Cabinet not in favour of calling Parliament

This is not the time to discuss calling Parliament, when there is so much work to be done to rehabilitate the damage caused on Aitutaki and Tongareva.
Finance Minister, Hon Wilke Rasmussen has been reported to be in favour of recalling Parliament in order to pass an early budget. The Times was unable to reach Rasmussen this morning as he was in a meeting so comment was sought from Minister Hon William Heather.
Heather said that Cabinet is of the view that such a call is premature and should only be made by the Prime Minister. If the PM calls - or does not call - Parliament, it is his call and none other. Heather says that Government needs to get on with the work they are doing to help Aitutaki and Tongareva without distractions.
The recovery and rebuilding projects are top priority and having the of having to consider the possibility of a no confidence vote and any subsequent elections and being busy electioneering instead of getting on with the job.
A spokesman for the PM said he had not read the news item in the daily newspaper but confirmed the sentiment that the PM is the only person who has the authority to call Parliament.
The spokesman said that when the Cabinet Ministers were newly sworn in at Christmas time 2009, the very first thing they were told was that the economic situation looked bleak. All Ministries were asked to cut costs as their very first priority.
However, it has taken until now for the situation to become clearer to the new Ministers especially after the recovery efforts in response to the disaster situation in Aitutaki and then Tongareva have undoubtedly focused attention on making ends meet with the budget.