DISTRESS AT TAUPO

Rotorua Morning Post, Volume 2, Issue 250, 13 June 1932, Page 4

DISTRESS AT TAUPO

Our Speeial Correspondent.)

SERIOUS POSITION % ■ ^ . RELIEF COMMITTEE EXPRESS STRONG DISSATISFACTION AT INADEQUATE GRANT. PLEA TO GOVERNMENT.

(From

TAUPO, Saturday. Strong views were expressed at a meeting of the Taupo Relief Committee which was held last night. The Rev. John Laughton presided over a ■ full attendance of members. Spealcers commented on the total inadpquacy of the unemployment grant to meet the peculiar conditions affecting such an isolated community as Taupo and members were unan-, - imously of the opinion that the Unemployment Board should take measures to meet the position. It was finally decided to direct the Secretary to communicate with the Unemployment Board in the following terms: "I am instructed hy the Taupo Unemployment Committee to point out the extraordinary conditions prevailing in this area. There is no regular employment here and the population, both European and Maori, is entirely dependent on tourist traffic which, on account of the present depression, is "non est" so far as Taupo is concerned. There .is no local farming and the barrenness of the soil precludes the possibility of unemployed men growing any considerable proportion of their sUstenance. There is no organisation in this seattered region to promote charitable aid for the relief of the unemployed". I am also directed to point out to you that, because of the huge areas of this in-operative Taupo country, men have to come from long distances to seek relief under the only op.erative local body, the Taupo Road Board, and because of this, you are asfced to realise the total inadequacy of the recent allocation to this community. For instance men entitled under the act to four days work weekly, last week reeeived only two days and the three day men receiyed only one and a half days. This does not provide the men in question a suffiieient amount for bare existence espeeially here, where prices of necessities are so costly, the nearest Railway station being 56 miles away. Because of these speeial conditions of hardship in this isolated area, this committee has the utmost confidence in recommending to you in the strongest possible terms, that not only should the weekly allocation be sufficient to give all local unemployed the full amount of work to which they are entitled, but also that the stand down week be foregone in this poverty stricken area, in order to meet the speeial conditions. I am further directed to' draw your attention to the extreme hardship under which men are labouring in the in-operative Taupo country and who are outside the scope of the one local bo ;ly within the area, and, also the fact that there are many local men over 18 years of age and under twenty-one who are not eligible for relief and for whom no work can be found; yet the majority of those men are married. If they cannot provide for themselves, how can they possibly provide for dependents."