NATIONAL PARTY'S POLICY

Chronicle (Levin), 23 November 1946, Page 3

NATIONAL PARTY'S POLICY

MR. M. H. ORAM AT SHANNON On Thursday evening, Mr. M. H. Oram, National candidate for Manawatu, addressed a large gathering of electors in the Renown Theatre. The 'Mayor (Mr. R. E. Downes) occupied the chair and Mr. Oram spoke for almost two hours, spending a considerable time answering questions. The audience was very quiet and there were few interjections. The candidate opened his address by making reference to the recerit action of the Catchment Board in attempting to abolfsh the Manawatu Oroua River Board. Mr. Oram pointed out that there were two kinds of internal boards— those which were «constituted under the River Board Act, 1908, and those which operated under a special Act of Parliament. At the last session of Parliament, a local Bill to effect the dissolution of the river board

failed to become law, and, instead, the Soil Conservation and Rivers' Control Act was substantially altered, changing the method by which catchment boards could abolish internal boards within their districts. The Act gave the catchment board the riglit to abolish the river board, and gave the river board the right to appeal. His action in supporting the river board's claim was taken wlien he saw that the rights were being taken from this body. j The speakcr went on to criticise the statcments made by the Labour I Party which, he ailegcd, wero I misrepresentations and untrue. Ho jmade reforonce to a statemcnt | made by Mr. Holloway, the Labour ■ candidate for this electorate, in iconnection with a rcport supposed ito have been made by Mr. Mulhol- { land, which, in Mr. Oram's opinion, ;was grossiy untrue and misleading. ; Iio t-hen proceeded to givc his audience a background of tlie position as it was today and quoted in tfull the observations of a Mr. Cunningham, as contained in the Shanghai Press of recent issue. The candidate said that the pieture presented by that kecn and slirewd observer was a clear indication of New Zealand today, and what .the people had to decide was whether they were going on to complete socialisation, or whether they were going to swing back and retain some of their ancient rights and privileges. Mr. Oram stated that Labour stood for the socialisation of the means of production, distribution and exchange, and then went on td quote ' from a 'fflehibership" ba'rd of the Labour Party, which he stated, proved his point. "The National Party does not wish to go back to the bad old days of unrestricted nrivate eiitprni-isp "

j continued Mr. Oram: "It points to ia middle course, taking the best and rejecting the evil, and pro'viding the greatest scope possible for | pnvate enterprise, so' that each !man and woman may use his and j her energies, capabilities and , experience to make of life what she or he can, with the right to stavt any business for which he or she | is most suited." i Dealing with the National policy, j Mr. Oram said that the party wouid I be fair to all sections of the community, and would not look to I benefit one section of the community only. With the whole country prosperous, each section would share in the benefits. It was the aim of the National Party to icreate harmony and co-operation j in industry. Labour's aim had been j to foment trouble — another step in ; the plan of socialisation. j Mr. Oram said that they were • faced with a three-fold task— to 1 bring down the cost of living, rej duce taxation and increase production — and they were in a position to do it. New Zealand had shouldered a tremendous burden of taxation during the war and now that the war was over it was only right that the war taxation should be removed. We still had the petrol tax of 4d, saies tax, excess profits tax and increases in income and national security taxes. These should go and the National Party maintained the ordinary taxacould be reduced also. The speaker said that if the six-monthly abstract of statistics had been publishcd and not with-held by the Minister, it would show that taxation could be rcduced. Mr. Oram said that the National Party believed in the prevention rather than thc removal of the causes of unrcst by striking at the cause The Dcpartment of Labour would

be completely re-organised and placed on modern and scientific lines, with adequate staff to keep its fingers on the pulse of the individual industries. The primary producer would be handed back the control of his marketing by the establishment of a Primary Industry Co-operative Marketing Board with a Price Equalisation Pund, working on minimum and maximum prices determined each year by a tribunal. The speaker went on to stress the importance of trade with Britain, and said that under the National Party a Board of Trade would be established which would arrange all tariffs, adjust industrial trade between the Dominion and Britain, deciding what industries should be protected and what were economic and what not. At the conclusion of his address, Mr. Oram was asked a large number of questions and finally he was accorded a hearty vote of thanks j by acclamation, on the motion of Mr. L. H. Best.