NEW VOICES

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXVI, Issue 19988, 13 July 1939, Page 14

NEW VOICES

ADDRESS IN REPLY LABOUR ADMINISTRATION WOMAN MEMBER’S VIEW PEACE NOTE SOUNDED WELLINGTON, this day. Making his first Parliamentary speech, Mr. J. M. Allen (Nat., Hauraki) resumed the Address-in-Reply debate in the House of Representatives yesterday afternoon. Ho said that on the previous evening the member for Rotorua, Mr. A. F. Moncur, had asked if the Opposition would vote against the guaranteed price. In reply to that, he asked what was the .guaranteed price at present. The Opposition, he said, stood for giving the farmers control of their own produce. The Government members, on the other hand, had

advocated the socialisation of the means of production, distribution and exchange, but they seemed to recoil from the mention of the socialisatior? of land. Personally he did not see how they could effect the former without the latter. Dealing with the question of defence, Mr. Allen considered that a system of universal service was required. This would provide continuity of training which it was impossible to attain with the voluntary system and, moreover, would give a permanent supply of leaders necessary in the event of an emergency. Value of Guaranteed Price Mr. E. L. Cullen (Lab., Hawke’s Bay) referred to the value of the guaranteed price to the dairy-farmers, stating that the farmers’ trouble was not the high price of labour but the high price of land and their neglect to avail themselves of the use of the Mortgagors’ Rehabitation Act. He advocated the abolition of the board of native affairs, and said that the Opposition’s criticism of the Government’s native policy was an indictment of its own control, for the administration of native affairs had altered very little since the Labour Government had come into office. However, the Government had spent approximately £IOO,OOO on native housing and the rehabilitation of native houses.

Mr. E. P. Meacheir (Lab., Marlborough) said that some members of the Opposition on every possible occasion criticised the Governments defence measures. They did not appear to realise that the best brains possible had been occupied in devising means for the defence of this country. It had been a difficult task, because they had had to start from scratch. There had been no ammunition, few aerodromes, and no planes, or at least very few, and those were out-of-date. Personally, he was quite satisfied with the progress that had been made by the formation of aerodromes and the steps that had been taken by the

Minister of Defence, the Hon. F. Jones, to bring cur defences iro to date. One factor in the defence of the Dominion was increased population, he continued, and the Labour Government was doing all .possible to supply homes for young people and raising the standard of living. Births, he said, had fallen by 3000 during the

depression, but since Labour hat. come into office they had increased by 3200 on account of the improved standard of living. Continuing the debate when the House resumed at 7.30 o'clock, Mr. C. A. Wilkinson (Ind. Egmont), said that the Prime Minister, in nis recent speech during the course of the debate, had stated that all was well with New Zealand. In this he was like the ostrich burying its head in the sand. He was quite blind to the way things were going on. “Foor Yardsticks” He also had contended that the Dominion’s financial position was sound, said Mr. Wilkinson, and had quoted the totalisator returns and brewery dividends as an example of prosperity. Surely, added Mr. Wilkinson, these were poor yardsticks with which to measure the prosperity of the country. Referring to New Zealand’s overseas credit, he asked what was the reason for London’s distrust of New Zealand? it was, he thought, solely due to the distrust there of the present Government’s Socialistic policy. He proceeded to criticise the introduction of import control as it affected merchants and asked what right had the Customs Department to stipulate what class of goeds a merchant was to import. Merchants, Mr. Wilkinson added, sometimes received import orders which were useless to them, but they were able to sell them to others at somet.mes as much -as a 10 .per cent premium. This always helped to increase the price of goods and consequently the cost of living. Making her debut in the House, Mrs. C. C. S. Stewart (Lab. Wellington West), the only woman member, received a hearty greeting. She proceeded to deal with .the benefits to women and children under the Social Security Act, and said she would like to remind those women who hah been holding protest meetings concerning the Act that the Prime Minister and other Ministers had given a definite assurance that anomalies in the legislation would ,be rectified from time to time as they were discovered.

To-day, said Mrs. Stewart, the road was wide open and greater opportunities than ever awaited us. She was not advocating short cuts in attaining the country’s goal of wellbeing for all its people, but she did wish us ito go straight along the highway of progress and not to be deflected into side road which would lead only to dead ends. We should not allow outside interference to deflect us from our purpose, said Mrs. Stewart, and it was the Government’s duty to prevent such interference stopping us in setting our own house in order. Now Zealand was on the road to brighter and better days, but a greater measure cf commonsease was needed, both by workers and employers, if vve were to attain the ultimate goal. To the workers she would say that material things were not everything in life. The Government was doing all it could, but without the workers’ co-operation it could not succeed. To the employers she said that the benefit of the majority would ultimately benefit them. Tihe Government's opponents were upholding the system of capitalism, she said, but she considered this was an outworn theory and she concluded with a pica for the awakening of a peace-con-sciousness in the minds and hearts of the peoples of the world. Position of Governor Dr. D. G. McMillan (Lab., Dunedin. West) said he thought he was voicing the opinion of a) Imemtoers in saying how )velcome Mrs. Stewart was in the House and she wa.s particularly welcome on the Government benches. Referring to the Governor-General-ship, he thought it would be quite a good gesture occasionally to appoint a New Zealand citizen, and he was sure that no one could fill the post better than the present Speaker of the House. New Zealand had come of age and he thought it would be a move in the right direction, although the .principle should not always be followed. Replying to the criticism of increased taxation, he said that the reason was the increased ability of the people to pay and on. the question of defence he expressed pleasure, that Mrs. Stewart hod struck a new note by introducing the word peace into (he debate. Peace could never be secured either by disarmament oi armament, but by removing the economic causes of war. Personally he wou'd refuse to support conscription and he added that the Opposition was apparently ready to conscript 'men, but were silent when mention, was made regarding the conscription of wealth. The House rose at 10.30 p.m.