UNEMPLOYED RELIEF

Rotorua Morning Post, Volume 2, Issue 257, 22 June 1932, Page 5

UNEMPLOYED RELIEF

(Post Special Commissioner)

removing anqmaly RURAL DISTRICTS TO BE PUT ON SAME FOOTING AS - CITIES £16,000 ALLOCATED

WELLINGTON, Tuesday. A highly important anhouncement was made to-night hy the Minister 6f Employment, the Rt. Hon. J: G'. Coates. He stated that the areas outside the main centres would he placed on the same basis of unemployment relief as the eities. He expressed gratification at being able to remove .what was undouhtedly an anomaly, and give a firmer measure of relief where ' it was urgently required. The opinion had been forced, upon him hy reports from variouS' centres, that some citizens were gPing sh'Oft : of the necessaries of life owing to.the i limited sums available. Some men; over a period of- months, had earried'as little as 3/9 per week and in ; another district only 2/3. Ih" one country area, a man with two children had received only 12/- per week and a number with larger families had scarcely averaged £1 per week. These' figures justified a review of the position. • « Hard pressed as they were to ■ find this money, he was sure that the people were determined that no one should live in need. There was a duty to see that those in neOd should be provided with reasonahle requirements. While food was available in some dxstracts, clothes were becoming depleted. It was not possible for the Government to provide everything,' and thenefore, it was necessary for citizens to rally round and do their utmost to .pro4vide the things the Government could not provide. r A revised scale of relief charges had resulted in a great deal niofe i money being spent in the cities and the additional amount now heing spent was greatly in excess of the amount spent by the hospital boards on unemployment relief. For Winter Months At the present time, owing to laek of funds, it was not possible to. revise the relief scale outside the city areas, but to meet the needs * of country areas, arrangements had been made whereby a further amount of £16,000 would be available to cover the winter months. A unifarm allocation of this money was not possible, but the allotment would be made in proportionate amounts to the requirements of the different districts, the general aim being to place relief in the different districts on substantially the same basis. It was hoped that it would now be possible to discontinue the stand down week. * Referring to the men on productive work, Mr. Coates stated that under the 4A and 4B schemes they had provided additional labour on farms. There had been 27,974 such place5ments, and of these, there were "now 10,153 on farms. Many of the remainder were now In productive work and were no longer dependent on the Unemployment Board.