Wairarapa Times-Age WEDNESDAY, JUNE 9, 1943. POLITICS AND THE WAR EFFORT.

Wairarapa Times-Age, 9 June 1943, Page 2

Wairarapa Times-Age WEDNESDAY, JUNE 9, 1943. POLITICS AND THE WAR EFFORT.

ANYONE who followed dispassionately the speeches made by the Leader of the Opposition (Mr Holland) and the Prime Minister (Mr Fraser) in the opening stage of the Financial Debate in the House of Representatives last night will be bound to regret that the all-important questions which came under review could not have been discussed in a very much calmer and less contentious atmosphere. On some of the most vital issues raised —particularly the unsurpassed standards set by our fighting forces and the obligation of doing everything' in our power to second and support the valiant efforts of these forces, amongst other things by making cheerfully whatever sacrifices may be necessary to ensure the quick and complete success of the war loan which opened yesterday—the Leader of the Opposition and the Prime Minister found themselves in full agreement. Yet on many details they were acutely and even bitterly at odds.

Mr Holland accused the Government of bringing down an electioneering Budget and the Prime Minister accused Mr Holland of making an electioneering speech. It may be worth considering whether it is in the interests of this country, or in those of the fighting forces on whom it now depends so absolutely for security and for a future worth having, that grounds should have been given for either of these charges.

Both the party leaders were agreed that the fighting forces of the Dominion have acquitted themselves magnificently in a. series of arduous campaigns. As the Prime Minister observed, every one of the United Nations has paid tribute to the manner in which New Zealand has organised and carried out its war effort. That effort certainly would be given a better and more creditable setting, however, in conditions of political co-opera-tion than in the atmosphere that obtained in the House of Representatives last night.

As against the details of waste and mismanagement which were alleged by the Leader of the Opposition there is a good deal to be said for the contention of the Prime Minister that elements of waste and mismanagement are inseparable from the improvisation of a new organisation of great magnitude in war conditions. United and harmonious co-operation by our political representatives in tracking down and removing imperfection in our war organisation assuredly would be more to the point and decidedly more useful, however, than party bickering.

Whoever may have been responsible for the early collapse of our united War Administration, the breakdown must be regretted keenly. Even if that failure in full co-operation must now be accepted as final, it remains true that the responsibility very definitely rests on our political administrators of doing everything that is possible to eliminate waste and mismanagement in the extent to which they impair our war effort. If our parties are bound to stand apart, in that character, the duty none the less rests upon all of them of concentrating on the facts and of agreeing upon the action these facts demand. Full heed should be given in this connection to the Prime Minister’s statement that although for a time close secrecy had to be observed in much that related to the war effort, a stage has now been reached at which details of war expenditure may be laid before the Public Accounts Committee of the House of Representatives for examination.

A good deal was said in the speeches made in the House last evening about which more should be heard in the public interest and apart from any question of party contention. One important matter mentioned was that of representation abroad. The Prime Minister dealt in somewhat jesting terms witli Mr Holland’s references to the representation of the Dominion, particularly in Washington and in Canada. A great many people would like to know and have a right to know, however, much more than they have yet been told about where Mr Nash stands with regard to his position as Minister of Finance in this country and simultaneously as Minister representing the Dominion in the United States. There is entirely justifiable curiosity, also, as to possible pending appointments to Canada and to Russia. The people of the Dominion have a right to demand from the Government of the day a plain and unequivocal statement of its intentions in matters of this kind and will hardly be content to be put off with evasive jokes.