn attention to a Marlborough local body’s criticism of Mr. F. W. Furkert’s suggestion that, other things being equal, transport work undertaken on behalf of the Main Highways Board should be placed with the Railway Department. Replying to Mr. J. A. Lee (Auckland East), the Prime Minister has pointed out that, though it is true that a record number of people left New Zealand permanently last year, the population nevertheless gained a total. of 7,182 during the year. There were 11,327 new permanent residents.