“REAL NEED COAL”

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXIX, Issue 20916, 16 October 1942, Page 2

“REAL NEED COAL”

LAW SET ASIDE DECISION~DEFENDED MR. COATES' ATTITUDE (P.R.) WELLINGTON, this day. After making an impressive reference to what he described as the titanic struggle taking place within one day’s distance by air ’frrim New Zealand, the Rt. Hon. J. G. Coates devoted . attention in the House of Representatives last night to the issue raised "by the Opposition Leader’s noconfidence motion. Mr. Coates said the issue before the House turned definitely on the question of whether the law should be carried out in respect, of a group of miners in the Waikato area. He asked himself what he would do in similar circumstances to those which had arisen and he asked other people to put themselves in the same position. No coal was being produced. There was no one to mine the coal The real need was coal. It. was essential to the country’s war requirementf because wjthout that coal the country’s war 'effort and ivar requirements were definitely being seriously and dangerously 'jeopardised. That was the fact they had to face No one would condone the action of the miners. It wps wrong. It was bad judgment. At the point when all the miners went out on strike they were all in the same box. Although he war definitely of the opinion .that the law should be put aside sparingly, at the point where the . people, were threatened. in his opinion, they were entitled to pass by. even a direction of r court. (Government Hear, hears.) Mr. J. Tiodgehs (Lab. -Palmerston North)': Statesmanship. No Time For Election Dealing . with . the question of an election,. Mr. Coates said that withoui hesitation his view was that this wa: not the tirhe'for an election. Members in the secret session would get a close-up view of why. If there war any doubt in the minds of members he. was quite prepared, ;as one member, 'to leave ft to two or three perfectly independent men with a knowledge of the movements of the forces in this area and the eastern area as to whether in their opinion 'the country was at liberty to get' into the throes of an election and the disastrous effect of ope pulling the hide Off, the other on the -public {platforms. His view was that they Were not. entitled al this moment to take any liberty whatever.

“Have an election by all means, but not now,” Mr. Coates added. “You could hot now, at this stage. You should not.” fife. Coates said that he had been told thgt he had said when .he returned to Wellington from Auckland that the mine-owners agreed with the proposed regulations for the control of the mines. The Prime Minister, the Rt. Hon. P. Fraser: You never said that.

. The Minister of Mines, the Hon. P. C. Webb: Just the opposite was said. Mr. Coates .said that ..what .he had stated' was that the matter had beer put before the coal mine owners and that they were opposed to it. The Prime Minister: -But that they were friendly in their discussions. The mine bwriers, said Mr. Coates were anxious to help in- every way possible but they said they had done no wrong and did not see why thej should be selected for special treat-