The Day In Parliament (Press, 27 June 1985)

On 26 June 1985, members of Parliament in Wellington presented two notable petitions during the afternoon session. The first petition, brought forth by Mr P. R. Burdon (National Party, Fendalton), was from the Dannevirke branch of the Nurses' Association and 84 others, urging the Government to repeal the State Services Conditions of Employment Amendment Act, 1983. The second petition was presented by Mr. J. G. Dillon (Labour Party, Hamilton East), which was from Diana May Benfell of Hamilton and 147 others, asking Parliament to reject the Homosexual Law Reform Bill. During the session, Prime Minister Mr David Lange tabled the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women. Additionally, the Minister of Broadcasting, Mr. Hunt, on behalf of the Minister of Education, Mr. Marshall—who was overseas—tabled the 1984 report of the University Grants Committee and University Institutions. Mr. Hunt also presented the report from the Pacific Islands Polynesian Education Foundation for the year ending 31 December 1984. Throughout the session, members introduced 13 notices of motion, while ministers responded to 18 questions raised by parliamentarians. A request from Opposition spokesman on the Post Office, Mr. R. F. H. Maxwell (National Party, Taranaki), for an adjournment debate regarding the Government's decision to cancel housing loans for non-customers of the Post Office was denied by Speaker Dr. Wall. The discussion transitioned into Ministerial replies to queries before shifting back to an interrupted debate on the Electricity (South Island Concession) Amendment Bill. While the bill was introduced, it did not pass the vote required to be referred to a Parliamentary select committee, with 29 in favour and 39 against, leading to its lapse. In another matter, there was a conscience vote resulting in a 52 to 16 decision to have the report of the Statutes Revision Committee on the Adult Adoption Information Bill lie on the table for future reference. The House adjourned for dinner at 5.35 p.m. Upon resuming at 7.30 p.m., the debate continued on the Appropriation Bill (No. 2), which had been paused when Parliament last rose on the previous Tuesday evening. This debate ultimately concluded with the House rising again at 10.30 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