RELIEF WORKERS'RENTS

Auckland Star, Volume LXIII, Issue 238, 7 October 1932, Page 3

RELIEF WORKERS'RENTS

OUTSPOKEN PROTEST. "IS THAT A THREAT ?» MR. PARRY URGES CONFERENCE. (By Telegraph.—Parliamentary Reporter.) WELLINGTON, this day. A definite announcement that if something were not done by the Government to assist in the payment of rent by relief workers, he would, take the law into his own hands was made in the House yesterday afternoon by Mr. W. E. Parry (Labour, Auckland Central). When asked by Mr. Coates if that was a threat, Mr. Parry replied that his remark could be taken as Mr. Coates liked.

Mr. Parry said that the Government, in paying relief workers the amount that was paid to them, was putting an unfair burden oil the property owners of the Dominion. If the Government would not make some definite attempt to meet the difficulty, he would, as a member of the House, take the law into his own hands. If the Government was prepared to give reasonable consideration to the suggestion that representatives of the Government, the landlords and the relief workers should meet in an endeavour to arrive at some scheme whereby some assistance could be given towards meeting the rents of the relief workers, then he would give all the help he could; if not, he was going to try to make some definite protest throughout the country, and he would organise the relief workers and other workers towards that end.

" Take it as You Like." Mr. Coates: Is that a threat? "You can take it as you like," replied Mr. Parry. If the Government was going to continue to ask him to help to get relief workers to pay 25/ and 30/ rent out of their earnings, he was not going to do it. He pointed out that if a relief worker's wife earned a few shillings in order to purchase clothes for herself, her husband was refused work. He was not going to continue with the present arrangements, and he was not concerned about what lie was going to meet. He wanted to know if the Government was going to accept the present situation as a permanent part of the social and economic system. Appeal to Government. Mr. Coates had said that he was making a threat, continued Mr. Parry. He would qualify what he had said by saying that if the Government was prepared to assist, he was also prepared to assist. If the Government was not prepared to do something, then he was | prepared to take action and see if some redress could not be obtained. He asked the Government if it would agree to the suggestion to meet the landlords in a representative way, and then every member on the Labour benches would assist in getting the 'unemployed to come to some definite scheme so that rents could be paid. He would suggest that the Government make some contribution to the rents paid by relief workers. He would strain every effort to bring about a settlement, but failin" that, he would take other stops himselE