WHIP v. MINISTER

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 76, Issue 301, 21 December 1933, Page 8

WHIP v. MINISTER

UNUSUAL SPECTACLE GRANT TO LABOUR LEADER STAND BY MR. COATES —i WELLINGTON, Dec. 20. ' The almost unprecedented spectacle , of the Chief Government Whip openly ( assailing a deliberately-framed policy : provision of the Government was wit- . nessed in the House of Bepresentatives . early this morning when Mr. A. J. Murdoch (Government, Marsden) made , himself the target of rapid-fire cnti- , cism by his opposition to the clause m the Finance Hill granting to the Leader , of th e Opposition £l6O per annum for secretarial expenses during the recess. ; Aligning himself against Mr. Murdoch, the Acting Leader of the House (the Rt. Hon. J. G. Coates) spurned Opposition suggestions that, in the cir- 1 cumstances, the clause should be abandoned, and there was a strong expression of Government approval when the . provision was adopted. ( “Not enough, not enough, ’ came the chorus from the Labour benches when , Mr. Murdoch referred to the proposed appropriation. 1 “I think members of Parliament, 5 said Mr. Murdoch, “are not receiving i a sqm commensurate with the amount . of work they have to do (hear, hear). I think also that the Leader of the ■ Opposition is entitled to a sum suffi- ; cient to pay his expenses through the year. Nevertheless, I believe the time i is not opportune for extending to any member of Parliament more money than he is now receiving, and there should be no extension until such time as we are prepared to increase the salaries of the public servants. (Loud laughter). Mr. W. E. Barnard (Labour, Napier): A noble sentiment! Wonderful magnanimity! , Mr. W. E. Parry (Labour, Auckland Central): Let it go. Mr. Murdoch: You will agree with me if we were to allocate £5OO to members of Parliament Mr. Barnard would support it, and if we were to pay another £l5O to the Leader of the Opposition he would support it; but the time is inopportune Mr. Murdoch said he knew that the Government was prepared to put the clause through, and he was expressing his own view. Mr. Barnard: A particularly mean view. “Time Not Opportune'’ Mr Murdoch: Not at all. I agree that the Leader of the Opposition is entitled to a sum of money to help mm throughout the year, but X do say the time is not opportune. However, I do not propose to divide the House. Mr. Barnard: Do. Mr. Murdoch: It is a view I have always supported and I stand to it. Mr. F. Langstone (Labour, Waimarino): When you were a Minister you travelled all over th e country. Mr Murdoch: While we are cutting down'the salaries of those working for the State, we should not increase tn? honoraria of members of Parliament. Mr. Barnard: Utter hypocrisy. The Chairman of Committees (Mr. S. G. Smith): You will please restrain yourself. , Mr. Murdoch: Mr. Barnard 13 entitled to express his view. Secretarial Expenses Mr. P. Fraser (Labour, Wellington Central) pointed out that the Leader of the Opposition would not himself obtain one penny piece of the grant, which, together with the sessional allowance, would cover portion of the secretarial expenses attached to his onerous duties. Even an ordinary member of Parliament had sufficient correspondence to keep a typist going. Mr. Murdoch: I agree. ‘ 1 And the work of the Leader of the Opposition/? continued Mr. iraser, is much heavier than that of an ordinary member and requires secretarial assistance all the year round.” Government members: Hear, hear. Mr. Eraser said that Mr. Forbes and Mr. Coates knew full well the accumulation of correspondence of the Leader of the Opposition and the thousands of representations he received, making it imperative that provision should be made for the handling of the work. If provision were not made, the salary of the Leader of th G Opposition would b e reduced below that of the ordinary inember. The object of the grant was to place him on the same basis as the ordinary number— nothing more and nothing less. In that respect, the Government had done the fair thing. According to Mr. K. Semple (Labour, Wellington East), the amount provided in the Bill was altogether inadequate, and he was surprised that the Government had not been more generous. “As for the honoraria of members/; he added, “the time will come when members will be courageous enough to tell New Zealand that they are underpaid.” Mr. Murdoch: Hear, hear. Mr. Semple said that although he had started work as a boy of nine and a-half, he had never, in his career from manhood, received such a paltry wage for his services as he did as a membei of Parliament. There were some heads of departments who looked upon members with contempt. That was no wonder, because they took members at their face value, measuring them according to th e salary they received. It was time members spoke up. The Chairman: We are not discussing nembers’ salaries. “It is a pity we are not,” comnented Mr. R. McKeon (Labour, Wellington South;. “Legitimate Claims" Mr. F. Lye (Government, Waikato; Eongratulated the Government on it.' long-overdue recognition of what hr termed the legitimate claims of thr Leader of the Opposition. It was not reasonable, he added, to argue that be cause members and public servants had been subjected to reductions, thr Leader of the Opposition should not receive reasonable payment. He was gratified the provision Had been made Mr. Semple; A miserable one. “I am very dissatisfied about thr way in which this question has beer raised,” said Mr. Parry. “1 woulc sooner have the clause kicked out th.u g have it brought up in this fashion/ Th© Leader of the Opposition (Mr M. J. Savage): Yes, so would 1. “We will not take it out,” said thr Minister of Finance (the Rt. Hon. J G. Coates).

