NATIONAL PARTY

Hawke's Bay Herald-Tribune, Issue 80, 21 April 1937, Page 6

NATIONAL PARTY

Our Own Correspondent.)

Mr- Bodkin's Survey of Lahour Policy RECENT LEGISLATION

(From

, WAIPUKURAU, This Day. The Masonic Hall was packed to eapacity last night to hear Mr. W. A. Bodkin, M.P. for Otago' Central, give an address in the interests of the National Party. The Mayor, Mr. I. W. N. Mackie, was in the ehair and introduced the speaker. "Passing iip and down New Zealand I am being continually asked, ' Where is the present ±orm of legislation going to land New Zealand?' " said Mr Bodkin. ' ' There seems to be no understanding by the electors of what is actually happening in New Zealand." The speaker then read the followihg extracts from the Labour paper, The Standard, Of April 15, 1936, from - a report of Mr. Nash's explanation of the Labour Party 's policy to the Labour delegates from all over New Zealand: — "The old order has failed; it has made its contribution. Capitalism has showii the possibilities of production. Its spirit, the spirit of aequisitivoness, has perished in its efforts. The task to be taken up is ours ; . . . What is the remedy? The remedy is organised production for uses, co-operative production; individual use, a new eeonomy of human living, to ensure which required unqualified community command over national xesources, social control of methoffs of utilising these resources, full use of them in each respeetive field of human endeavour until human needs are satisfied. I see no other way of solving exigting proPlems thau that of a co-operative commonwealth."

Mr. Naish's Demands. * " The ' language employed by Mr. Nash is well worthy of analysis," commented Mr. Bodkin. -"He demands a policy of unqualified community comraand over natural resources, social ownershlp of natural resources and social control ot the methods of utilising these resources. Natural resources can only mean the land, because itJ is from the land that all wealth} whether it be the mine, the farm or th0 timber mill, is drawn so that to give full effect to the Labour programme, it is necessary to have Commupistic control over every farm in New Zealand." Mr. Bodkin said that be used the word " Communistic " becaus© he claimed that there was no difference in the policy of the communist in any ; part of, the world from that advocated by the Socialistic Government in New I Zealand. There may be a difference in the methods adopted in bringipg their policy into being' in as much as the Soeialist hopes to attain that eud by what may be called r'constitutional method" whereas the Communist did not hesitate to advocate revolution and civil war to that end. The creed, hoWever, that was pfeached — the supremaey of the State in all things and the complete elimination of the ownership. of private property — is the same and •is founded on the teachings of Karl Marx." t , , . Socialistic Thought. Mr Bodkin eaid that the policy of the leaders of Socialistic .thought m tbe United Kingdom was the same as that which was being given effect to in New Zealand to-day. " Sir Stafford Cripps, K.C., says in one of his books. that the power must be taken away from the Courts," said Mr Bodkin. "I propose to place before you a concrete case of this having actually happeued in New Zealand last year in connection with the dairy industry. " . ' ■ "Take the Eeserve Bank Bill; it confers the absolute right on the Government to take full control of all the. London credits. This measure made the people of New Zealand uneasy, but the Government handled the .matter with cohsummate skill and cleverness for they realised that thq' time must come when there would be a' bitter fight between private "and State enterprise. They wish to gain their ends by peaceful penetration, until they have gained suffieient ground to fight their. big battle with the supporters of private enterprise." When the bank-was taken over, continued Mr Bodkin, Mr Nash pacifipd. the uneasy by saying that it was" not proposed to move any of the' direetorate or to exercise authority in any way at the present. time, but tliat the 'Government was taking the authority just in case it should become necessary at any tim6 to ma.ke use of it. But wi.th tliis move they had taken the fixst step towards complete control of every class of business and of the sale of New Zealand products in the United Kingdom. Eeferring to the. Primary Products Marketing Bill, Mr .Bodkin said. that all sectious of agriculture were in difficulty during the.'slump years but more particulaTly the dairy farmers. The dairy farmers thought they were going to be helped by the guaranteed price, but the. claiises under which this operated were so arranged that it was in the Goveinment 's 'power to pay as low a price as they felt inclined to give once they felt suffici'ently powerful to do so. There was nothing whatsoever in it to make any allowance ■ for interest. on the farmer. 5s capital, and although the Opposition members had cried in every way to get a statement from the Government that this Would, be considered when lixing the price, they had been unabie t-o 'do so. Power Taken .From courts "lt bas always been a proud boast of-tlie British community tliat a man could go to the Courts and get perfect justice," continued Mr Bodkin.- "But in the tixing of the price of, dairy produce, the present Governjnent has taken the power completely away from fche Courts and vested it completely in the Government and there is an express provisiori in .the Act that debars the dairy farmer from recourse to the Courts." "The Government says ■ it has no mtention of giving a compensated price to the sheep farmer," the speaker remarked. "No, fhey do not intend to do it now, because ihe time i* not op-

portune, but let them be returned to power at the next election and feel that the country quota is done away with and then they will proceed to do away with private enterprise.'' Th© Labour Party had said that they would do away with unemployment, but to-day in spite of the remarkable prices being noticed for primary pror ducts, there were over 40,000 men for .whom industries in New Zealand could not find work. Mr Bodkin dealt with many other points in the labour policy and at the conclusion of his address was accorded a hearty vote of thanks on the mption of Mr A. W. Elliott, seconded by Mr L. Beachen.