WHERE THE GOVERNMENT HAS FAILED

Chronicle (Levin), 11 September 1947, Page 6

WHERE THE GOVERNMENT HAS FAILED

Press Association)

- J National Party Ideas Contrasted With Labour

(Per *

WELLINGTON. Sept. 10. A speeding up in tlie settlement of returned servicemen on th.e land was urged by Mr. G. R. Herron (Awarua) when resuming the Budget debate in the House of Kepresentatives tonight. New Zealand was approacliing the stage in which tlie older generation was on the land and the younger generation in the towns and eities, he said. That was very serious in its effects upon the whole country. The' subdivision of bloeks of land should be expedited and ihe prospective holders of favms eould be employed on wages on the development of their own lioldings until the properties wero ready for them to take over. Mr. Herron said it was doubtful if the Government realised the seriousness of the urban drift. Although New Zealand was an agricultur'al country, 60 per cent. of the population was urban. The reason for young people neglecting rural life was not the 40-hour week in the towns but the Government's failure to provide reasonable housing in the rural areas. If the Government had liad the foresight to take up land for housing in country villages in ordei to provide homes for dairy workers, farinhands and others, these people would be still in the country instead of moving to the towns in quest ,of a State house. Mr. A. E. Armstrong (Napier) said 4070 ex-servicemen had been settled ou farms of their own wiLh loans. Returued men were being placed on their own sections at a weekly wage of £0 while the land was developed. • Mr. Herron: Wheieabouts rs the Government doing that'l Mr. Armstrong: All over New Zealand. Mr. Herron: Not in the South Island. Mr. Armstrong said 300 returned servicenien were worlcing for wages on sections which would be their own as soon as they were f enced and provided with houses and other amenities. It was appreciated that a-man would give far greater service on a sectiou he knew would become his own. The Government's iand settlement sclieme for ex-servicemen envisaged an outlay ob about £o0,000,0()0. Labour Platoons IJrged Discussing the possibilities of in creasing food production, Mr. Arm-str-ng said there was need today for ])latoons of men, no less than in wai' — groups of men who would go into the country areas preparcd for hard work clcaring scrub and assisting farmers £o overtake maintenance work which had fallen into arrears during the war. Mr. F. W. Doidge: Where will we get these battalions from? . Mr. Armstrong: Leave it. to the Minister of Labour. He will get the men. The necessary labour would be fouuu not by conipulsion but by olt'ering sonm real incentive sueh as the prospect of a leaseholcl or ownership of a farm to the men who spent some time on land development and improvement projectinstead of leaving them to work as wage slaves alJ their lives. Mr. Arui strong said he thought manv returned servicenien would be willing to assist with work on farms until tliev could take up their own properties. Mr. G. F. fciim (Waikato): Are you " going to put returned servicenien in platoons again? Mr. Armstrong said that a'lthough he personally was not satislied with the present scale and scope of the social

i security beneiits, he realised the need for cautious and well-founded progress. ' | Tlvere is no extremism as far as we are concerned. We must know-that we have tlie produetive means to pay. for any beneiits we provide before that provision is made," he -said. There must be a national capacity .to pay for any iucreases* iii wages or social security beneiits that were agreed upon and the Government would not rush inro any wildcat scheme merely to lind in a few years' time that it must cut the beneiits and reduce living standards. The people could not receive benefifs' without working for them and it was the duty of every. young and activp person to give of their best to ensure future security not only for theinselves but also for others. The response to tne recent appeal for the national efl'ort to aid Britain had ihown that the people of this .conntTy did not laclc goodwill and .would respoud to a proper aiiproach. Mr. Armstrong ex;pressed conlidenco that the Government's target of 12,00U houses yearly for the' next live years would be achieved. Mr. J. T. Watts (St. Albans) said New Zeaiantl had today a seller's market for labour with 33,000 jobs awaifcing men and women to fill them. He estimated that this position would coutinue until 1930 by which time the growing youths of today woijld be absorbed into industry. The steps which Britain would take in the next few months would be such as to affect the supply of raw materials to our factories/ Britain 's iinport restrietions would also aft'ect United States seriousiy and that country would have to expect an economic. setback very soon. Mr. Watts said that under the socialist system of full employment, the subject lost economic political liberty, loss of c-haracter by the continuiiig state of interference in the lives of the people, and faeed an ever increasing cost of living due to the state 's inability to trade profitably. If and when the National Party became the Government, it would conduct a thorougli survey and scientific analysis of the position of labour in industry and apply the lessons which could be learned. It would undertake a coniprehensive survey of the whole farming industry and economy. Until there was a government sympathetic towards the Dominion's primary industry, there could be no firm basis for a full employment policy. There would be an overhaul of public finances and a method of presenta'tion together with an overhaul of taxation, to stimulate enterprise and increase the capacity of smaller businesses to expand and meet competition. Labour relationships would be overhauled and specialist staffs trained to deal with industrial problems and to encourage and' promote greater harmony in industry. It was useless for the Goverpment to carry out a full employment policy umless- thosewhom it was intende'd to bpneftt were ready to accept their, responsibilities. There would be a drastic overhaul oi the price control system, a more de termined effort than . the present government was making to remove bottle necks, and a much improved import poli"y tlirough the setting up of a Board of Trade. There would he an end to the persistent unfair attacks on private enterprise which had been perpetuated by the Government ever since it came into office. Mr. T. E. Hkinnei' (Tamaki) said he

underslood ihe National Party 's cairn, paign for the Mt. Albert seat was not due" to open until tomoriow but it was evident by the speech of the Alember. for St. Albans that the campaign had beguii tonight. IMr. Skinner said there was need for more stringent price control and for closer - coordination betwe.en tlie work of thc Price Tribunal and* that of the wages commissioners and Arbitration Court. Just because £9000 -was takeu off the sugar subsidy, was that any reason why the price of a *2lb tin of jam should rise from Is lOd to 2s lld? It was necessary to ensure tliat when the workers received a small wage increase the manufacturers and other lirms would not immediately seek to .absorb all of that increase by apply ing for increased prices for their products. At present it appeared to be almost a routine matter that when 'wagds '"were increased, • applicationswere made to the Price Tribunal for higher prices and these applications were granted because certain figures Avere p'resented to the tribunal which appeared to justify iucreases. The result was that the workers gained little if anything from the increases granted to them. If that were allowed to hap pen now, the receiit increase authorised by the Arbitration Court would soon be swallowed up and the workers would be back again asking foi anotlier increase.