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Manawatu Standard, Volume LX, Issue 162, 8 June 1940, Page 9

NATION’S WAR EFFORT

POLICY DEFENDED. PRIMARY PRODUCTION. Per Press Association. WELLINGTON, June 7. In moving the Address-in-Reply in the House of Representatives, to-day, Mr A. P. Moncur (Rotorua) said Parliament was meeting under extaordinary conditions and would take part in momentous discussions. He congratulated Hon. P. Fraser on having attained the position of Prime Minister, and said he had assumed office in difficult times when the whole effort of the country was in the direction of winning the war. Congratulating members of the House who had enlisted, Mr Moncur stated that Parliament had done its part and had set an exantple to the outside community. The position today called for the co-operation of all public men and organisations. The demonstrations of hysteria that had recently occurred were regrettable as well as unpardonable, and he considered public meetings that had the effect of contributing to that hysteria should not be held. This was not the time for party politics.

One of the troubles at the moment was from information that came over the air from foreign radio stations. Sonie people seemed fond of quoting unauthorised information as authentic and he . had heard some extraordinary statements from panicstricken people who had been listening in. HELP TO BRITAIN. Mr Moncur continued that since the outbreak of war the Government had done its best to assist the Old Country in every way possible. It had promised the Motherland the use of all the Dominion’s resources, and the Old Country had not asked for a single thing which had not been given. He said we must keep in mind that the present might he a long war. If we sent away too many men in the early stages of the conflict we might not be able to keep up the necessary reinforcements.

Dealing with the country’s production, the speaker said New Zealand needed more secondary industries. He regretted that exchange control had encouragement to secondary industries had not been commenced ten or fifteen years ago. The country would have been in a much better position to-day if that had been done. He felt he could not too strongly emphasise the seriousness of the present international situation. Every man, woman, and child should be playing some part in helping the Empire to victory. He stressed the necessity for co-ordinated effort in the Dominion both in industry and in our general war effort. A SHOCKED WORLD. Mr C. F. Skinner (Motueka), who was in battledress uniform as a member of the Third Echelon, seconding Mr Moncur’s motion, said that, as one who had very recently become a soldier’ he considered it a very great honour to be given the opportunity to second the motion. Sinee the previous Address-in-.l?eply last session many changes diad taken place that had shocked the world. 1 n Europe two ideologies were in conflict. On the one hand, they had an ideology evolved in, the brain of a madman which envisaged the complete subjugation of man, and on the other hand they saw an ideology which embraced tlie sovereign right of the individual which could be found only in countries which were contolled by democratic governments.

Referring to the question of voluntary enlistment in New Zealand, lie said the Governor-General, in his speech, had spoken of the success of the system and he (Mr Skinner) was of opinion that conscription did not appear necessary in New Zealand at present. There were now approximately 22,000 New Zealanders under arms and over 53,000 had offered themselves for service overseas. In the training camps there were approximately 10,000 men and their training had been made easier by the fact that all were volunteers, not. one man having gone into camp under compulsion. Dealing with the Government’s Public Works policy, Mr Skinner stressed the importance of the machinery which was being used. Many of the mechanised units which at presont were being used on public works had paid for themselves five times over, and still had years of useful service in front of them.' He paid a tribute to the manner in which the Public Works Department had built roa.ds, aerodromes and military camps, and in connection with the latter he stated that our soldiers now had bitumen roads on which to walk and bitumen parade grounds on which to drill, quite a different state of affairs to those existing during the last war; Mr Skinner also stressed the value of the work which hade been done .by the Ministry of Supply and the controllers of such commodities as petrol, sugar, etc. He also appealed for planning so that men on service could be readily rehabilitated in civil occupations as they returned to New Zealand. He mentioned several industries that could be developed for the purpose of nroviding occupations for the men, such as the iron and steel industry, the sugar beet industry, the flax industry and the linen industry.