LABOUR AND UNITEDS

Sun (Auckland), Volume IV, Issue 938, 3 April 1930, Page 9

LABOUR AND UNITEDS

CONDITIONAL SUPPORT FOR GOVERNMENT MR. P. FRASER’S STATEMENT From Our Resident Reporter WELLINGTON. Today. In the course of a review of the j political situation on Tuesday, Mr. P. j Fraser, member -for Wellington Cen- j tral, outlined the attitude which the | Labour Party intends to adopt toward , the Government during the coming j session. The party might well have ; to consider whether it was worth j while keeping the Government in office i any longer. There was no hiding the fact, he. said, that the vast majority of the ■ electors of the Dominion were dis- j appointed with the United Govern- j ment up to the present. At the last j General Election the United Party had j put forward a most alluring pro- j gramme, hut so far as the Government was concerned it had not given much sign of giving effect to it. “Parliament will meet next June,” said Mr. Fraser, “and if the Government will say quite definitely, that it is prepared to deal with some of the important and pressing social evils of the day, and bring down effective remedies for those problems; if it agrees that relief conditions which break down awards and industrial agreements will be abolished on public works: if it promises that a muchneeded and long-overdue Workers’ Compensation Act will be brought down; if it will agree that the Pensions Act and the Family Allowances Act should be improved and strengthened, and made more beneficial to the people; and, finally, if it agrees to abolish compulsory military training,: as it has indicated it intends to do. then I, for one, would say it ■would be a quite sensible policy on the part of the Labour Party to keep the Government in office, so that it could give I effect to those undertakings.” VOTE OF NO-CONFIDENCE If Labour moved a vote of noconfidence, and Reform members and a sufficient number of Independents supported it, it was quite possible that Labour would be sent for to form a Government. Mr. Fraser gaVe the assurance that Labour would not hesitate for a moment in such an eyent. At the same time, if the Government was prepared to bring down substantial legislation to relieve the masses of the people, the Labour Party would consider giving it the same measure of support during the coming session as it had done last session. At the closfc of his address Mr. Fraser was asked what the attitude of the Labour Party would be to suggestions for fusion between the Labour and United Parties. Mr. Fraser said he could not possibly imagine circum-j stances arising which would justify I fusion between the parties, at any rate. from the Labour point of view'. He felt sure the United Party would be iust as emphatic. “I am quite certain.” I|> said, “that they would not want to have anything to do with us whatever.”

On the other hand, there was no essential difference between the Reform and United Parties, and it was the natural thing that those two parties should come together. In conclusion, Mr. Fraser summed up the position as between Labour and the Government by stating that if they could get good legislation by keeping the United Party in office, they would support the Government. It they could make use of any other party in a similar way they would do so.

COMMITTEE “BLACK”

LABOUR COUNCIL'S ACTION j COMPENSATION INQUIRY Press Association WELLINGTON, Wednesday. Maintaining that there was no reason why tho Labour movement should further support the present Government, tho National Council of the Alliance kif Labour has definitely decided to declare “black” the committee which is at present investigating the operation of the Workers’ Compensation Act. In calling on the affiliated bodies to act in a similar manner, the Alliance accuses the Government of breaking promises find attempting to fool the workers. The terms of the resolution are as follow: —• That after giving careful consideration to the question of presenting evidence to the committee appointed by the Government to investigate and report on the Workers’ Compensation Act, the National Council of the Alliance of Labour is of the opinion that no good purpose can be served by representatives of the Alliance of Labour submitting evidence to tho committee. The council is of opinion that as the committee was called upon to deal with one of the most important questions affectinf the wage-workers of the Dominion, the trade unionists of New' Zealand should have direct representation on the committee. In view of the Government’s definite refusal to appoint a representative of the workers, the National Council refuses to co-operate with the committee in any way, and calls upon all affiliations throughout the Dominion to act in a similar manner. The resolution is accompanied b\* a long statement of alterations in compensation that the Council demands. “As far as I am concerned, I cannot agree to the functions of the Crown being transferred from Parliament House to the Trades Hall,” said Mr. Veitch, when the effect of the Alliance decision was communicated to him. “It is not reasonable to be asked to do it. In any case I don’t intend to do it. The setting up of the committee is the function of the Government, and not the Trades Hall, and w*e cannot allow' ourselves to be dictated to by anybody in any way.” The Minister said the fact that the Government set the committee up should be an indication to the people of New' Zealand that the Government desired to improve the provisions of the legislation. The action of the Alliance of Labour would not affect the position. "The committee will go on, and when the recommendations are received they will have the careful and sympathetic consideration of the Government.” he added. Little concern at the action of the Alilance was expressed by the chairman of the Committee, Mr. S. G. Smith, M.P., when he was approached for a statement. “The committee,” he said, “i 3 concentrating on investigation of the compensation law, and is not interested in any factional fight that may be going on that does not come within its order of reference. However. I do not suppose a worke” paying his subscription to keep the fiance of Labour going will gather any satisfaction from the fact that the Alliance is adverse from tendering any evidence in the direction of extending the present provisions of, and removing, the existing anomalies in the legislation.”