LABOUR'S PROGRAMME

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 10, Issue 44, 1 November 1946, Page 8

LABOUR'S PROGRAMME

PON. W. E. PARRY'S ADDRESS

SUPPORTING LOCAL CANDIDATE

To approximately a hundred electors, the Minister of Internal ' Affairs (Hon. W. E. Parry) expounded the achievements and 1 aims of the Labour Government .j in the Regent Theatre last Wednesday evening. The adj dress which was listened to with great attention by an obviously sympathetic audience, was de- '." livered in support of the candidature of Mr Raymond Boord I for the Ray of Plenty Seat. The i Mayor, Mr B. S. Barry, presidi ed and associated with him was ■f Mr A. R. Newdick of the local i- Labour Regional Committee. ■ Mr Parry who spoke convincingly said that he was ostensibly there to support the candidature of Mr Raymond Boord, but at the same time <he welcomed the opportunity of expounding the platform of the Labjour Party. He' emphasised the need j©f every M.P. to be prepared to give Service to his fellowmeh. Irrespective of Party it was paramount that jthis should be the dominant thought jof all candidates who offered themselves. -

The forthcoming election said Mr IParry, was one of the most crucial 5n New Zealand's history. It was a case of going backward or of going forward. All over the world 'Governments were looking forward to a flaew era and he was proud to say jthat.the legislative structure of the dominion was the envy of the world. jFrom its fabric the Governments of jother countries were taking and Studying the enactments which had jbeen created and introduced by JLabour. He could say honestly that never before had the masses of the people in this country been better rfed, better clothed and better housed. He admitted the housing shortage which had been created by the war but contended that this too would be .overcome as the new scheme for mass building was put Into Operation.

Progress Over Hard Road

Detailing Labour's term in office he described it as a hard road in ' which the whole country had had to be.reconstructed. In spite of the most tragic war in the world's history which had been forced on this {country, the Government was still able to point to 22,000 State homes which had been built. On top of this the record sum of over £20,000,000 had been advanced from the State in order to enable people to Ibuild their own homes. He criticised the. National leader's declaration that Labour had done nothing for the women of the Dominion and also the assertion that the machinery for the building Of State homes, which Labour had set up should be scrapped and the existing units sold to the occupiers. He dealt with the ,-two abortive efforts of previous Governments to institute similar State housing schemes each; of which had crashed. The Labour Government stood or fell by its policy of providing decent houses Xpr the working people.

Political Sword Swallowing

Describing the recently announced platform- as expounded by Mr H. G. Holland, recently, he described it as one of the finest exhibitions of political sword swallowing he had ever seen. The whole> of Labour's legislative measures which National had opposed ruthlessly throughout the -'.years, had been adopted'en masse •by the opposition,'.who now put it forward as their own. It was astounding to reflect . that. ' without apology or retractment the National Party had simply swallowed all Labour's reformative legislation and "presented it to the .'electors as their own creation, > ",

Bogey of State Ownership

--Mr Parry, declaimed the bogey •which had been, engineered hy the Opposition, .that Labour intended taking the farmers' land. Such rumours were deliberately manufactured in a desperate effort to capture votes from any disgruntled section of ..the community which had felt j, some of the hardships directly produced by the war.

Bankruptcy. Outdated

'?■ Referring to the farming community, Mr Parry said he would avoid harking back to the slump, -which the- Opposition so disliked. He would take the ten years between 1920-30 when Mr JVlassey had a good spanking Farmers' Government in power. The best barometer during that time would be the bankruptcy court and it was amazing to reflect that every year 164 farmers

and 691 businessmen were frogmarched through the bankruptcy court. By comparison under the Labour Government five farmers went through the court—of which three were sharemilkers. Under Labour, bankruptcy was practically a thing of the past. He mentioned the load of mortgage liability carried by the farmers, and declared that since Labour had been in office no less than £202,123,000 had been liquidated by way of mortgage—money owed by the people. The Labour Government was the only one ever in office which had paid its debts. Not only thai but the whole of the war burden £642,000,000 had been met from internally raised loans. Not a cent was borrowed overseas.

1932 Wage Levels

By way or comparison, of the conditions ruling in 1932, Mr Parry quoted advertisements from the 'Herald' stating that domestic and farm workers were working for a mere pittance ranging from 5/- to 10/- a week. He read from a resolution recently passed . by the W.D.F.U. which offered £4 weekly for women willing to act as housekeepers. The suggestion that the farmer was unable to enjoy the same recreation as others in trades and professions was another criticism which he sympathised with to a degree but it was remarkable to note the increased totalisator turnovers in all the country race meetings throughout the Dominion. He quoted a number of instances showing increases ranging from 300 per cent, to over 600 per cent. (Hawke's Bay 670 per cent., Otaki Maori meeting 682 per cent.)

The Social Services

In conclusion, Mr Parry dealt extensively with the Social Services initiated by Labour. The whole spirit of the people was improved by reason of the financial easement produced by Labour's Social Services which released no less than £2,000,000 monthly. He asked the businessmen, if ever they were in as sound a position as they were today. He touched on age, invalid, widows benefits and family allowances. Free hospital medical treatment and medicines. In short poverty had been removed from the face of our land. He asked. only that these things be remembered by the electors on November 27th next.

A hearty vote of thanks was accorded the speaker and confidence in his Government on the motion of Mr R. S. Buttimore. The speaker then called for a vote of thanks to the chair.