The Dominion THURSDAY, OCTOBER 22, 1942. MANPOWER: AN ALL-IMPORTANT ISSUE

Dominion, Volume 36, Issue 23, 22 October 1942, Page 4

The Dominion THURSDAY, OCTOBER 22, 1942. MANPOWER: AN ALL-IMPORTANT ISSUE

When the Prime Minister remarked in the House of Representatives on Monday that the manpower position was important and required careful consideration, he under-stated the case. Today in this country the allocation of manpower, and labour-power generally, is an all-important issue, and one of increasing difficulty. It is the fundamental problem of the national war effort—military and civil. Our capacity as a people must always be determined, in the first place, by the manner in which this problem is handled, from month to month, in accordance with the changing exigencies of the war situation. Moreover the problem is one of direct personal concern to nearly all the people. / For these reasons it is unfortunate, in many respects, that the forthcoming Parliamentary discussion of manpower cannot be held in open session. The wisdom of the decision to hold it in secret is not questioned. Circumstances today are such that too great care cannot be taken to deny the enemy any glimpse of the foundations of our war planning which may be helpful to him. It is to be hoped, however, that the Government will recognize that public interest in the matter is deeply intimate. The removal of the discussion from open session will deprive the people of a timely and useful survey of the position—a review which would have given guidance to all sections and assisted a better understanding of competitive manpower needs among the essential services and industries of this Dominion. Unless some adequate substitute for this discussion be provided the people will remain largely in the dark, and confused, on many points of policy and practice in relation to manpower. Such confusion is a national handicap. 'there should be provided, at the very least, a comprehensive published statement, which—within the reasonable limits of security —will make possible a healthy appreciation of the handling of manpower, Certain figures concerning the position of manpower and woman-power in particular industries, and industrial and business groups, would be of no help to the enemy, yet might prove highly illuminating to New Zealanders. For example, an impression exists —whether rightly or wrongly based—that there are still far too many loopholes through which young and able-bodied men are able to escape military service, by some expedient or temporary show of “indispensable” employment. There is a belief that much more could be done by way of review'and readjustment of duties in the uniformed services themselves to conserve fit manpower for soldiering instead of frittering it away in non-combatant posts. Enlightenment is sought on the extent to which manpower and woman-power are still engaged in work that is neither essential nor nationally important—perhaps, in some cases, not even nationally desirable in a time of grave war emergency. Information would also be welcomed on the matter of registration, by both men and women, for direction to national service work. What are the percentages of response to these orders ? What use have the authorities made of the labour potential thus assembled ? These are matters of particular concern to the public, and could well be dealt with publicly. The broader questions of manpower policy in relation to military and civil requirements, admittedly, call for discreet handling. But even here there is a good deal which can—and should —be told to the people, in order that they may be in a position to prepare for whatever calls are likely in the near future to be made upon them.