"SMUGLY COMPLACENT."

Auckland Star, Volume LVIII, Issue 226, 24 September 1927, Page 12

"SMUGLY COMPLACENT. "

REFORM GOVERNMENT'S ATTITUDE. INCREASE OF UNEMPLOYMENT. MINISTER OF LABOUR UNEASY. WOULDN'T WORRY IF HE LOST PORTFOLIO. (By Telegraph— Parliamentary Reporter i WELLINGTON, Friday. "Does the Minister of Labour admit that he is helpless? He has expressed some very fine sentiments, but beautiful sentiments won't help us when, on his Department's own figures, there are over 700 unemployed in Auckland alone." Mr. M. J. Savage (Auckland West) made that statement in the House of Representatives this afternoon, when the unemployment problem was being discussed. For hours the Labour party hammered away at the Minister to induce him to make a statement regarding the Government's future policy for the relief of the unemployed. The best the Minister could say in reply was that the Government was sympathetic, but personally he (the Hon. G. J. Anderson) would not be sorry if the Prime Minister took the job of Minister of Labour off his shoulders. It was not the easiest job in tho world. An amendment to the Labour Department's vote on the Estimates was moved by Mr. E. J. Howard, who suggested that the amount proposed should be reduced by £10 as an indication that members were not satisfied with the Government's policy regarding unemployment. The amendment was lost by 45 votes to 14. Alarming Position in Auckland. Tho conditions in Auckland, as reported in the newspapers, certainly reflected anything but credit on the public men of the country, said Mr. Savage. It had been stated in a leading article that the position in Auckland was more acute than in any other portion of the British Empire. The responsibility on local bodies was growing by leaps and bounds, said Mr. Savage. Benevolent institutions were coming into being to meet the distress occasioned by unemployment, and collections were taken up in the streets. Even school children were being asked to subscribe. It was no exaggeration to say that there were 3000 ablebodied men in Auckland to-day, either partly or wholly unemployed. Every man in that condition was a liability. Articles in the Auckland "Star," which was not a Labour paper, showed that the position in Auckland was alarming —one could use no other word. While Parliament talked till late into the night on incidentals which applied to those who were far removed from the starvation line, the people who were suffering seemed to be overlooked. What was the Government going to do about it? Mr. R. McKeen (Wellington South) said that many of the unemployed in the capital city were men who had been discharged from the Railway and Public Works Departments. "I don't think the hon. member for Auckland West believes the statement that was made by the newspaper quoted," said the Hon. G. J. Anderson (Minister of Labour). Mr. Savage: I do. When was the Minister last in Auckland? The Minister: I have been in Auckland many times, and it must have altered very much if it is as bad as that. I don't believe it is, although, of course, I have always admitted that unemployment tends to be worse in Auckland than anywhere else in New Zealand. But it is the largest city in the Dominion, and, being such a fine city, it is natural that unemployed people go there to see if they can get work. Tho Leader of the Opposition: Then how is it they have the same thing in Wellington, Christchurch and Dunedin? The Minister: Oh, for the same reason. £175,000 Spent on Relief Work. Figures from the official records of the Labour Department were quoted by the Minister to show the number of men out of work. The sum of £175,000 had been, spent by the Government on relief work since April 1, and during the same period £82,000 had been given in subsidies to local bodies. In addition, £14,000 had been provided for the Forestry Department. According to the latest figures, unemployment generally had decreased, but in Auckland there had been a slight increase during th«past weeks. The Labour Department's figures showed there were 716 on the register in Auckland. Mr. Savage: Surely that is not creditable? The Minister said that, notwithstanding all the relief work, the number of unemployed had remained at about the same level. No matter what was done, unemployment continued. The Leader of the Opposition: What is the explanation of that? Flocking to the City. The Minister said the only explanation he could find was that when a number of men were put on public works, or engaged by local bodies, their names on the register were replaced by men who came in from the country. There was a large number of men unfitted for public works, and those men were exceedingly difficult to place. These men remained fairly constant. In Wellington, there were 325 men registered, 420 in Christchurch, and 179 in Dunedin. It was all very well for the member for Auckland East (Mr. Lee) to blame the Government for unemployment, but in view of the Raglan by-election what he had said was probably nothing more than propaganda. Unemployment was due to the conditions which had prevailed in recent times. Mr. J. A. Lee: Immigration is one of them! The Minister said he hoped to see an improvement this year, in so far as unemployment was concerned. The Government wanted to help. It was not a callous Government. Mr. Lee: Smugly complacent! Large Number Unregistered. The Leader of the Opposition said that although the Minister might scout the idea that the Government was not responsible, the fact remained that the number of State-aided immigrants exceeded the number of unemployed. It was only natural that men should come into the big cities from the smaller places when conditions were hard. The Government had done a little, but there were still hundreds and hundreds out of work. Everyone knew there were men who would not register. The Hon. W. Nosworthy: Why won't they register? Mr. Holland: There are various reasons. He ventured to say the Minister could double the figures quoted, but even on those figures it was shown that the position was more acute to-day than u had ever been, probably in the whole Inietory of New Zealand.

Mr. D. Sullivan (Avon) expressed himself as disappointed with the Minister's reply. Mr. Savage said the Government apparently had no policy. It was apparently waiting for something to turn up, and the thing that was turning up was the wrong thing. Minister's Lack of Vision. That the Minister was suffering from want of vision, was the opinion of the Liberal member for Hutt (Mr. T. M. Wilford). "The position in Auckland must be met," he said, "and it must be met by the Government. It is the Government's duty." The man with a wife and family had a hard row to hoe when he found himself without work. Mr. Wilford agreed with the sentiments expressed by Labour members. It was for the Government to act. Other parties in the House were impotent. They looked to the Government to find a way out. "It Would Be Wrong To Hurry." The Minister said it could not be said it was the duty of the Government to find employment for everybody. He was satisfied that the present machinery at their disposal would enable them to find reasonable employment. It had been suggested by the member for Hutt that he (the Minister) lacked vision, but all he could say was that it would not worry him at all if the Prime Minister took the job off his shoulders altogether. "It's not the easiest job in the world," said Mr. Anderson. He went on to refer to the question of putting men to work on improving the deteriorated lands, and clearing swamps. That matter, he said, was being considered by the Government, but it would be-wrong to do anything hurriedly. "It is ridiculous to say there are only 700 to 800 unemployed in Auckland," said Mr. W. E. Parry (Auckland Central). He ventured to say that the number was more like 3000. The Minister: What do you base those figures on? Mr. Parry: On figures obtained from the various union secretaries at the Trades Hall. Surely the Minister will not dispute those figures ?