“MERE PLATITUDES”

Sun (Auckland), Volume II, Issue 488, 18 October 1928, Page 14

“MERE PLATITUDES”

LABOUR ATTACKS UNITED POLICY MR. OSBORNE AT DEVONPORT “Many electors who have been maintaining a neutral attitude until they heard what the new United Party had to offer must have been bitterly disappointed when they read Sir Joseph Ward’s scheme for borrowing 60 or 70 million pounds and increasing the public debt by 25 per cent., for the salvation of the Dominion,” declared Mr. A. G. Osborne, Labour candidate for Waitemata, at his opening address at Devonport last evening. Apart from what lie classed as the Ward onslaught on the financiers in the Old Country, Mr. Osborne could not see anything in Sir Joseph’s remarks but mere platitudes. It was in striking contrast with the old-time fighting policy speeches of the?former Liberal Party which used to contain bold programmes for the amelioration of th.e lot of the common people. The candidate was also puzzled as to how Sir Joseph could reconciiLc his present opposition to Reform with his attitude before last election when he stated, at his Invercargill meeting, “That there was an undoubted tendency for a union of forces against Labour and for the upholding of the constitution and law and order.” His view then was that the two parties in opposition to Labour should get together as there was no great vital question separating them us in old times, and he stated that his advice and assistance would always be available to bring about the fusion that must come sooner or later. UNITED’S POLICY Mr. Osborne also wondered how Mr. Veitch would be able to swallow Sir Joseph’s borrowing policy to create more clients for the State Advances' Department since that aspirant for leadership of the United Party had stated in 1927 that the increasing facilities for borrowing money from the Advance Office was one of the gravest dangers of the socialism of the Reform Party, as there were now over 500 State mortgagors in each electorate, and with the votes of their wives it meant about 1,000 votes in

each ' electorate. Presently these people would combine and no party would be able to deny them their demands. Sir Joseph, who had opposed the restricting of motor competition with the railways, was now offering to borrow £10,000,000 to bolster up the department. If lie were willing to remove the restrictions and bolster, up private enterprise, what would become of the £10,000,000? Even the newspaper supporting the United Party, which everyone identified with the remnants of the old Liberal Party, had to admit that much was lacking from Sir Joseph’s speech, said Mr. Osborne. The United Party leader had also to qualify his remarks by a newspaper announcement that his great borrowing scheme was to extend over a period of years. Likewise his offer to alleviate unemployment would have to be extended over years also. This was all that the United Party had to offer to the starving and helpless unemployed, after months of hard planning for a policy. The whole country knew that though there were three parties there were only two interests— Labour and anti-Labour. The policy of the Reform candidate for City East, that private wards should be established in public hospitals, was severely criticised by Mr. Osborne, who declared that Labour was absolutely opposed to the introduction of class distinction in public hospitals. A sick person was sick, whether he had money or not, and should be treated by the best medical attention available regardless of class.

While the Plunket Society was minding the babies, Labour would go further and look after the mothers as well. It had propounded the scheme of motherhood endowment whereby households, in which there were more than two children and the breadwinner was receiving only the basic wage, the country would pay a bonus of 10s weekly for each child after two. That amount was the sum fixed by the Government as reasonable for the upkeep of children of widows. STATE ADVANCES In 1925, Mr. Coates had said he was out to abolish slums and help the farmers and workers through the State Advances Office. There were as many slums as ever, or more, and conditions were geting very close to the worst conditions in the old countries. In three years there had been 8,032 marriages in Auckland, but only 6,275 new homes had been built, so that in addition to the shortage existing in 1925 in houses there were 1,755 new domestic establishments that had to find shelter. The Government’s idea of helping workers and settlers had been to increase the rate of interest on advances from 4£ per cent, to 53 per cent.; so that, on an average advance to build a home, a worker had now to pay an additional £3OO in interest. Tho pressure of the Associated Banks, “tho biggest trust in New Zealand,” as described by the candidate, had been behind the increasing of interest and he mentioned remarks of Sir George Elliot to bear out his contention that the same influence was behind the policy which squeezed over £3,000,000 deposits from the Post Office Savings Banks into the commercial banks, money that the Government could have utilised in providing money for advances at low rates of interest instead of being 18 months behind for want of finance. So far owing to the resistance of the Labour Party the attack of the banks on the Public Trust Office had failed. The party also advocated the setting up of a State office to handle transfers of property so te.s to cut out as much as possible of the tremendous burden of costs now imposed. While the Government could not find money to build homes for the workers it could vote a million pounds for Singapore base which, would be presently obsolete and be wasted money. The Labour Party was also anxious to see that the aged should not be left unprovided for. The party believed that old age pensions should be increased to 255, and that invalidity pensions should be introduced. All widows should get pensions on the same scale allow r ed to widows who lost their hus-

bands in the ’flu' epidemic; the cost of. living was as high in all cases, and the needs no less. The recent increases made in pensions and the extension of tne policy to include the blind were due wholly to the insistence of the Labour member for Auckland Central. A policy of dictation by the big banks, land aggregation and heavy importation of working-class people, were put down as .the causes of the distressing unemployment existing. Over 32,000 immigrants had been thrown on the labour market in three years, said the speaker. In five years 13,800 people had been forced off the land, and while 80,000 land holders owned 14,000,000 acres of land, over 30,000,000 was held down by 7,000 men, some of whom escaped paying income tax on revenue from the land. A steeply-graduated tax would burst up these estates and allow more people to go on the lan.d. We were getting high prices and should not have starving people in the country, said Mr. Osborne. Increased income tax would provide money for many of the social legislation improvements proposed. Proportional representation would give a Parliament more in accord with the division of opinion in the electorate. The Labour Party stood for cu-

and lessen the chance of big inter*** swaying the Government. . operation in social service in tne terests of the whole, and by educa of public opinion was seeking . conquest of political power, conciu the candidate. The candidate was given a *°9r hearing and on the motion of O’Leary, a vote of thanks fidence was carried without a ai~ s tient voice.