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Hokitika Guardian, 12 November 1932, Page 4

The British Unemployment Insurance Commission in its final report recommends a. dual system of insurance and relief, the latter to be subject to the conditions that proof of need must be submitted, and that the relief provided must be less than wages. Unemployment relief schemes are so exposed to exploitation by the un ~ scrupulous, that safeguards ia.re necessary if for no other reason than that money spent upon the undeseiving leaves less for the deserving. An instance in point appears in a message from Sydney. Official investigations have disclosed the fact that while the iState of New South Wales was spending five millions per annum on relief, from 20 to 25 per cent, was going to imposters. In other words, the genuine cases, and! the State, were being robbed of U millions annually. Whenever it has been proposed to apply a stricter system of supervision there have been protests. The application of the “means test” led to riots in England—-to demonstrations in New South Wales land protests in this country. Yet it is to the interest of the genuine cases themselves that the information asked for concerning their should be given by them. As to those who object, the natural inference is that they have something to hide. There have been '.amazing ’•('relations of dole exploitation in -iritain, and the impostures di.scovore.ll in New South Wales, on the onnosite side of the world, serve to emphrs'se the fact that dishonest individuals everywhere quickly seize upon any r upon'.unity of obtaining something for nothing. Largely owing to the laxity of snnorvision in Britain during the regime of the Labour-Socialist Government unemployment relief is indebted to the State to the amount of 115 millions. Thanks, In woven, to the measures adopted h- the National Government uuomph>>imml charge* we now paid

out of income; but the “diead horse” left by the previous Government costs the country £5,6.10,C00 yearly in interest. The former head of the Ministry of Labour, Miss Margaret Bondfield, was well named “Madame Deficit.'’ On inunanica.rian grounds the taxpayer is readily disposed to contribute to the relief of the unemployed, but he is perfectly justified in insisting that his sacrifice will not be Wasted on individuals who have deliberately set themselves to eat the bread of idleness indefinitely.