Opposition Succeeds In Setting A Limit To Two Very Contentious Bills

Wanganui Chronicle, 27 November 1947, Page 6

Opposition Succeeds In Setting A Limit To Two Very Contentious Bills

MEASURES RETAINING WIDE POWERS FOR CABINET

(Press Association) PARLIAMENT BLDGS., Nov. 26 An anti-climax to the strenuous battle in the House of Representatives over the Supply Regulations Bill and, to a lesser degree, the Emergency Regulations Continuance Bill, was reached when the House resumed this afternoon, the Minister of Supply (Mi-. Nordmeyer) and the Leader of the Opposition (Mr. Holland) announcing their agreement on: (1) That both Bills and exist-1 ing regulations should continue! for one year and end on Decern-' her 31, 1948. (2) That , a recess committee be appointed to examine evidence on the regulations and report early next session.

Mr. Nordmeyer said the suggestion had been made that those who were particularly interested in the regulations should have an opportunity of giving evidence on them. That commended itself to him and he had discussed it with the Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition, with a result that a proposal had been advanced that the question of appointing a recess committee should be considered so that all the regulations could be referred to it to recommend which should be revoked and which should be retained. This was acceptable to the Government party, and it was also proposed that the Bills should continue for one year and then expire at the end of next year. The duration of the Supply Regulations Bill was for three years, whereas no time was fixed for the duration of the Emergency Regulations Continuance Bill.

The Minister said he felt that the proposal to set up a recess committee would commend itself to the House and the country. Mr. Holland said the suggestion to set up a recess committee came from him. In the meantime some regula-I tions must continue. The Opposition I was prepared to agree that the regulations existing now should continue, for 12 months on condition that a 1 committee reported on them early I next session. Both Bills would now run until the end of next year. The Opposition’s agreement with those proposals did not mean that it agreed with the Bills but that it would give opportunity for them to be examined in the light of evidence I from interested parties. The Prime Minister (Mr. Fraser) said the agreement covered both Bills and their schedules on condition they went through. Both Bills then went through the remaining* committee stages and were passed. Mr. F. W. Doidge (Opp., Tauranga): Hats off for the Opposition! LONG SITTING The new members of the 28th. Parliament have now been initiated' into the rites of an all-night sitting, i The House rose for breakfast at 8 o’clock yesterday morning after the closure had been applied. The House had been sitting since 2.30 p.m. on Tuesday with only the customary tea

adjournment. The House resumed at 10 a.m. yesterday. The prolonged sitting was occasioned by the fierce assault made by the Opposition on the Supply Regulations Bill, which was denounced as the most sweeping measure introduced by the Government in its 12 years of office. This Bill, which was debated on the second reading in conjunction with the Emergency Regulations Continuance Bill, continues in statutory form various wartime emergency regulations dealing with supplies and services, and empowers the Government to make new regulations in this field. Urgency had been taken for the passing of the Bills, and after the Leader of the Opposition (Mr. Holland) had declared that his party would stay in the House long enough to register an effective protest against the Supply Regulations Bill, criticism which he initiated was sustained by a succession of Opposition speakers. Mr. Holland declared that the Bill, with its wide powers for Government by regulation, was a means of bypassing Parliament and was the beginning of a Communistic system in New Zealand. 375 REGULATIONS REVOKED Speaking just before midnight, Mr. Fraser said that amendments to the present Bill could be discussed if it was done in a reasonable way. Since the war ended, 375 emergency regulations had been revoked, but others were still necessary. There was a need of continuing some regulations and the Bills before the House provided a means of doing that. Mr. Fraser said he believed the stabilisation regulations would have to be incorporated in a separate Act which would come before the House next year. It was desirable to have power to make new regulations within the limits of the Supply Regulations Bill, but he would not object to a provision that any regulations made under the Bill should be approved by Parliament in the first fortnight of the ensuing session, or else should be abandoned. Mr. Fraser said the Government would gladly, if it thought the situation favourable, sweep away all regulations, but the Government did not feel that way. “It comes down to one point—that the Government should have power to make regulations if a further emergency should arise in the next three years,” he added. The Bill was not a means to enable the Government to introduce legislation through the side door and there was no ulterior motive behind the Bill. The Government had never once misused its powers in the last eight years and it now asked that those powers might be continued for another three years.