WELLINGTON NEWS

Hokitika Guardian, 16 December 1930, Page 2

WELLINGTON NEWS

FALUTY ACTION PROBABLE. (Special Correspondent). ’ WELLINGTON December 13. The severity of the slump is now being felt in New Zealand and in the early months of the new year the position will he worse ’and the conditions also. We have now reached .the .stage that Australia had reached some month’ ago when we'were able to "sit back and take comfort in the fact that'o'ur eon- , ditions were not. as bad/as; those, in Australia and because they were not so bad we folded our arm's-and "did nothing. And the inevitable'has happened. ” We have gone from bad to worse, and in the opinion of men capable -pi forming a sound judgment the worst of the depression has yet to be felt and that will be during the next winter;■ It is perhaps wrong to say that nothing has been done. We have the Unemployment Tax and the Unemployment Board. The intention of the Unemployment Act is good, but it stays at that. The Board is unwieldly and incompetent, and that must always he the case when mert.nre elected instead of being selected on merit for responsible executive posi-. tions. The salary of the members Is much above thei rcapacity, and their method of attacking the unemployed problem has been crude.' Of course it. must be remembered thnt the Unemployment Board is purely a spending organisation, and they have adopted extravagant; spending which has been part of their daily life ever since the war commenced and the printing presses flooded the; world with paper currency. The standard wage of-14s per day is excessive and very attractive and is having the usual effect of'high wages. The relief work should not be above the rate an ordinary farmer could pay. Apart from the setting up of the Unemployment Board nothing useful lias been done but many uneconomic things have found favour with the authorities, as ifor instance the building of .railway r which would be unprofitable , when , built and a burden on the taxpayers who are already carrying a load that is too heavy. Then again the authorities are reverting to the old time remedy of settling the people on the land. ■c ■ The trouble at present is : that fanning is unprofitable with produce prices at their present level, and it would he almost criminal to induce men to go farming at present land values and present produce prices. Very soon many farmers will find the game not worth the candle and will walk off their farms Those deserted farms will probably be obtainable at the amount of the first mortgage which would be about the true value of the land. The authorities could assist in getting others to take up these deserted farms and thus,,prevent them from deteriorating. At a time like the present there is alwnys a risk of false moves he|ng made, or schemes put • into operation that are economically, unsound or .likely to have a had effect Over, a long term. There is scarcely ft dally paper “ thrtt does not serve up some new scheme suggested by a correspondent, Some of the schemes are wild, but through them all runs a political, thread -that lacks strength. Sir .Tames Gunson has come out with a,scheme, and because of his prominence in Auckland his views have been broadcast. - Sir James is a political aspirant and as such he is obsessed with political-ideas; It is a truism to say that sacrifices are essential in this hour of the country’s needs, and that nil should contribute to the sacrifice. Sir James insists that Parliament must lead the country. It alone has the authority; therefore he suggests that the life the prer sent Parliament'should be extended by two years and that three parties should join forces and form a National Government wit hequnl representation in the Cabinet. This Government to borrow money immediately in London. to be spent on approved productive works. The main features of this suggestion must be familiar to most people, for it is based on war-time needs. We are not at war just now. A National Gov-, eminent with three parties having equal representation in the Cabinet, will turn out to be a Cabinet of com--, promises. The Labour members will insist on the standard of living, the standard of wages and the strict obseivance of Arbitration awards. Each party will be striving to gain a political advantage over others. A better procedure lor the present time is to invite say 25 competent men, consisting of bankers, economists, industrialists and others of that type to meet and consider and discuss the best that can be done for dealing with the present adverse conditions. Such an organisation could submit a programme of what ought to be done and what ought to be undone, and mem birs of Parliament on all sides of the House should be invited to support sucli a considered programme which the Government could put into operation by calling Parliament together and passing the necessary legislation, or by exercising the unrestricted authority it possesses under the Board of Trade Act. Events will move rather fast during the next few week, and .something will have to be done. We cannot go on toying with the situation.