SEARCH FOR WORK

Sun (Auckland), Volume IV, Issue 947, 14 April 1930, Page 10

SEARCH FOR WORK

OPINIONS OF UNEMPLOYMENT

COMMITTEEMAN ADDRESS TO ROTARIANS The views on unemployment of a member of the committee which issued recently its official report was heard today, when Air. Oscar Alcßrine addressed the luncheon meeting of the Auckland Rotary Club. , Potarian R. Angus occupied the chair, and the guests included the Hon. V. A. Veitch, Alinister of Labour, and Messrs. T. Bloodworth, J. M. Thompson (Winnipeg), C. W. Taylor (Thames), D. Rodie (Wellington), E. Kurosawa (Japan), P. White (Wellington), W. T. Kirkman (Hamilton) and G. J. Hicks (Wellington). Aiessrs. E. R. Boucher and IT. L. W hit© were elected members of the club.

Touching on the personnel of the committee, Air. Alcßrine said that the two Government representatives were not tied down in any way.

The finding of the position as to unemployment generally had not been as easy as people might have thought, and it was on that point only that there had been any slight disagreement among the members of the committee. In advising every Rotarian to read the committee’s report because "it had cost the Government a good deal of money and dealt with a question that was becoming of great importance in New Zealand,” he quoted the unemployment figures compiled in the report and said that 10,000 had been actually unemployed or potentially unemployed in relation to the economic condition of the country. It might be true in some cases that unemployment was due to a slackness of production, but from 1924 to 1929 “primary” production had increased by £13,000.000, while the number of producers had decreased by 6,500. There had been also a decrease in acreage and in the number of persons engaged for each acre. Whatever unemployment might be due to, it was not due to slackness of production. The committee considered that any remedy for unemployment should tend to stimulate the “primary” industries and bring about an export of “primary” products sufficient to balance the value of the manufactured goods which the country had to import. The first recommendation that had been put forward was for afforestation. A great proportion of work in New Zealand was seasonal, and afforestation offered a solution of unemployment in off seasons. Furthermore, it afforded New Zealand an opportunity of building up a very valuable national asset.

Homes for country workers were recommended to prevent the drift to the towns and to provide a means for the workers to occupy themselves in off seasons. Increased pork and poultry production for sale overseas would open up what would be practically a new market.