ROOM FOR MORE

Evening Post, Volume CXXXVI, Issue 54, 1 September 1943, Page 3

ROOM FOR MORE

WOMEN IN PARLIAMENT

WEST'S LABOUR CANDIDATE

"There is no reason why there should be a depression in this fair land of ours after this.war," said Mrs. C. S. Stewart .in opening her campaign; as , the Labour candidate for Wellington West at tne Training College Mall, Kelburn, last nignt. "x'here are iood, ciotnes, and sneiter for every human being." By co-operation with iNature they would be given in abundance, and, said the candidate, the destroying .of fooa if anyone was without the money, to ouy it would riot oe tolerated lor one moment. Tne Government, sne claimed, naa br'ougnt in progressive legislation of a humanitarian character ana peaceful revolution had been taking piaje in the Dominion for the benefit of, ail.

. It was toe candidate's firm belief that there should be more women in Parliament. There were many women ably fitted to help the menfolk bring aown legislation and see that it was practised. She expressed pride in: the iact that four women members of last Parliament had sat out all the time necessary for the passing, of legislation, arid regretted that lier colleague of the Opposition benches had not decided to contest her seat again. PEOPLE'S NEEDS. When the Labour Government came into office the people were suffering from lack of the essentials of life. Many had lost hope and, worse still, their self-respect. By solving unemployment the Government had removed one of the root causes of that state of affairs, and had brought in a new era. In a very short time the morale of the people was restored. "Sometimes," said Mrs. Stewart, "it is a very good thing to remind oneself of sad days, bad days, and unfortunate mistakes of the past so that they will not- occur again." Slowly and surely under the Labour Government they saw the people throw their shoulders back; they had hope and found that . they could get a little more of this and that. The women shortly afterwards began to find that they could not only balance their budget, but had a surplus with which to buy articles other than the bare necessaries of life. They enjoyed health, happiness, and.prosperity. Then war was declared, and again they found the Labour Government capable of handling the many and dif- j ficult problems that were bound to j arise when a -country was at war. The Labour Government had proved that it was\ not unmindful of the civilian population's need while looking after the Armed Forces. Its policy was one of admiration for* the people of England and the United States. A tribute to the country's social legislation had come from Mrs. Roosevelt. "This country leads the world," Mrs. Stewart declared. "There is much else to do, and we have pledged ourselves to carry on our progressive programme in ,the near future." The candidate regarded the policy of the National Tarty as making interesting reading, as it seemed clear that they had copied to a very great extent the policy of the Labour Party. "Are we to understand that we have con-' verted the National Party to cur way of thinking?" she asked. "You could not educate them with a pick axe," a member of the audience suggested. After stating that she found it hard, to believe that such a conversion would be possible, the candidate proceeded to discuss the Soldiers' Settlement and Land Sales Bill, which she described as "a Bill to see that justice is done to the buyer and seller of land and property." She claimed that there had been exploitation in the past. The Bill would check that, and no returned man would be put on land that was not fertile enough to give him and his family a good living. RETURN FOR WAR SERVICE. "Wa all know that "we are at war and we know," she said, "that the chief thing we must do is to see that we, win the war and the peace. The' peace will be a very important factor, not only in regard to our own people, but to the whole world." The people of this land had given wonderful service in every direction, and high tributes had been paid to the men in the forces and to those engaged on essential work. It was not realised just how much this little country had done in war service. The Government was earnest in the action taken for the rehabilitating of the returned men and had shown.that it was desirous of doing everything possible for them. Some time ago some of the Re* turned Services' Associations expressed the opinion that 75 per cent, of the houses should go to the returned men. Mrs. Stewart said that nobody would begrudge the men those houses when they returned, but the terrible plight of some of the civilians owing to the shortage of houses had to be realised. She was just a little doubtful whether the Government would be able to grant the request of the Returned Services' Association, but it was the intention of v the Government to speed up the house-building programme. Prior to the outbreak of war the demand for houses was much greater than the supply, and, where young couples had hoped for tenancy of State houses when they married, their hopes were dashed by the war. The first call was fdr buildings for soldiers- and airmen. There might be the opportunity in the near future for many more houses to be erected. However, it would be nearly a miracle if in a year or a year and a half they accomplished all that they set out to do. OTHER AIDS TO REHABILITATION. Loans for farms, stock, businesses, and furniture were referred to by Mrs. Stewart, who supplied figures to show how many servicemen h^d been assisted in those directions. She made point also of the action taken by the Government to make sure that all members of the Armed Forces had the right to reinstatement in their pre-war job. She did not think there was any employer in New Zealand, who would not keep that pledge if it were humanly possible. The . : candidate quoted figures to show the progress made with rehabilitation, and she drew attention to the facilities to train and fit men for the jobs- they would undertake on completing their war service. The aim was to see that there would be no forgotten men, and in that connection Mrs. Stewart explained how. it would be necessary for, women to play their part, especially where it was found that men who came back were "unsettled and just out of gear." They would have to be lenient and tolerant. Tribute was paid by the candidate to New Zealand's war production effort, figures being given to show what farms and factories had produced. Factory production had increased by 35 per cent, since the beginning of the 'war, and in less than eight years had more than doubled. Despite withdrawals for the Armed Forces there had been a continuing increase in the number of factory workers. War industries had shown the greatest expansion, and in this connection the candidate made special mention of munitions and shipbuilding. Other matters dealt with included pensions' and transfers of properties. In conclusion, she claimed that the Government had not injured anybody since it had been in" office and that its stewardship proved that it was fit to govern New Zealand. "We have not been able to do all that we promised since we have had control of the Treasury benches," she added. "There is much yet to be done, and it can be done."

The meeting was presided over by Mr. A. R. Perry, and at the conclusion of the candidate's address the following resolution was adopted on the motion of Mr. M.- J. Forde: "That this meeting of electors of Wellington West places on record its complete confidence in the ability of the Labour Government to continue the prosecution of New Zealand's war effort to victory and in its ability to ensure the highest possible standard of living to the people of New Zealand during and after the war. We express our appreciation of the loyal and devoted service given to the electors of Wellington West by Mrs. Catherine Stewart, and look forward to her return to Parliament on September 25."