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Salient: Victoria University Students' Paper. Vol. 29, No. 2. 1966.

Dictator threat real

page 5

Dictator threat real

We urgently need a complete reformation of the New Zealand constitution, said Mr. Paul Temm, a leading Auckland barrister.

The position exists in New Zealand politically, where you may well find yourself one day without the right to vote, subject to imprisonment without trial, in short deprived of all the rights that a citizen in a democracy is accustomed to regard as part of his heritage.

15 years ago

Mr. Temm, speaking at Congress, said that this situation has occurred because of the developments which took place, culminating in the abolition of the Legislative Council 15 years ago.

As a consequence, the House of Representatives is supreme with absolute power, he said.

"Now a political party holding the majority in the House can in a matter of days, even hours decree that it can remain in power indefinitely," and it can do so constitutionally.

Narcotics Act

Furthermore, the Opposition cannot prevent it, as the recent Narcotics Bill and the News Media Ownership Bill have shown.

If the Government declares that there shall be no elections the public voice is also silenced.

The two party system was intended as a safeguard against this. Holding the power of veto the Upper House could delay legislation until an election.

However, as the Upper House was previously constituted with a majority of its members appointed by the government it merely mirrored the Lower House and was ineffectual.

For this reason it was abolished.

Need real

But the necessity to put some curb on the executive power was still apparent and since 1951 governments have promised to find a way round the problem.

"Nothing whatever has been done," said Mr. Temm. "Legislative machinery now exists to enable any government to become a dictatorship. There is a loaded gun pointed at the head of democracy in New Zealand the trigger of which may be pulled at any time."

Mr. Temm feels that the only solution is to reconstitute an Upper House with similar powers to the previous one but with a membership based on a different system which could make it independent from the party in power.

Wellingtonian Jim Kebble, curate at Newtown, who was the Catholic Chaplain at the 1966 NZUSA Curious Cove Congress.—Photo Jo Evans.

Wellingtonian Jim Kebble, curate at Newtown, who was the Catholic Chaplain at the 1966 NZUSA Curious Cove Congress.—Photo Jo Evans.