LABOUR LEGISLATION

Wairarapa Times-Age, 5 July 1938, Page 8

LABOUR LEGISLATION

ADDRESS BY MR J. ROBERTSON AT CLAREVILLE. A political address was given at the Clareville Hall last night by Mr J. Robertson, member for Masterton. Mr Robertson dealt briefly with the legislation of the present Government and emphasised the increase of national income and the better spread of that income over the community as the result of the Labour Party’s legislation. He stated that most of the increased taxation, regarding which they heard complaints by the Opposition, was simply the measure of the increased incomes of the people. The cost of living. said Mr Robertson, had not cancelled out the increases in income. He proceeded to quote figures made up from employment tax returns of small farmers, which indicated that their net incomes, after meeting all costs, had almost trebled in two years. He claimed that the guaranteed price had given economic stability to the farmers particularly and increased stability to the national economy. Mr Robertson forecasted a land settlement policy on lines which were calculated to make it more successful than most scettlement policies had been in recent years. Referring to the Opposition, he said it was now apparent that that party had nothing constructive to offer and was relying on frightening the people by the old bogey of Socialism, which had been used to retard reforms in New Zealand for the last fifty years. After answering a number of questions Mi- Robertson was accorded a vote of thanks for his address.