NEW REGIME IN N.S.W.

Auckland Star, Volume LXIII, Issue 183, 4 August 1932, Page 11

NEW REGIME IN N.S.W.

WORK INSTEAD OF DOLE. WHOLESALE FRAUD REVEAI/ED. f WARNING TO COMMUNISTS. (Prom Our Own Correspondent.) SYDNEY, July 29. The Minister of Labour, acting upon many rumours of imposition and malpractice in connection with the dole, recently notified all in receipt of food relief to assemble at certain fixed localities to have their application tickets checked. About 79,000 out of the 85,000 *;i the dole in Sydney and along the South Coast answered the call, which means that there had been at least GOOO fraudulent cases. A man caught at Bankstown not long ago had five dole cards enabling him to collect at five different stations. Another arrested at Parramatta recently admitted that he had drawn five lots of rations a fortnight for several months, visiting the different stations on a motor cycle; and a woman with a motor car quadrupled her allowance in the same way.

The result of this attempt to check the applications for relief is therefore not surprising, but Mr. Dunningham points out-that these frauds have meant a direct loss to the State of at least £100,000 a year. This check has been so successful that a similar plan is to be adopted in'the Newcastle and Maitland districts, where fraud and impersonation are said to be frequent and widespread. The majority of the workers did not appear to resent this investigation. But at Circular Quay there was some trouble, as Communist agitators openly urged the men to break down the barriers and seize duplicate cards for themselves. However, the "Labour Daily" expended a large amount of hysterical pathos upon 'the pitiable plight of these unfortunates, "herded" and "yarded" like "dumb driven cattle" at the bidding of their masters — and all to save a paltry f 100,000 a year! "Terrible Fate!" Naturally, this sort of thing produces its effect, and when applications for employment on relief work were invited this week the Minister of Labour learned that large numbers of men —nearly 50 per cent of those called up—declined employment, preferring to remain on the dole. Considering the scale on which this relief has been granted in many cases, one can hardly feel surprised at their hesitation. For an unemployed man with seven children (the first class called up) when on the dole has been receiving £3 18/ a week, while under the new system of relief employment he will get £3 15/ per week for 40 hours, working three weeks in five, and receiving travelling expenses and 30/ per -week family endowment as well. But to get wages he must work, and unfortunately there is only too much reason to fear that some Australians are now "too tired to work," so long as they can get the dole.

In this connection I may quote again from the "Labour Daily," which, bewails the terrible fate of the hapless wageearners, now doomed to "spasmodic weeks of torment digging in slush, chopping rock, shovelling clay and sand," and all for a few paltry pounds 1 The Langite organ lingers long over the details of the tortures to which this capitalist Government is now subjecting its bond-slaves —"Blisters 1 Raw, soft hands unused to the grip of pick and shovel; disused muscles that ache as though seared; backs that seem ready to snap!" Shades of our early settlers and pioneers! I wonder if the man responsible for this maudlin drivel ever did a decent day's work in his life. I cannot believe that this maundering really the views and feelings of any large section of the workers of Australia, but anyone who really feels like that must have surrendered his manhood and his self-respect when he went upon the dole. No Dole Without Work. However, it should be possible to deal effectively with the weaklings and cowards who prefer to live at the expense of others rather than make an effort for themselves, and Mr. Dunningham has announced that those who refuse work, unless good cause is shown, may be cut off from the dole. As a matter of fact, most of the men who declined at first have since reconsidered the position, and have offered themselves for regular work, alleging that they had been misinformed about the remuneration. But the Government has already announced that Communists and others who cause any active trouble or disorder in regard to relief works may expect to find themselves excluded from the dole, and this warning is likely to take effect in certain quarters where a threat of that kind seems urgently required.