WAIRARAPA SEAT

Wairarapa Times-Age, 19 July 1938, Page 7

WAIRARAPA SEAT

MR J. F. THOMPSON SPEAKS AT PIRINOA SURVEY OF ELECTION ISSUES. PUBLIC WORKS & HOUSING. (“Times-Age” Special.) A largely attended meeting of the Pirinoa branch of the National Party was held at Pirinoa on Thursday night, Mr Dudley Jones presiding. Mr J. F. Thompson, the National candidate for Wairarapa, was introduced by the chairman and was most enthusiastically received. Mr Thompson, in an address, said the issue had never been clearer — were the people to govern the State or was the State to govern the people? A purely Socialist Government was foreign to British ideas. Countries east of the Rhine had always been governed autocratically. The Russian dictators owed no duty to anyone but to the proletariat—the manual worker. The German dictator’s duty was only to the Aryan race. West of the Rhine, the British Commonwealth of Nations and the United States of America were inherently democratic and their national solidarity depended on no doctrine of race or class. The people of Great Britain and her Dominions, by a large majority, turned characteristically from wars of ideolgies. The Ramsay McDonald Socialist Government in 1929 soon fell and the leaders were disillusioned. In Australia forms of Socialist Government were found wanting by the electors and many State enterprises had ended in failure and had been sold at salvage prices to private enterprise. History showed that a similar fate was in store in the Socialist Government of New Zealand. DAIRY FARMING COSTS. The farming section of the Dominion had received a raw deal from the Government. No attempt had been made to deal with costs, which had been allowed to run free and climb, while prices were fixed at the whim of the Minister and his advisers. Mr Thompson stated that eight adjoining dairy farmers in his district had two years ago employed eight men. Today two Maori boys and a girl only were employed on these farms and the milking sheds were manned by farmers, their wives and children. This was prevalent throughout the district and farm slavery, promised to be abolished by the Labour Government, was worse than ever.

The Government had waited until election year before undertaking any major public works in the Wairarapa and the long overdue low level access to Wairarapa was now promised within election earshot. The Labour Government actually adopted the Coates Government’s plan and route for the Rimutaka deviation, which, but for the depression, would have followed the Tawa Flat tunnel. FLOOD PROTECTION. A very urgent Public Work in South Wairarapa had been completely overlooked by the Government. Shortly after the 1935 election, a largely-at-tended meeting of Lower Valley settlers met to consider the increasingly serous danger of flooding from the Wairarapa Lake and the Ruamahunga River. Thousands of acres of valuable fertile land were continuing to deteriorate through lack of drainage, flooding and indiscriminate stopbanking. The existing composite general river scheme, as approved by the engineers and Public Works Department, it was agreed was essential, but the cost, with the existing heavy rating burden, was a greater financial handicap than settlers could carry. The member for Wairarapa promised at the meeting mentioned that he would endeavour to bring the Minister of Public Works to the South Wairarapa for an investigation of the problem, but even the approach of the election had not interested the Minister particularly, Mr Thompson added. “You have, however, got something from the Minister,” the candidate continued. “He is considering forming a special branch of his Department to study and deal with flooding and erosion. He must be given credit for this, for the subject is of national importance and bound up with other factors — reafforestation, grading of river levels and other considerations. For over two years the Valley has been mercifully spared from serious flood and although the Public Works Department has already approved of a general scheme, you may expect nothing to be done until the always possible major flood disaster occurs. While you wait for this disaster, thousands of pounds will be spent on titivating up main highways, encouraging motor speed, and building railways which continue each year to eat up the country’s revenue. Drained, the Lower Valley presents a dairy farmer’s unrivalled opportunity—an area capable of carrying many herds. “The system of using unemployed on public works is a century bld. In Newfoundland, large sums were borrowed by the Government during the depression, inflation followed and Newfoundland became virtually bankrupt, Great Britain having to finally appoint a commission to supervise that country’s rehabilitation. THE HOUSING SCHEME. “The past history of workers’ housing under the previous Governments in office since 1923 is worth remembering.” Mr Thompson observed. “The State Advances Office then made advances for the erection of worker’s dwellings, a ‘worker’ being a manual or clerical worker with a salary not exceeding £3OO per annum, increased by £25 for each dependant. From 1923 to 1933 inclusive, 39,291 loans were made, totalling £22,625,035, an average of £6OO. Thus homes were built,

purchased or financed by the State Advances Department, while the building was done by private enterprise. Most important of all, these homes became the property of the worker subject to the repayment of the loan. These figures do not take into account privately financed home building going on continuously during those years. The Labour Government has not produced such a result. It does not permit of homes under the scheme ever becoming the property of the worker. The results for the years prior to the advent of the Labour Government were much better under a scheme of State co-operation and private enterprise. The old scheme did not thrust up prices of buildings as the present scheme has. The new scheme has failed to provide, as promised, homes for workers of small incomes. Clerical workers and others on a higher grade salaries are the occupants of the houses today and are tenants under all kinds of irritating conditions. The ordinary worker simply cannot afford to pay the rentals demanded in many cases over 30s per week. The Wairarapa electorate north of the Rimutaka has completely missed the alleged bounty of homes for the workers. Carterton has four or five houses in course of erection, but in other towns, all crying out for additional housing, have been ignored and workers make no secret of their dissatisfaction.” A vote of thanks to Mr Thompson was carried on the motion of Mr Busch, Mr Mclntosh seconding.