N.S.W. UPPER HOUSE

Rotorua Morning Post, Volume 2, Issue 530, 13 May 1933, Page 5

N.S.W. UPPER HOUSE

(Press. Assn.-

THE REFORM BILL IMPORTANT MEASURE TO BE SUBMITTED TO A REFERENDUM VOTING COMMENCES TO-DAY

— By Telegraph— Cop yrlgti t) .

Eec. May 12, 9.25 p.m. Sydney, May 12. The electors of New South Wales to-morrow will be called upon to vote upon the referendum for reform of the Legislative Council, for which there has been a tense campaign here by the Stevens Government and by the Opposition Labour led by Mr. J. T. Lang. The reform bill provides that the Legislative Council in future shall consist of 60 members, who hold office for 12 years, one-fourth to be retired at the end of each three years. They are to be elected by members of Parliament for the time being on the basis of proportional representation. Thus the old order of things, under which the old chamber could be swamped by nominees of either party, will pass. Another important provision in the reform bill is the proviso for a referendum of the people on any measure on which there is Parliamentary disagreement or deadlock. Mr. Lang claims that an affirmative vote by the electors will xlispel the rights of democracy for all time and will enable an anti-Labour Government to set up a dictatorship and keep Labour out of office. The Government supporters on the other hand, argued that the usefulness of the Upper House as a deliberative revisionary Chamber has been destroyed by the precedent which Mr. Lang established in trying to force executive Governments to acknowledge that its Ministers had the right to interpret their own mandate, also the right of swamping that chamber in order to force legislature 'through Parliament.