Mr. Savage: I would rather 'ee it kicked out. “Kick it out,” said Mr. Parry, who added that the raising of the question members’ minds. Mr. Coates: No. Mr. Parry: Well, why was it mentioned? Mr. Coates said that no arrangement had been made with Mr. Savage, but the Government had itself made an arrangement which it thought was legitimate and justified. It was the Government which had brought the measure down, and it intended to pass it. Mr. W. J. Jordan (Labour, Manukau): Then why did the Chief Whip criticise it? Individual Views Mr. Coates: Please don’t take it that way. I know one member had an individual view, but he did not intend it to be personal or nasty. Mr. Jordan: We understand. Mr. Coates: I hope members will recognise there was no such intention. Mr. Parry asked Mr. Murdoch how he expected the Leader of the Opposition to have all his secretarial work carried out on £2BO a year. Mr. Jordan: What about travelling expenses? Mr. Parry: The Leader of the Opposition has to pay it out of his own pocket. The question has been raised by Mr. Murdoch in the most begrudging way. “There is no one here,” said Mr. Murdoch, “who recognises more than I do the necessity for some assistance for the Leader of the Opposition, and I have never suggested members were adequately paid. There was no spleen in my remarks, and I had advised the Minister I would raise the question in the House.” Mr. Murdoch repeated that he did not propose to call for a division. Mr. H. T. Armstrong (Labour, Christchurch East): You had better. Mr. Murdoch: Certainly not. Mr. Barnard: Then I think we will. Mr. Armstrong (to Mr. Murdoch): We will vote with you. At this stage Mr. Coates appealed to the Committee to pass the clause, as he had arranged with Mr. Savage for the House to adjourn at a certain hour and resume again at 9.30. Mr. Murdoch: Aye. Mr. Savage: If you report progress on the Bill, you will b e doing me a great favour. Cries of “Pass the clause” came from the Government benches. Mr. Coates said he felt very much for Mr. Savage on the present occa- • sion. “Unwarranted Interference’’ Mr. A. M. Samuel (Independent, Thames;, said the development was most extraordinary, because everyone knew of the arrangement the Govern ’ ment had made for the passage of the ’ clause. The interference of a private member was unwarranted. 3 There were further calls from Gov ernment members of “Pass th G clause, ‘ we are in favour of it,” and the pro 1 vision was agreed to amid* a loud - chorus of ayes. r As the question was being put, Mr. s R. A. Wright (Government, Wellington • Suburbs) was on his feet, and claimed the attention of the Chairman. HavL ‘ ing been cut out, he protested to Mr. 1 Smith, stating, “I rose before you pr.t 1 the question.” Mr. Smith: You were not on yO’U Mr. Wright: Yes. I was. The Chairman declared the motion f carried ant' progress was reported on ■ the Bill.