WAR ACTIVITIES

Wairarapa Times-Age, 2 September 1943, Page 3

WAR ACTIVITIES

OF THE LABOUR GOVERNMENT ADDRESS BY MR SEMPLE. AT GREYTOWN. VALUE OF WORKS DEPARTMENT ORGANISATION. In an election address at Greytown last night, the Minister of Works (Mr Semple) dealt with the Labour Government’s administration and policy. There was an attendance of about 250, presided over by the Mayor, Mr A. W. Horton. The Minister had a great and attentive hearing and on concluding was given a vote of thanks. Mr Ben Roberts, Labour candidate for the Wairarapa seat, spoke briefly. Referring to the mechanisation of the Public Works Department, Mr Semple said that when the British Government sent out an S.O.S. for machinery for Egypt a shipload of equipment and trained men left the Dominion five days after the request was received. The Railway Construction Unit had largely helped to chase Rortimel out of Egypt. The unit had won a world record by completely laying and ballasting etc., four miles of track in one day. The “Bob Semple bulldozers,” as they were called by the men. had enabled that to be done. Each time a bulldozer snorted, it moved ,ten tons. A soldier: “And makes a hole big enough to bury Bob Semple.”

“BABIES FREE OF DEBT.” Dealing with Social .Security, Mr Semple said that under the maternity benefits up to December 3, 1942, 116,445 babies had been born free of debt tc the parents. Other countries were copying New Zealand’s legislation. Mr Semple spoke of the Government war finance and of plans for the transformation of the country from peace to a war time basis. In addition to me mobilisation of the armed forces, auxiliary organisations had been set up and the country was under an obligation to the United States to care for its soldiers in New Zealand and to provide hospital and camp accommodation. The Dominion was under an obligation to find food for the Americans and to give some idea of the magnitude of that task America’s food bill this year was £20,000,000. GREAT WORKS COMPLETED. Accommodation equal to 17 towns the size of Ashburton, each with a population of 7,000 had • been built. Hospital accommodation was for over 10.000 beds, 8,500 of them in Auckland for the Americans alone. Thousands of pairs of boots had been made for them. That was done with 165,000 physically fit men in the Armed Forces at home or overseas. The buildings were put up in record time. They had to build stores, fortifications, oil tanks, magazines, observation posts, raid shelters, operational centres for Navy, Army, Air Force and U.S. Forces. The building erected to store American equipment were equal to 3,421,558 square feet at an approximate cost of £3,012,000. They were all built on railway sidings and adaptable to postwar use. Placed end to end it would take 6 hours to walk through the stores built and a further half million square feet xyas projected. They had completed 90 aerodromes covering 10,000 acres. All-weather runways amounted to 108 miles, concrete runways to 68 miles. New Zealand had more up-to-date aerodromes capable of carrying the heaviest bombers, such as Flying Fortresses, than any country in the world on a population basis. , MINISTRY OF WORKS. The changing of the name Public Works Department to the Ministry of Works was referred to by Mr Semple, who said that the Minister of Works will in the future have associated with him an Executive of Construction. This executive will be composed of highly skilled technical men, engineers, surveyors, architects and town . .planners. “They will consult with the Minister once or twice a week,” Mr Semple said. “Their job is to plan for the fu-ture-plan for, say, 25 years ahead, so that every undertaking will be thoroughly considered and scientifically planned before one copper of public money is spent on it. All these plans, which will represent every activity of the nation, will be considered in order of urgency, so that all oui’ material and all our manpower will be thoroughly organised and diverted to the channels where they are most urgently needed, doing first things first. This method of investigation, examination and planning will be applied to all State activities. This is the only way to. build a nation scientifically and with a maximum degree of safety, which will bring in its turn security, employment and happiness for all.”