NON-PARTY ACTION.

Putaruru Press, Volume VIII, Issue 346, 10 July 1930, Page 4

NON-PARTY ACTION.

THERE is a very great contrast between what everybody is saying in private about the state of politics and what the leaders of the parties are saying and doing in public. The Reform Party professes its desire to assist the Government. Directly the House meets it proposes a 1 no-confidence motion. The leader of the Opposition must know that there is no chance of carrying his motion. Hence it is only a waste of time. If it is intended as a protest against the policy of the Government there are plenty of opportunities to voice it. There are many matters which are open to a non-party examination. Unemployment is the first and most important issue since it introduces many other problems. Tied up with it is the need of a progressive land policy and the consideration of financial burdens pressing unduly upon the man on the land. The relief of unemployment is important, but more important is the removal of the cause. So long as this remains a party question, so long will it be used as a whip to scourge opponents or a bait for political support. It should not be beyond the bounds of reasonable hope that if the parties pooled their efforts instead of competing they could find some means of modifying a system by which men seeking and desiring to work receive a dole for doing nothing. But cooperation of parties must be a genuine effort. The country must come first; not the party. And the prospects of this appear remote. The only alternative is a Mussolini.