Surprise Sprung On House By Mr. Holland

Chronicle (Levin), 12 August 1949, Page 4

Surprise Sprung On House By Mr. Holland

1 — Press Association)

(Per

WELLINGTON, August li. The House of Representatives ^was taken completely by surprise this afternoon when the Leader of the Opposifcion, Mr. Hoiland, gave notiee of his mtentnon to move for leave to introduce the Legislative Council Abolition BilL . Rill is identical with the measure mtroduced by Mr\ Hoiland two years ago. yho depision was made at the„Tisual weekjy {fiu.^srh«ld % ^h^Panli^ientary members of the Natiophi'PaHy. The question of ' the Legislative Council was raised by Mr. Hoiland a few minutes before^ the meeting was due to conclude and his suggestion that a Bill providring for its abolition should again be brought before the House, was supportad by his colleagues. What attitude Mr. F. LangstOne, Independent Labour M.P. for RoSkiU, will adopt when the Bill reaches a aivision, is unknown but he is on record as having said he is irrevocably committed to the abolition of the Upper House.

The Bill is defined as " a measure to abolish the Legislative Council and to amend the Constitution Act 1852 and certain other Acts. " The Bill states that the seat of every member of the Legislative Council shall, on^ and after the commencement of the Bill, be declared vacant and all offices connected with it. References in official documents and papera deemed to include a reference to the Legislative Council, shall be construed to refer only to his Excellency, the GovernorGeneral with the advice and consent of the House of Representatives, or only to the House of Representatives as the 'ontext may require. There is a clause making several consequential repealB. A final clause states that the Bill is to be brought into operation by proelamation but not sooner than one year after it is passed.

When Mr. Hoiland 'b first Bill provid* ing for the abolition of the Legislative Council was before the House in 1947, it was defeated by 39 votes to 37 and a Government Amendment was carried by a similar margin providing that before any ohange was made in the constitution of the legislature, the Statute of Westminster be extended -to the Dominion (this was subsequently done) and that a committee be set up to reqort on the desirability or otherwise of making the House of Representatives the sole legislative ch'amber. This committee, which was known as the Constitional Ref orm Committee, sat with a similar committee from the Legislative Council and reported back to the House last year that it had not ibeen able to

reach an" agreement and' that it had no recommendation to make. During tho discussion on the committee 's report, Mr. W. A. Sheat moved an amendment to have the report referred back to the committee with a view to it recommendiug that a referendum be taken on the question of the abolition of the Legislative Council but no divisioa was reached On this as the report was talked out.