THE HON. H. ATMORE

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume LXIII, 25 July 1929, Page 5

THE HON. H. ATMORE

SPEECH IN THE HOUSE CRITICISMS ANSWERED" .. GOVERNMENT AND UNEMPLOYED (By Telegraph) (From "Tho Mail's" Parliamentary Reporter) WELLINGTON, 24th July. The Minister of Education (the Hon. 11. Atmore) spoke in tho House of Representatives to-night. Dealing with unemployment hri said that if tho Reform Party believed that tin' United Government was .intensifying unemployment then it should put the Government out. ""Let them lftove their motion of no-confidence", said Mr Atmore. Sneers had cdme from the Reform benches about his proposed change in the education policy,,. 'but they did not realise that education- was a serious tiling. If the Reform Party believed that the Government's policy was inimical to the country it' should try to turn the Government out. Otherwise its criticism was ill-natured and of a party nature not in the interests of the country. The Minister produced pay envelopes of men employed on the Reform Government's relief works to show that tho men were inadequately paid. In one Ciisp, a man had nothing left out.of.his wages and actually owed the'cookhouse 13s. The present Government had improved that state of affairs. - Unemployment was rife because population had gone ahead of production, lie bad .never been in favour of bringing in men from overseas unless they could be absorbed. More must he produced from the land in New Zealand if unemployment was to be abolished. Tho Reform Party had had Ministers, since defeated, who had confessed their failure to bring about increased; land settlement. In view of the Reform Party's failure no wonder it had been defeated. For flic sake of artistic effect he would say that the Reform Party looked much better on the Opposition benches than on the- Treasury benches. ~ Mr 11. G. R. Mason (Auckland Suburbs) : "Don't forget they have more members and received more votes than you." FARMING AT THE TOP—* The Minister said the need to-day wa3 to so mould the education system that hoys would be attracted .to the land. The farmer should be put at the top-of the scale instead of tho professional man as was the case now. it would be bankrupt statesmanship if- a ; gystem could not be evolved which would lift Now Zealand out of its present'rut; •"■ As to the taunt that he had not yet. brought down his education' policy ho would reply that it would he down in less than 16 years, and in less than one vear.

The United Government had not been in any way responsible for the deficit. As a'matter of fact the previous Prime Minister had circularised departments last October stating that a deficit was probable and emphasising the • need to , make savings from votes and curtaiL'.expenditure. '-.•■■/. •••>•• In regard to railways Mr Atmore said that the Public Works Department estimated the cost of the South Island 'Main Trunk completion at £27,000 a mile as against Mr Jones's estimate of £32,000 a mile, /fho ofiieial figures showed, however, that in one ease in the North the cost was £54,110 per mile, in another £25,881 per mile and another (Kirikopuni) £77.520 per mile. In the Whangarei district the cost per mile was £41,440, but the average cost per mile on all ether railways handed over-in the last 10 yea r»s,-.num-bering 2C2 miles exclusive of the North Auckland district was £29,000 per mjle. 'The Minister said that the officials were, against the construction .of...the Kirikopuni line. Mr Coates hadwanted . an investigation into the railways.which the present Government proposed to construct.. What was. the investigation wanted for'' When an inquiry was made into the railways in the North by tho Reform Government an actual loss was shown, but despite that the official direction was "drive on with.it." Mr Coates: "Produce that report."' Mr Atmore: "Everything will be proved." He said that Mr Coates had disregarded the results of investigations into the railways in north Auckland but wanted an * investigation into the present Government's railway policy.. Why should that preferential treatment be sought? , ii Mr Atmore said that the average cost ' of railways so far constructed in the South Island was £12,000 a mile. He declared that the estimate of £32,000 a mile in respect to the Wharanui-Par-nassus gap had been "made up" in order to influence public'' opinion against the line. If the work did cost £32.000 a lliile the average over the whole of the South Island would be slightly over £16,000.