JUNE SESSION.

Press, Volume LXVIII, Issue 20496, 15 March 1932, Page 8

JUNE SESSION.

POSTPONEMENT POSSIBLE. INTERVENTION OF OTTAWA CONFERENCE. [From Our Parliamentary Reporter-] ■WELLINGTON, March 14. As tlie emergency session of Parliament will embrace a complete overhaul of State operations, necessitating a great deal of legislation, there is a possibility that it will be made the working session of this year, extending into May or June, and causing the ordinary session to be postponed until after the Ottawa Economic Conference. The earliest the House can finish its task at the present rate is the end of April. A great deal of legislation, the majority of which has not yet been drafted, will be brought down Bhortly, and progress will be interrupted when the Easter adjournment is taken. Although it has not been definitely decided, the Prime Minister might arrange for the House to rise on Wednesday, March 23rd, two days before Good Friday, and reassemble about Tuesday or Wednesday of the following week. This will leave little time for work for the rest of this month. In addition, as the Ottawa Conference will take place in July, the absence of the Prime Minister and probably another Minister in Canada would not be altogether desirable. The New Zealand Government's representation at Ottawa will have to be strong, and the Prime Minister may feel that the Minister for Finance and Customs should also travel. At the moment, however, the question has not received detailed consideration by Cabinet, and. the Government's intention is undefined. In any event it is likely that if a sufficient amount of work can be done this session the ordinary June session might be postponed until about August or September. _ This was admitted by the Bt. Hon. G. W. Forbes in reply to a question today, though he said the question of postponing the June session had not so far been gone into. Any action in this direction would depend upon what happened before the end of the emergency session.

Important Considerations. Several important considerations enter into the postponement of the June session. The State Departments would have to be ready to submit their accounts and estimates before the present session ended. This should not be difficult, for with the end; of the financial year only about a fortnight away next year's financial, requirements should be known. The Budget would also probably have to be presented before the end of this session, but there is reason to believe that with the completion of the close review of the country s financial position that has been carried out over recent months by the Hon. W. Downie Stewart and Mr A. D.. Park, Secretary to the Treasury, it will be possible to budget for 1932-33 at an early date. In fact, the financial statement,, which will be tabled in the House soon by the Minister, is expected to contain not only a survey of present conditions but also an outline of the budgetary requirements for next year. Parliament would, in any case, have to meet later in'the year to consider aspects of the budgetary position relating to taxation that must be held over, but if the House were to rise until about September a relatively short session only would then be necessary to complete the arrangements" for the remainder of the financial year. As there is no hard and fast rule regarding the period of the year Parliament shall meet, the major "task should •be finished when the emergency session ends.