The Day In Parliament (Press, 30 March 1985)

On 30 March 1985, Acting Leader of the House Mr Hunt announced in Parliament that the House would convene for only two days the following week, specifically on Tuesday and Wednesday, depending on the progress made on legislative matters. He confirmed that Parliament would reconvene on 28 May 1985. From that point on, Parliament would follow a consistent schedule of three weeks of sitting followed by one week of recess, during which select committees would convene. Mr Hunt mentioned that the Leader of the House, Mr Palmer, would propose this schedule on Tuesday, with the debate occurring the next day. The agenda for the Tuesday and Wednesday sessions included discussions on various pieces of legislation and time allotted for Ministerial replies to questions and private members' notices of motion on Wednesday afternoon. Responding to inquiries from the Acting Leader of the Opposition, Mr Bolger, Mr Hunt noted that the Union Membership Bill was unlikely to be fully processed before the upcoming Easter recess. During the session, members presented 20 notices of motion, and Ministers addressed 18 questions. Mr Hunt moved for urgency regarding reports from select committees, along with the advancement of multiple bills, including the Auckland Regional Authority (Mount Smart) Expenditure Bill and the Lakes District Waterways Authority (Shotover River) Empowering Bill. The motion received approval on a division vote of 44-29. Mr T. D. de Cleene, the chairman of the Statutes Revision Committee, informed the House that the committee agreed to maintain confidentiality for individuals submitting feedback on the Homosexual Law Reform Bill when requested. The Transport Amendment Bill (No. 3) was also returned from the Statutes Revision Committee. Additionally, Mr R. K. Maxwell, chairman of the Lands and Agriculture Committee, reported on a petition from Doreen Rendall and 2693 others regarding the Kaituna River's outlet, and the committee planned to visit Maketu to gather community feedback. Mr P. T. E. Woollaston, chairman of the Local Bills Committee, addressed another petition from Dorothy M. Low and 35 other individuals requesting the rejection of the Auckland Regional Authority (Mount Smart) Expenditure Bill and a public inquiry into the authority's finances. However, the committee had no recommendation on this petition. Subsequently, both the Auckland Regional Authority (Mount Smart) Expenditure Bill and the Lakes District Waterways Authority (Shotover River) Empowering Bill were reported back and passed through all necessary legislative stages. The Accident Compensation Amendment (No. 2) Bill similarly passed through all stages after its second reading. The second reading of the Reserves and Other Lands Disposal (No. 2) Bill was also initiated and completed. Further discussions led to the second readings of the Customs Orders Confirmation Bill and the Agriculture (Emergency Regulations Confirmation) Bill. The Farm Ownership Savings Amendment Bill saw its second reading conclude, alongside the Social Security (Rates of Benefits) Orders Confirmation Bill and the War Pensions (Rates of Pensions and Allowances) Orders Confirmation Bill, all of which passed significant stages. Mr Terris, the Acting Speaker, confirmed that the Governor-General had granted approval for appropriations related to the Transport Amendment Bill (No. 3), which moved through its legislative stages and achieved its third reading. The House adjourned at 3.26 p.m.

The text on this page is created, in the most part, using Generative AI and so may contain errors or omissions. It is supplied to you without guarantee or warranty of correctness. If you find an error or would like to make a content suggestion please get in contact

The text on this page is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 New Zealand