HONORARIA OF MEMBERS

Taranaki Daily News, 14 April 1932, Page 7

HONORARIA OF MEMBERS

INCLUSION IN FRESH CUT HEAVY EXPENSES PLEADED. OVERSEAS RATES COMPARED. ' The prospect that only men ef independent means will be in a position to represent widely-scattered country constituencies when the 10 per cent, cut in the salaries of members of Parliament operates was mentioned in th® House of Representatives on Tuesday durino' the discussion on the National Expenditure Adjustment Bill. The Prime Minister, th© Rt. Hon. G. W. Forbes, indicated, in moving the second reading of the Bill, that members could not expect to escape the general sacrifice. Mr. Forbes said members would agree that when an all-round reduction was being effected in costa, their own salaries could not be exempted. He fully appreciated that a reduction would inflict hardship in some of the widely-scattered electorates and raise difficulties for members whose expenses were already heavy. Mr. R. Semple (Labour— Wellington East): You are making this a rich man’s Parliament. MINISTERS’ ALLOWANCES. Mr. W. J. Jordan (Labour— Manukau): Will you makt a reduction in Ministers’ travelling allowances? Mr. Forbes replied these had been reduced from two guineas a day to 30® a day in the Bill last year. No further reduction was being made this year. Mr. W. E. Parry (Labour —Auckland Central) asked whether Mr. Forbes had considered what the special sessions had cost members, but evidently the question was not heard. Reference to the subject was mad® later by the Leader of the Opposition, Mr. H. E. Holland, who said the effect of the proposal would be to make it impossible for any but a wealthy man to represent-the large country constituencies. Mr. Holland said his constituency was not the largest in the Dominion. There were others like Otago Central, Motueka and Rotorua which were larger, but personally he found it almost impossible, working 12 hours a day for seven days of the, week, to keep up with all his work. It was a bad principle to introduce that a man who had “not an independent income should not be able to afford to sit in the Parliament of his country. SUGGESTED GRADING. Mr. Holland made it clear that he objected to the whole of the salary reductions proposed in the Bill. He would! not go out of his way specifically to object to the reductions in members’ salaries, but that cut was in line with all the other salary reductions contemplated. Mr. Holland suggested that provision should be made for grading electorates in order to place the remuneration of all members somewhat on an equality. The honoraria paid to members of the New Zealand Parliament were almost the lowest in the Empire. The following amounts were paid elsewhere: Federal Parliament of Australia, £lOO9, less 10 per cent.; New South Wales, £744; Victoria, £469; Queensland, £500; South Australia (which had only about half the population of New Zealand), £380; Tasmania, £450; Canada, £BOO, plus travelling allowances; South Africa, £400; Irish° Free State, £360, plus travelling allowances; Newfoundland (which was only a glorified county council in point of size)7 £2OO a session.

“It is quite logical if the Government is <roin<r to drag everyone down that members of Parliament should b# dragged down with the rest,” said Mr. Holland, “but it is illogical to drag anyone down at all.”