The Daily News TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 13, 1934. WORK OF THE SESSION.

Taranaki Daily News, 13 November 1934, Page 6

The Daily News

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 13, 1934. WORK OF THE SESSION.

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f Parliament has adjourned until ' February, when the main tegisi lative programme will be the ! proposals for giving financial aid J to primary producers. There L will be general agreement with 1 the Prime Minister’s declaration ■ that such legislation cannot be hurried, though it is equally true that the urgency of that relief increases as time goes on. It is to be hoped therefore that well- ; reasoned definite proposals will : be ready for consideration when the session re-opens and that ■ they will have the dispassionate . consideration of all political parties. Looking back over the portion of the session that ended last week the weakness of the Ministry in debating force be- . comes apparent. The Budget, new tariff, discussion of the ! Monetary Commission’s report, native affairs inquiry, special Companies Acts, and the Agriculture (Emergency Powers) Act have been the major items in the Parliamentary programme, though to them should be added the Electoral Amendment Act which makes possible, after an appeal to the electorate, the substitution of a four-year for triennial Parliaments. . The burden of steering those items through the House has fallen upon two Ministers, the Prime Minister and the Minister of Finance. It is true that two other members of the Cabinet have been laid aside by illhealth, and that another, the ex-Minister of Native Affairs, has known all through ,the session that his administration was under scrutiny, and was therefore less available as a Parliamentary fighter. But after making all ’allowances the session has shown that the time has arrived for a strengthening of the Ministry. The reported disagreements between the two “wings” of the Coalition may be traced to dissatisfaction with the fighting and administrative strength of the Cabinet, and public opinion will support any rearrangement of portfolios that will bring fresh blood and younger minds into the Ministry. So far as the Prime Minister is concerned he has maintained his reputation for doggedness and for disregard of other people’s opinions, as well as of those expressed formerly by himself, if he considered circumstances made a departure from e’arlier opinions necessary. • His colleague, Mr. Coates, has added to his reputation as a debater and as an exponent of intricate financial arrangements. He has shown a suppleness in controversy and a desire to convince rather than browbeat his opponents that has added much cogency to the explanations he has been called upon to make of what has often been highly controversial legislation. The load these two Ministers have had to carry has been unfair, and it is not good for the Dominion that so much of the important work should be left to the two leaders. It is an error of judgment they should appreciate and rectify. In the Upper House the Minister of Education, the Hon. R. Masters, has upheld his previous reputation for tactful presentation and control of business in the Council. He' contributed a notable addition to the discussions on the Dominion’s oversea trading, which though controversial to a certain extent enhanced the Minister’s reputation for clear thinking and an incisive presentation of a case as he sees it. The Opposition has been led by Mr. M. J. Savage with tact and judgment. There have been few stirring hours this session. Mr. Savage and his followers have assumed that the duty of the Opposition is to oppose, and they have been thoroughly consistent in their obedience to this assumption. Unfortunately so much of the opposition was so obviously for party purposes that its efficacy suffered. The legislative output has been fairly heavy. The ease with which a new Customs tariff was adopted was a tribute to the tact of the Minister of Finance. His Budget was more severely handled, but of course was never in any danger. It eased the special unemployment taxation a little, and it gave hope of a really balanced Budget next year. In the meantime the taxpayer must grin and bear his load. Such a Budget was scarcely likely to win enthusiasm, and its results have yet to be determined, though present indications are promising. The legislation affecting the dairy industry is so largely an empowering Act that it will be necessary to see how those powers are applied before assessing the value of the new law as a means' of assisting recovery. If the right men are chosen and they are permitted to shape their policy with one ideal only, the welfare of the primary industries, it may be

that the legislation passed last week may prove some of the most important work ever performed by Parliament.