A PRE-SESSION SURVEY

Rotorua Morning Post, Volume 2, Issue 328, 15 September 1932, Page 5

A PRE-SESSION SURVEY

("Post" Special Commission'er.)

NEW LEGISLATION | IMPORTANT AMENDMENTS TO SUPERANNUATION ALLOWANCES NO EMERGENCY MEASURES

Wellington, Wednesday. The session of Parliament Avhsch Is to open 011 Thursday of next week, will practically mark a return to normal conditions so far as the Legislature is ooncerned, for apart from legislation arising from the Ottawa Conference, work will be largely of a routine nature, but that is not to say that it will be unihvportant. During the last two sessions Parliament has been askad to deal al- j most entirely with emergency enaet- j ments designed to assist in counter- j ing the effect of the abnormal eco- j nomic conditions, and many important j matters have been held in abeyance j as a result. Judging by recent announcements on the part of the Prime Minister (Rt. I-Ion. G. W. Forbes), Parliament can now afford time to deal with those matters, and during the coming session, opportunity will be taken to effect a number of much needed amendments. At the first glance, it does not appear that the legislative programme will he a particularly heavy one, and the Government is hopeful that it will be possible to completes all that it desires to place on the Statute Book before the Christmas vacation. Shehie Minor Matters Suggestion is made that the most important measure will he taken first and, if necessary,

matters of minor importance will be shelved until the session in June of next year. It is known that the Government is anxious to avoid bringing members back to work after the vacation and an effort may be made to curtail the

debate on the Addres?-in-Reply motion in order to pave the way for the introduetion of the budget and the legislative proposals but the co-opera-tion of the Opposition will be necessary in order to bring this about.

No Confidence Motion It is expected that the Leader of the Opposition (Mr. H. E. Holland) will test the House on a want-of-confidence motion, and the disposal of this motion may take some little time. The Prime Minister and his colleagues will find it necessary to confer closely with Mr. Coates in regard to the legislation which will be necessary to give effect to the decisions at Ottawa. Up to the present time, information received by the Government on the subject has been of a general nature only and details of the various agreements reached are being awaited with some interest in Government circles. Tariff Revision It is expected that there will have to be a fairly comprehensive revision of tariff s, and steps have already been taken by the Prime Minister, who is acting-Minister of Customs, to acquaint himself with the position of most of the Dominion's secondary industries. In company with the Minister of Industri'es and Commerce (Hon. R. Masters), Mr. Forbes has paid a visit of inspection to factories in the main centres and the information he has gathered, should be of value to him when he is piloting customs amendments through the House. The last genei'al tariff revision was made in 1927, after the taking of evidence by a Tariff Commission, and it is not generally expected that there will he a further general revision without an opportunity being given for the affected parties to be heard. Banldng and Currency Information on banking and currency problems will be sought from Mr. Coates, but it is considered unlikely that an effort will bie made to bring about vital changes during the coming session. It is known that there is a decided opinion in Cabinet in favour of a eentral reserve banlc, but it is considered most unlikely that there will be any steps in that direction until the return of the Hon. Downie Stewart from

London. As has been indicated already by Mr. Forbes, Parliament is not to be asked to deal with any tax-taking Bills during the coming session. The annual bills were passed during the emergency session earlier in the year, but there will be other financial questions to engage the attention of members. The Estimates Special interest will attach to the estimates, which have again been pruned in the light of the final recommendations of the National Expenditure Commission. The estimates will tell the story of the Government's efforts to effect cconomies, and it is eertain that their passage through the House will not be altogether peaceful. Mr. Forbes has made good progress with his budget, and it is expected that it will he ready for presentation at a fairly early stage of the session. The Prime Minister's assurance that the ppblic has nothing to be perturbed about has probably done a lot to allay the misgivings usually felt by Mr. Taxpayer at tho approach of another budget, and it is genei-ally expected that this year's financial statement will not be so difficult to digest as its immediate pi'edecessors. Supex-annuation Funds One problem which Parliament will probably have to tackle during the session, is the position of the superannuation funds. It has been an open secret for some time that various funds are in anything but a healthy

1 condition, and the suggestion is made that somcwhat drastic proposals will ! be introduced with the object of plac- | ing the funds on a more. secure foun- } dation. Thero may be a reversion to ! compulsory service of 40 years, and a substantial reduction in retiring allowances. The National Expenditure Adjustment Commission devoted considerable time to the question of the superannuation funds, and its final rerport, to be presented early in the session, should prove of outstanding interest. The legislation which follows may prove even more interesting. The Government has been contempiating for some time the consolidation and amendment of the Companies' Act, a task which is considered hy business men to be

long overdue . The matter has been carefully and closely investigated, and it is possible that the coming session will see the task completed. Important amendments to the law governing the engagement of apprentices are to be made during the session. Many of these have already been drafted, but others may depend on recommendations made by Messrs. S. G. Smith and A. E. Ansell, M's. P., who have been investigating the boy unemployment problem. > Employers have Been complaining for some time about the restrictive nature of the present legislation, and it is state d that many apprentices have lost their position since the depression. Other measures will probably deal with the illegal sale of alluvial gold, the minimum school age, borough valuations, interest rates on mortgaged life policies, and some aspects of land settlement. It is possible that there will be technical amendment to the Weights and Measures Act, and also amendments to the Post and Telegraph Act and the Hospital Boards Act.