"SEE IT THROUGH"

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 4, Issue 191, 10 December 1941, Page 5

"SEE IT THROUGH"

BY-ELECTION FIGHT

MR SULLIVAN'S STAND * An intimation that he did not ■ contemplate taking advantage of the new emergency regulation, enabling by-election candidates to withdraw up to two days' before the poll, was given by Mr W. Sullivan, National candidate in the Bay of Plenty by-election when speaking at Makauri on Saturday night. " "We are in the field, anil we intend to see it through," said Mr Sullivan, who dealt specifically Avith the communication send to Mr S. Holland by the Prime Minister, rlon. P. Eraser. It was strange, said Mr Sullivan, that Mr Eraser should be so concerned at this time about the dividing of the country by a by-clection, when during the last Avar the Party lie represented contested several bjrelections. Mr Frascr hiKffself, lie said, was elected at a wartime byelection, in October, 1918, and the late leader of his Party, Mr Harry • Holland, contested two by-elections during the Avar period, and in one instance he had no compunction about fighting a by-election when the Germans Avere sweeping all before tliem and the British Empireappeared to be on the A crge of defeat.

"Apparently," said Mr Sullivan, "the Labour. Party thought it was quite all right to have by-elections in 1918, when they were seeking to get into power, but now that they running the government they don't, like it." If the Labour Party wanted to ovoid by-elections they could do so overnight by doing what had been done in Britain, forming a National Government which would leave no room for party politics. It was the Labour Party, not the National Party, he said, who were attracting Attention to the Bay of Plenty contest and investing it with sueli importance. If he had had his waj r there would have been not outside speakers and it would have been ' purely a local affair. Instead of that the Labour Party had chosen to flood : the electorate with Ministers and '• Labour members, and there were now <so many Cabinet Ministers on the scene that it seemed they would be holding meetings of Cabinet in the electorate. M.r Sullivan alleged that the Minister of Marketing, Hon. J. G. Barclay, had had an audience ts( only six people when he addressed a meeting at Kutarere and he sakl it was ,an absurd spectacle when a Minister of the Crown, who was paid about £22 a week, and was, accompanied by a private secretary paid by the Government, could take a week off from his official duties and ' tour round addressing such small meetings. Dealing with the Avar effort Mr • Sullivan said he questioned whether the leaders of the Government had 1 the proper qualifications to direct the affairs of the country at this time. Many New Zealanders were still*working five days a week, then two days holiday, in important in- • dustries, and he believed with Mr Leslie Lefeaux that that did not constitute a proper war effort. New Zealand was not giving up air! -statutory holidays to assist in the cause. The 1200 Home Guardsmen who had enrolled in the Whakatane district were still without equipment, and he believed Mr Semple was the last man who should have been given the task of organising j\ T ew Zealand's man-power. When the Hon. P. Webb, Minister of Labour, had had his attention drawn to a statement by the Auckland bool industry that 10 per cent of theii men could be released for war 'sct* vice if they worked a 44 hour week Mr Webb did not seem very interested, but said it was someone else': responsibility.

"I've been among the workers of New Zealand all my life," said Mr Sullivan, "and I know what good chaps they are. They will certainly deliver the goods if given the right leadership."

Mr Sullivan delivered addresses at Te Karaka and Makauri last week, and returned to Whakatane on Sunday. He is now campaigning on the I3ciy of Plenty coast as far as Cape Runaway, and spoke at Taneatua last night.