FIRST ELECTORAL TRUMPETS

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 9, Issue 54, 22 March 1946, Page 5

FIRST ELECTORAL TRUMPETS

NATIONAL PARTY SPEAKS

ADDRESSES BY MESSRS. W. SULLIVAN AND R. M. ALGIE M.Ps.

POWERFUL LABOUR CRITICS

The Labour regime underwent a broadside of heavy National artillery last Tuesday evening when Messrs. W. Sullivan M.P. for Bay of Plenty, and R. M. Algie M.P. for Remuera addressed some 500 electors in the Grand Theatre, Whakatane. Both speakers were given a sympathetic and attentive hearing and on the motion of Mr H. G. Warren, accorded a hearty vote of thanks. His Worship the Mayor of Whakatane, Mr B. S. Barry presided, and welcomed the Auckland Parliamentarian. At the conclusion of the addresses bouquets were presented to Mesdames Barry and Sullivan who were associated with the official party.

Public Meetings Preferred

R ehabilitation

“I consider,” said Mr Sullivan in preface to his main address, “that it is preferable to address public meetings on such occasions than to limit the attendance to party members only. I have found that this policy has met with great success and at Gisborne and Opotiki we have enjoyed crowded audiences. What we have to say, should I maintain be stated in. public, and I intend telling you a little of what happened at the last session of Parliament.”

New Zealand, said Mr Sullivan, had as good a policy of Rehabilitation as anywhere else in the world, but the manner in which it was carried out left much to be desired. Its application was poor., and hundreds of deserving men who should be assisted and helped were bitterly disappointed at their treatment. He paid a warm tribute to the work of the local Rehabilitation Committee, adding that he knew of no other working better or taking so much personal interest in the cases before it.

Mr Sullivan said that there were ;all the indications at present to show that New Zealand was on the highway to full State Control, with the -objective of ultimate socialism. It behoved the electors everywhere to take full stock of the position and to correct it or else to take what was coming to them. Mentioning the amended Electoral Laws he said that the abolition of the Country Quota was purely designed to make the position safer for Labour next -election. In spite of this the Raglan by-election had registered a. swing in National’s favour. In that election some of the more extreme elements had shown their true colours by their behaviour at meetings and it would be a disastrous thing if ever that section ' were placed in charge of the affairs of New Zealand.

He criticised the fact that the farmers costs had not been stabilised to offset the staggered guaranteed price and pointed out that whereas all other subsidies during the war had come from the War Expenses Account, that made over to the producers came from their own stabilisation fund surpluses. Killing All Opposition

Already, said the speaker, the Government had gone a long way towards State Socialism, and to achieve its object it was out to kill all opposition. He personally had nothing to gain by entering politics and his only object was to do something for the little country which had done so much for him. The forthcoming election was vital to the Dominion for it meant if Labour went back again the endorsement of a policy which was foreign to our mode of living. If the rank and file of the Opposition was to be compared with the rank and file of the Government members he felt that the electors would give them first prize.

r Linked With Communism Unfortunately extreme Labour was linked with Communism, and •this element was out to break down 'our form of life and set up a regime Which was foreign to us. To combat it we just had to take our coats off and put it in the place it should be by throwing it out. The National Party stood four-square with the continuation of the Arbitration Court as it was administered in New Zealand. So far as the Huntly miners were concerned they were for the most not extremists, but it was that element of dissatisfaction that caused all the trouble.

LABOUR WOULD NOT DARE !

NO FEAR OF SOCIALISATION Witticisms and repartee featured Mr R. M. Algie’s address which could be classed as a perfect dissertation of balanced English and clear delivery. His theme was naturally a powerful criticism of Labour and its administration though he divorced himself from Mr Sullivan’s contention that the' Government aimed at complete and socialistic control. Such a state of affairs would spell the doom of any Government in this country and the present one would not dare—it had learnt too much in the years it had been in office to do any more than to talk about it.

Threat to Private Institutions He instanced the taking over of fhe privately held shares in the Bank of New Zealand, the Union Airways and said that all these were unmistakeable signs of the Government’s advancing policy of socialisation. If elected again to office he contended it would be almost impossible for the other trading banks to operate.

The amending of the Shops and, Offices Act so that every person could have the full weekend holiday, he classed as a hopeless absurdity of which the country had still to feel the consequences.

Speaking of Raglan, he pointed out that at the last general election the National candidate was 450 down. The by-election however had shown a gain of no less than between 700 and 800 votes. It was an indication of the reaction of the people everywhere who had begun to realise that the present trend must stop. He referred to the mass of people who were swayed from one party to another by force of cricumstances, and declared that it was that element which the National Party must influence to turn the tables next election. The Opposition he said stood as a possible alternative Government should the electors desire a change. Ready to Serve

Greater Production Needed The recent statement by Mr F. P. Walsh that in order to gain Labours objectives it was necessary for every man and woman to work to build up production in order to equate the surplus amount of money in circulation was just what National /speakers had been saying for years. The Government sought to stabilise by overtaxing the taxpayer and last year it was not very well known /that there was a surplus in hand of over ten millions. At the end of the present year, the speaker maintained, it would be nearer twenty-five millions. But this was election year ( and the people would soon be participating in lollie-scramble before the big event. He warned his hearers not to be misled, for New Zealand now stood at the cross-roads as never before and its people had td make their choice. Publicdebt he •said had risen from £322,000,000 in 1936 to £401,000,000 in 1944, though our money in circulation exceeded our output by something like £IOO,000,000.

All its members were ready to serve the country without flinching and would not be baulked, as certain people had said by the possibility of ‘an awful mess to clean up.’ Another bogey that a National Government would cut pensions an,d wages, and cut out Social Security had also to be given a denial. Such a policy would spell suicide for any Government. The men who served overseas fought broadly for three things—a

job; a home and security. It was the duty of a Government to provide such. The National Party was pledged to just that. It would not go in merely to go out. It would be there to stay and to put into effect its progressive policy of freedom and independence for the individual. But no one could get a job, a home and security by legislation alone. Only by the work and production of the people could these things be achieved.

The National Party could buy its way into office by offering the people of New Zealand double pay and a 24-hour week. But by doing that they would be leading the people on to destruction. The actual test all the time was by the production of goods and services, Only by this means could a people buy what it wanted. Only by this could a country achieve the

standard of living it desired.

The person who worked for four hours and claimed for eight, was traitorously injuring the members of his own community. Harking Back to Slump

He scouted the ■ habit of Government members referring back to slump years in an effort to discredit the National Party. The slump he said, was world wide and nobody in this country was to blame for those years of depression. It started in America and spread round the world because of that wretched super nationalism which dominated our people after the last war. It was now a thing of the past and we had a fresh crop of problems to deal with.

present Government he declared was composed of a group of power-seekers who were prepared to alter all the rules in order to keep themselves in office. Reglan had been a gentle poke in the eye! The electors had said that they did not like the policy in force—it smelt!

Socialism Portrayed

Enlarging on the picture of Socialism, Mr Algie said that first of all it would be necessary to appoint a national Job-master, with the power to plan employment, appoint labour, fix wages, and hours and conditions of work etc. The system would be totalitarian—there being only one party and no opposition. The enterprise and initiative of the individual would sink into oblivion. He reminded his audience that the Manower structure built during the war was still in being and could be implimented by the Government immediately it was wanted. He with all other members of his Party was there to offer service if it was wanted. They were willing to have the people as their judges to act and to vote as their conscience ; dictated at the next election.