CONSCRIPTION

Wairarapa Times-Age, 18 April 1941, Page 3

CONSCRIPTION

LABOUR PARTY ATTITUDE REPEAL REMIT REJECTED. MINISTER OUTLINES MEASURES. (By Telegraph—Press Association.) WELLINGTON, This Day. A remit asking for the repeal of conscription was considered and rejected at the annual conference of the New Zealand Labour Party in Wellington yesterday. The conference reaffirmed the motion adopted at the special conference last year providing for the conscripr tion of men, materials and wealth to the extent made necessary by war requirements. Another remit suggested that the emergency regulations should be repealed. Conference decided that these regulations were necessary for the complete control of the Dominion in connection with its war effort and expressed confidence that a Labour Government would not operate the regulations longer than was absolutely necessary. The report of the committee on Defence, Peace and War was presented by the Minister of Defence, Mr Jones, who outlined the measures taken by the Government to assist the Mother Country and to defend New Zealand. The following motion was carried unanimously: “That the conference congratulates the Minister of Defence on the manner in which he has carried out his onerous and highly important duties, has every confidence in the Government and in its ability to direct New Zealand’s war effort, and is confident that the Government will give ample consideration to the sphere of activities to which New Zealand soldiers are sent overseas, while giving particular attention to the requirements of the defence of New ! Zealand.”

The post-war use of military camps to provide holidays for mothers with families was suggested in a remit. Mr Jones said this proposal had been before the Government when it set out to establish military camps, and the layout of each camp, specially the three mobilisation camps, had been designed to some extent at least with the ultimate object of making them available for community health purposes after the war. Conference congratulated the Government on its foresight in this connection. The Minister of National Service, Mr Semple, addressed conference on the work of his department, and the following motion was carried: “That conference recommends that the Labour Party unreservedly support the Emergency Reserve Corps organisation, the Home Guard, the Emergency Precautions Scheme and the Women's War Service Auxiliary as at present organised.”