STILL TALKING

Rotorua Morning Post, Volume 2, Issue 350, 11 October 1932, Page 5

STILL TALKING

("Post" Speeial Commissioner) .

THE BUDGET BEBAtiE HOUSE NOT YET DOWN TO REAL WORK OF SESSION BIBLE IN SCHOOLS BILL

Wellington, Monday. - Although Parliament has been si|ting for two weeks, it may truthfully he said that it has yet to get down to the real business of the session. Up to the present, bqth Houses have been engaged in the preliminary skirmishes which seem to be an essential part of the Parliamentary machine, It pxust be said, however, that on this .occasion the Government has indicated its policy.xxxuch earlier than usual, and this is due to the fact that the opening' of the session was delayed for three months because of the Ottawa Conference. The "traditional vehicle for the enunciatxon of the Government's poliey is the Budget, and it is rafely "indeed that its" contents are disclosed within the first fortnight after Parliament has assembled. After the financial statement has been presented, however, there is always a ftirther delay before the legislation, which emhodies the real work of the General Assembly, comes up for consideration. The Budget is followed hy the financial debate, which most members consider more important than the Address-in-Reply, In the Address-in-Reply they are allowed only half an hour, but in the. Budget discussion they have the right to a full hour. Furthermore, they have more to talk about. In. the Address-in-Reply they have only the vague references of policy contained in the speech from the Tlxrone upon which to hang their arguments, but in the Budget the Government lays all its eards on the table. What more could the average member desire for an hour's talk? Not a Debate One uses the term "talk" deliberately, because the procedure which is followed is certainly not entitled to be included under the definition of a debate. There is practically no attempt at deliberation. Each side of the House takes up a dogmatic attitude, and upon inflexible party principles the members build their case. The result is that after the ceremony has ended, little or no progress has been xxxade. One cannot help thinking that New Zealand could well follow English procedent and set a tjme limit to the "talks" on both the Ad-dress-in-Reply and Budget. Such a procedure would certainly shorten the length of the session. The outstanding and most pleasixxg feature of the Budget, which was delivered hy the Prime Minister in the, ahsence of the Minister of Finance (the Hon. W. Downie Stewart), was the announcement that the deficit this year was suhstantially less than was anticipated in earlier surveys. It was hoped at the opening of the financial year to reduce the deficit by economies and hypothecation of reserves froxn £8,300,000 to £2,000,0(30 which was considered manageable, but the Prime Minister has now made the happy announcement that the Government is "now reasonably certain of keeping the, deficit within £1,000,000, which is half the amount allowed for in the ixiitial programme of the year.''5 The Interest Bill It is still intended, however, to aim at achieving budgetary equilibrium in 1934. The fact that the deficit has been halved will rnean an appreciable lowering of the interest bill, as any shortage must he made up hy a floating debt on which interest is naturally paid. It will be remeonbered that Australia incurred a fioating debt of this nature and it proved perhaps the biggest hurdle the Coxximonwealth Finance Minister had to face in balancing his accounts. Up to the present, the majority of the speakers in the Budget discussion have coxxxe from the Labour benches, hut with perhaps the exceptipn of Mr. M. J. Savage, they are telling the old, old story. It has been said that it is not the xiovelty but the significance of statements and ideas that xnatter, htxt even the sigxxificance of their theor-

ies has now been lost. There be-ing no time limit to the debate its end cannot he forecasted, and it may go for another week or ten days. The Legislative Council It is not usual for the Legislative Council to receive much of the spotlight which shines on the General Assembly, but next week there will be widespread attention focussed on its deliberations. In the Upper House on Wednesday, St. James ARen will move the second reading of the Bible in Schools Bill, which is always a thorny topic and one of real politipal interest. This yeax*, the sponsors of the Bill are more confident than ever that it will go f urther than ever before. Last year the measure was referred to tlxe Education Comnxittee of the House, but it was never heard ' of again. A similar move to have the Bill referred to a comxnittee will no doubt be attempted this session, but its promoters are determined to oppose this inethod of shelving a' bill which, they consider has now reached the stage when the country demands that it should be edther assented to or rejeeted withput being forced into the devious tracks which seem to have no ending when a piece of legislation is unusually eontentious.