GOVERNMENT AND TRADES HALL

Press, Volume LXXIX, Issue 23975, 16 June 1943, Page 2

GOVERNMENT AND TRADES HALL

♦ MISS HOWARD DENIES “ DOMINATION ” From Our Parliamentary Reporter WELLINGTON, June 15. A denial that Trades Hall officials dominated the Government was made by Miss M. B. Howard (Government, Christchurch East) in the House of Representatives this evening. She said she had been one of those terrible people, and for 11 years had been secretary of one of the largest unions in New Zealand; but she had not been able to dominate the Government. Miss Howard said that her new job as a member of Parliament was not much of a job—that was, as a job to earn a living. She had had a pretty good job at the Trades Hall. It was hard work; but she was worse off financially now. It was one complaint that she had against the Government that .better provision was not made for members of Parliament who made it a whole-time job. Her friends of the Opposition had all got farms or businesses. She was relinquishing her job at the Trades Hall at the end of the month. Miss Howard said the Opposition had raised the bogy of Trades Hall domination. If the 1943 Budget were dictated by the Trades Hall, she said, “long live Trades Hall.” But it was not so, and the Opposition knew It was not true. She had yet to meet a Trades Hall official who was not an ordinary, honourable human being. Miss Howard said that had the other side treated the workers as they should have done, it was quite possible that trade unions would never have entered politics: but they had entered politics in self-defence. Unionists would not be split or divided by the Opposition’s bogy. Opposition members: What about Scrim? Miss Howard: You can have a go afterwards about the Scrim incident; but I don’t propose to introduce it into my speech.