PARLIAMENTARY REFORM

Hokitika Guardian, 25 August 1925, Page 4

PARLIAMENTARY REFORM

(Mercantile Gazette). L ] Some day within the near future wo hope to see an alteration made in Parliamentary practice so that the methods adopted atSiall approximate to those which are followed by large commercial ~ undertakings when the administration r meets to discuss business of great im- 0 portnnee. At present it would seem I that our members desire to waste as { much time as possible in order to put , off the evil day when they have to re- f turn to their homes. This is the nega- 1 tiou of everything which business men adopt; the 'policy of getting through s as much as possible within the shin 1- , est time is quite unknown in our Par- t liamentary Chamber. There are mer- , cantile affairs conducted by private in- - dividuals throughout the world which , handle revenues very much larger than ( that collected in New Zealand, and the . first and most important principle laid , down when the executives of those hod- , ies meet to transact business is that , no long-winded speeches shall he made, , and that all matters shall lie dealt with and finished as rapidly as may lie consistent with the nature and scope ol , the matters before them. Two or three instances of great corporations such as the Canadian Pacific Railway, the P. and 0.. the General Motors Corporation of America with its one hundred million capital, and the great banking corporations of England may he mentioned. all of which are governed by directors who meet daily or at stated intervals. At these meetings, if every person present insisted upon making long orations, even it they were geinutn'c to the matter being discussed, the business for which the meeting was called would require weeks instead of the three or four hours, which is ordinarily required to clear oil the orderpaper. Our Parliament lias now been nearly eight: weeks in session, and. except for a perfect deluge of talk, the sixty men there have done practically nothing for the money they receive. To a. business mind it is absolutely inexplicable that these representatives who have been sent to Wellington to conduct Die business of this small Dominion. should themselves he content to waste day after day. week alter week, in talking to and at each other ‘across the benches. Let anyone read in Hansard and discover, il possible, anv reason for such a waste of effort. Neither from the literary nor the practical point of view is there any ' gain to the country in the rhetorical efforts of the speakers. If there was any value in what is said it would be . different, hill, apart from the cost ot recording and printing such oceans ol commonplace platitudes and genet alisa- ' tion. there is the miserable waste of precious days and weeks. Ike delay in 1 transacting the business of the emin- - Irv. One cannot understand why a s mitn who accepts a retainer, and who . is paid for his time, cun in all essentials be contented to follow the ea’-can-ny principle. Whether any ainenclmont of procedure could he adopted so '' that Parliamentary practice may folI- low that of great commercial cmn- [) panics in the transaction of ihcir lui'ic ness we do not know. Wo believe that at no time in the liif- „ lory of New Zealand since it has been self-governing lias there been so strong t a feeling of exasperation and contempt " at the waste of time which goes on in - Wellington every year as at the present moment. The country’s business - is neglected for months in order that the members may gratify their desire , to talk, and legislation is then nulled through during the last two or inree ' weeks at a pace which makes it imposc sihlc for them to scrutinise with the - core which should he given every sicd tion of any Hill which is intended to e become law. There are plenty ol bti-i----ness men of the best standing who would willingly go into Parliament il ’• thev could feel assured that, they could 1 he hack in ihcir cilices in a month or I six weeks and would not have lei loose li upon them torrents of windy verbiage n which contributed nothing to Ihcir general knowledge or to the husine.'s upon which they had runic to AAelliuu- ' tun • and we ore quile certain that if IS candidates at the ensuing election were 0 t : put Parliamentary reform ns a loade ing plank in their political programme t they would find elect orates ill absolute sympathy with them. A\ e suppose them is no impossibility in piloting and nosting to members a copy of the speech which the Governor intends to make when Parliament opens, so that !e every one will know even Indore he all's lives at the House exactly what are the iml icy measures which the Premiei ,1 intends' to introduce, and we see no reason why it should not he arrange* •' that two members ol each block in the House—-their host men—should not say e all that is necessary in the way ol the e AddrcsK-iu-R eply. and gel on with the •- ordinary business within forty-eight e hours of the opening of the session. It would, of course he necessary for the '■ Government to he prepared to bring its II Riils down at once. _ , . : The delightful process of paving d members something to debate while i- Rills are being prepared which should t have been completed days or weeks liefore would have to lie given up; hut supposing that business principles weie p adopted,"the present laissezlaire policy would lie changed, although it might P become obligatory for Ministers to curtail flier perambulations over the counIrv and remain more closely in I heir offices. Mr Coates, our Premier, is a busy man and must he seriously om- ■ harrasseil when he is compelled to attend Parliament for four mouths, alI though two would he quite sufficient il f work was carried on without so much talk. The country looks to himself as a business man, although Premier, to do whatever is possible to bring about a change. No one suggests that our legislators should not have every reasonable opportunity of expressing their views upon any mailer of importance which conies before them, but we see no reason why a member should not practise the art of compression, and any man should ho able to say in fifteen minutes all that is necessary upon any matter. Tf anyone has the misfortune to tie compelled to read Hansard. he is si ruck with: the fad that most of what lie reads is the same thing repeated again and again, tine ■ looks in vain for anything new. for one spark only of originality. Ii is the same dreary, ntonniiigle-rhetorical series of nothings, anil we belieie that if every member were cut oil at lilteeii minutes we should get better mnttei. better elotliec-I. than at present. The country will return Mr Contes wit’ll a sufficient majority, of that we have no doubt, and if lie places Parliamentary reform as one of his policy measures, we are satisfied that Hie electorates will only too willingly signify their acceptance of his proposal and return him with a mandate to alter present methods, parliament as the superior 'tribunal in the country, should he re-, soecled hv every citizen. Tl au\one mixes among the business sections of tfie country he will find that the words used in connection with that august li*>d.v are the antithesis ol anything which suggests pride, esteem, or reverence. We hope that all candidates will place Parliamentary reform upon their notes for addressing the electors they will not regret doing so. taeminsKmsmaawKßkmmemaaaa