WORKERS PROTEST

Evening Post, Volume CXV, Issue 37, 14 February 1933, Page 5

WORKERS PROTEST

EXCHANGE AND TAXES

MEETING AT PETONE

A largely-attended meeting was held in the Labour Hall, Petone, last evening in protest against the policy of the Government in imposing additional taxation through the sales tax and Customs duties, the reduction in relief I workers' earnings, and the insistence by the Government that relief workers must pay the levy before they can-ob-tain relief work. Mr. J. W. MeEwan presided. An apology was received from tho Mayor of Petone, Mr. D. McKenzie, who stated that he was unable to bo present on account of a meeting of the Borough Council, but that he hoped the purpose of the mooting would be achieved. Mr. McEwan said that meetings such as were being held in many centres at present were of real educational value,- and he instanced the downfall of the Atkinson Government after a series of - meetings held throughout New Zealand. » The Government claimed that it had a mandate from the people to act in the manner which it considered best in the country Js interest, said Mr. McEwan, but he maintained that if a mandate had been so given it could only apply to the financial conditions of tho country at the time. When the Gov-, eminent found that its financial hopes were blasted it should have appealedto the country for a further mandate before imposing higher taxation as it haa. The duty of any Government should be to confer the greatest good upon the greatest number, with favours for no section or sections. The higher exchange definitely favoured the farming community, concluded Mr. MeEwan. NOT AN OPEN ACTION. Mr. J. Sanford said that tho impositions which were placed upon the people of New Zealand by the Coalition Government represented another 12J .-'per cent, reduction in the wages of.employed workers. The Government, however, did not come out into the open and say that wages would be cut, but they, acted in an indirect way by-the imposition of.the sales tax and the raising of ; the rate of exchange. If the Government was to be. impressed the whole community had to show a united. front. It had *>een stated that today the business people were with the unemployed worker, and he would suggest that perhaps the business people of Petone would do well to close their premises for one day and join the unemployed and employed workers ia calling at Parliament Buildings and demanding an interview with Mr. Forbes. While men and their fami-lies-were starving, the Government dalHed with the question of having two Jriore up-to-date, and more expensive, warships on the New Zealand coast. Prom the manner in which divisions had been taken in the House it appeared certain that the Government would remain in office for the full term of four years. Speaking of the payment of the un- , employment levy, Mr. Sanford said that if a body-.of men formed ,an insurance company, collected premiums, and then failed to grant the benefits "which they had promised they would be up in Mount Crawford very promptly, but the_ Government could apparently do as it pleased, and would continue to do bo while the community lacked unity. Reference was made by Mr. Sanford lo the large number of cases of evictions of relief workers from houses in Wellington, and he gave particulars of a case in which a woman and a child,. the latter suffering from pneumonia and under medical" orders and care of a Plunket nurse, were turned gut of a house in Adelaide Eoad notwithstanding that the bailiffs were advised of the circumstances. BESOLTJTION OF PROTEST. Mr. W. Morris said that the regulations brought down by the Government ±or.the collection of the sales tax would made of every second man a criminal' Mr. Coates had said that those regulations would not be enforced, but there was the machinery and it would be employed as. ruthlessly as were the conditions attaching to relief workers today. The relief workers were being driven to desperation. .He moved: ■ _ That this representative body of ; citizens, in view of the additional I high cost of living, due to the recent j imposition of Customs duties, sales ,' tax, and higher exchange rate, strong- [ ly disapproves of the paying of the t unemployment levy by the unemployi ed in view of their straitened circum- | stances; and, further, this body of I citizens takes strong exception to the I cuts in the already inadequate sus- ! tenance rates as applied to the relief • workers and calls upon the Government to resign. 'Until tho present system of politics was changed the position of the worker would never be bettered, said Mr. W. G. Cloarl. It had been said that no one would starve, but full starvation would be a welcome relief to the halfstarvation that hundreds of women and. children were enduring today The people of New Zealand ■ had lost all confidence in the Government and should m one voice call upon it to resign. . The Government, said Mr. A M Lava, was guilty of shallow hypocrisy when it cut 2s 6d, Is 3d, and a paltry Jid from rehef workers' wages in order to balance the funds of the Unemployment Board, but to benefit one particular class of-the community had increased the exchange rate and brought about a deficit in the Budget of probably five million pounds. Mr. G. Watt attacked the Government as being party to a policy which aimed at. the further lowering 'of thp standard of living of the mass of the • people, ■ who no longer had any confidence in its principles or its leaders. • The: resolution was carried unanimously: ■- ■ •