N.Z UNEMPLOYMENT

Hokitika Guardian, 16 June 1933, Page 5

N.Z UNEMPLOYMENT

MINISTER’S REPLY TO DEPUTATION AT WELLINGTON (Per Press Association-r-Copyright). WELLINGTNG, June 15. “We do not want to be hard on married men and their families. We realise they have a difficult'time now. Wo say, if the. Public works and Forestry Departments campS are. manned voluntarily,.nobody, will, be forced to go into camps. ‘Those camps ought to be manned, and they very likely will be manned.” said the. Alinister of Employment, Hon. Hamilton, in reply to a deputation from the -Relief Workers’ Union, wliicliN waited on him to protest against compulsion being used for the married men. to go,itito the camps. The deputation said there was no objection to married > • men voluntarily gojng into camps. A". Mrs Otham said that, the wives of mnay . relief workers . strongly objected to their husbands sent compulsorily to camps;" At present, the families of these men . were - practically on the bread line. What’was the Govern-* ment going to do for the families who were left-.behiniL, in miserable positions? ■ ; , : v

Other speakers gave instances of the distressed conditions ,of. families of many *relief, workers,-, which; condition they asserted would be made 4 much worse by the bread-winner of-,the family having to leave his home, and go into camp.- > ' In reply, the'Minister said that he thought: too much' was being made of the compulsory element; He realised the worry and distressing .conditions which' existed .in the homes of many of the unemployed.' He pointed out that there :were men wanted in some camps today, ■; and it .wa.s difficult :to get a full response. He could not see why there .should be 'such,a strong objection'to going :to'-those camps, if paymint was fair aifd conditions good. , The Forestry .- Department wished ■ to halve-trees pliiited jiiow./ It seemed stfange that there was a difficulty in getting mbn'.to go into those'.camps. If the '' Public Works, and ... Forestry Department camps were manned there would be no .-compulsion .needed. He thought those -camps,.' would ; be filled, anfl that would greatly relieve the present .difficulty. ’ ;• ' ‘ : The Government, would try.. to get the caiiipj manned in'a, voluntary way. . After! that was done/ tl’ieiposition tfvould be reviewed. - CH. lt

*• PROCEEDS OF ART, UNION. ' : £io,opo toward relief.

June 15. The. allocations' *of the • proceeds., of tin) “Luck at Lnnt’’. Art tlnion, fins which tickebs are at present. beinspi} sold, were announced by the Minister)? of Internal Affairs, Hon. Mr J. A. Young, this evening. . Included id the distribution will be £IO,OOO for the relief of distress throughout- New Zealand. The remainder of the proceeds will be distributed as follows: £IOOO for. relief of the Wellington Commercial Travellers’ and Warehousemen’s Association , Special Fund, and £250 to T. Fielden Taylor’s "Wellington City,.Mission „men’s .shelter; • * ' ".

The basis ofy distribution of the £IO,OCO for the relief of distress'will he th© same as that adopted on the occasion of the previous art union, the money to be made; available on a pro rata basis ,on the lateGt unemployment registrations available at Auckland to the Mayors' and Central metropolitan relief committees; in other cities and boroughs'to the Mayors’ Relief Funds, and|.to all other centres showing .unemployed registrations of thirty and over. .