BALANCE OF POWER

Taranaki Daily News, 26 November 1935, Page 11

BALANCE OF POWER

INDEPENDENT CANDIDATE’S HOPE.

MR. SHEAT ADDRESSES WOMEN. The “domination of the party machine” in New Zealand was attacked yesterday by Mr. W. A. Sheat, Independent candidate for New Plymouth, who addressed a small meeting of women arranged by the New Plymouth Y.W.C.A. Business and Professional Women’s Round Table Club. Miss M. Greenwell presided. s Mr. Sheat explained his attitude as an Independent candidate. He hoped a group of Independents would be elected at the'poll to-morrow and that they would maintain a “balance of power” between the parties. There was a need to-day for a greater degree of co-oper-ation in solving the problems of the country. By never assisting the Government the Opposition party in Parliament missed opportunities of improving legislation and making it more acceptable to the people. Mr. Sheat felt candidates should be judged on their ownqualifications, not because they were the figureheads of a particular party. Mr. Sheat gave an exposition of his views as in previous addresses. Asked if he agreed with the principle of selection of Cabinet he said he thought Ministers should be voted for by the whole lower House .and their appointment should not be the prerogative of the Prime Minister, who chose on a party basis. Mr. Sheat added there was no need for an Upper House at all in his opinion if the Lower House functioned properly.

To the statement that his proposed better educational facilities would involve greater expense on the country, Mr. Sheat replied there were other directions in which expenditure could be reduced and used to more benefit on education. He spoke of local and national administration as being conducted in many instances on too elaborate a scale, but he did not agree that electorates should be cut down appreciably in number. The saving in expense would not justify the loss of close contact between members and the people of sparsely settled constituencies.