LABOUR'S RECORD

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 7, Issue 4, 3 September 1943, Page 5

LABOUR'S RECORD

4s. MR A. G. OSBORNE'S REVIEW KLECTOKS ADDRESSED A brisk and tellitig dissertation of the legislation initiated' by the Labour Government during- the eight years of its term in office, flavoured with periodic breaks of interesting and goodnatured heckling and interjections, characterised the address to electors of Whakatane by Mr A. G. Osborne, M.P. for Onehunga, in the Caledonian Hall last Wednesday evening. His Worship the Mayor presided and -approximately eighty persons gave the speaker a fair and attentive hearing. Mr Osborne spoke. clearly and forcefully and there can be no doubt that his support for the Labour - candidate in this district must have been invaluable, from an electioneering point of view. The forthcoming election lie • claimed to be the most important "in New Zealand's history, firstly because the Government elected "would have the responsibility of carrying on the country's war effort, ■secondly because it would have to shoulder the giant work ol! rehabilitation of the men and women returning from the war; thirdly because it would have to play a vitail part in the posfc-war reconstruction of the world, on the principles outlined by the Atlantic* Charter and fourthly that it wou'.d have, to see that the Allied nations would win .the peace as well as. the war. For these reasons he considered the outcome of the election a very real and vital issue. Second! to None Labours record of humanitarian and social legislation since it. was iirst elected to office in 19&)., was, he could say without fear of contradiction second to none. It had followed up its peace-time legislation with a war effort 'which also led the world. He went on to : show that but for the action of members of the National Party the War Administration Committee which had been doing splendid work and which embraced all parties would, be operating to-day. The National Party on that occasion had gone on strike at a time which was full of anxiety owing to the war situation. Opposition Arrives A voice from the rear of the hall gave vent to the first of a long series of interjections by shouting out, "Speak the truth." Mr Osborne said lie too';c such a remark to mean that he could, not . substantiate what he had .said, and therefore went to considerable pains to bear it. out, quoting from the press statement issued by the Leader of the National Party when that party had withdrawn from the War Cabinet as a result of the Government's handling of the coal strike. "The War Cabinet," he. said, "had considered it more important at that juncture to produce coal in New Zealand than to send miners to gaol! I'm not supporting that strike," he went on to say, "but, Messrs Coates, Hamilton,, P>roadfooand: Poison had agreed with the Government that it was better to do that, than to (ling a spanner in the wheels of war industry and Mr Holland stands condemned from his own ]ips, by his statement to the press." Jtn answer to a lady who suggested that the •interjector who persist- ~ >cd should be. given a seat on the platform so that all could hear him the speaker said that he was in--debted to him for his remarks which had enabled him to throw light upon the true state of affairs leading to the break. Issues Very Clear .Labour did not desire to cling to ■office unless it was the will of the people that it should do so. The tissues were very clear and Ave re •either the. election to office again of the Labour Government, and allowing it to complete its magnificent war effort, or else the National Party which had had control prior to 1935 when hundreds of thousands •went without the necessities of life. "That party has never been in,' cried the voice. Mr Osborne after fairly forcelul •explanation ■ .said that even lrom ■where, lie stood he could see by the face of his interjector that lie was so simple as to believe that real- ' ]y the present National Party was zi new one! The greatest tributes to Labours .achievements, he contended, were the remarks by Mr.s Eleanor Roose-

veil regarding Social Securitv and of Mr Winston Clliiircli:i 1 regarding the country's "war effort. Comparative Figures Giving deta.ls of old age and invalidity pensions, lie said that prior lo 1 old-age pensioners received 17,'() per week, now they received 32 0. Invalids received nothing and were now given 32 (>. .Mr Osborne gave figures for pensions to widows and children, invalids and orphans under Labour's Social Security .scheme and added that during the past year _ £1,1(>0,0'00 had been paid to the medical profession, £1,539.000 to hospitals, £505.000 for maternity services and £5(53 000 for pharmacau~ tieal services all from the Social Security Fund. This was a vastly different state of affairs to when Labour first took office, when there were 70,000 unemployed and when .">0 per cent of the primary producers Avere unable to meet their commitments-. Rehabilitation Dealing with the question of rehabilitation, he said that the National Party stood with the Labour P«rty in the belief that the utmost the country was capable of doing should be at the disposal of the men returning from overseas. It would be unfair to allege otherwise, and he thought he could 'say without fear of contradiction that New Zealand's plan lor bringing her fighting men back into industry were as generous as that of any other country in the world. The ordinary disability pension amounted to £3 plus the economic pension if the recipient • qualified for it of £1 15s, giving a total of £4 15s free of tax (or the equivalent to £5 8s 7d on a civilian basis). A man with a wife received £5 15s (civilian equivalent £(> lis sd); a eouple with one child £(> 5s (id (civilian equivalent £7 3s (id); with two children £(J l(js (£7 15s sd). The. scheme also covered .soldiers j widows and dependent mothers, witli additional benefits for children a feature which was retrospective to widows of the last war. Housing and Occupation In addition provision had been made for vocational training for men who desired to take on new trade of callings, while 50 per cent of the 3000 State houses which the Government was now planning to build had been earmarked for returned men. Already 21,000 men had been cared for by the Rehabilitation Board. 7803 had not yet been discharged from service hospitals. 13.298 had plied with tools of trade (£1317), 823 1222 had found businesses of their own and 819 had refused all keep. To date under the Rehabilitation Board's, scheme, 100 men had been placed on freehold properties at a cost of £278.000, 33 had received advances for building homes (£39,000), 209 had hail homes purchased for them (£259,00;)), 55 had been supplied with tools of trade £1347), 823 had had advances for furniture (£70,994) \vhMe 71 had been assisted in the purchase; of businesses (£21,000). In the training centres 110 had already completed their training along selected lines while 230 were now undergoing training. Mr Osborne paid a warm tribute to the co-operation of the U.S.A. in all branches of the rehabilitation service.

Servicemen's Settlement Act He concluded by elucidating various sections of the recently passed and much-discussed Scrvicemens' Settlement and J.and Sales. Act, stating that it had been formulated to safeguard against the inflationary tendency which was taking place and which had all the appearance of developing into a repetition of the boom that, followed the last war. He quoted the £20,500,000 spent by the Government after the last war on purchasing land at boom prices, the result of. which saw £12,500,000 finally written off as irrecoverable. This sort of thing was disastrous to any country and it was to avoid such a state of affairs occurring again that the new act was introduced. At the conclusion of his address Mr Osborne was accorded a unanimous vote of thanks and confidence in Labour's regime, coupled with the declaration that the meeting pledged itself to work wholeheartedly for the return of Mr YV. Jonascn the Labour candidate.