FURTHER PROPOSALS FOR UNEMPLOYMENT RELIEF

Bay of Plenty Times, Volume LX, Issue 10825, 23 March 1932, Page 3

FURTHER PROPOSALS FOR UNEMPLOYMENT RELIEF

Schemes for Land Development.

WAGES TAX TO BE Is IN THE £l. Wellington March 28. Highly important proposals for the relief of unemployment were announced by the Hon. J. G. Coates, Minister in. Charge of Unemployment, in the House this afternoon. These include an increase in the wages tax to one shilling in the pound; the establishment of the rural allotments scheme; the extension of the principle of placing men on existing farms and moving single men from the cities to highway construction and other camps; provision for accommodation for workers under scheme 4A: and extension of Scheme 5; rural areas development; land drainage: tidal flat reclamation and the reclamation of virgin land; schemes for metalling hack-block roads; asistance to gold prospectors and transference from tlte Hospital Boards to the Unemployment Board of the responsibility for (he relief of distress arising out of unemployment. Under the proposed rural allotments plan holdings of from five to ten acres will be made available. Accommodation will be supplied and the occupant will be able to work part time for neighbouring farmers. In the meantime he may receive a portion of the present relief allowaance. Under the new financial arrangements the Consolidated Fund subsidy for unemployment will cease. The Bill giving legislative effect to the proposals was introduced this afternoon. The text of the Minister’s statement is as follows: “For the information of members and the country I desire to review the position respecting unemployment and outline some further courses of action calculated to provide opportunity for those out of employment. In so doing, I recognise two basic considerations. It will be necessary to keep in mind the effect of the hurdents on taxation, for it is obvious the more the public is taxed the greater will lie the decrease in spending ability, which brings its own reactions in industry. My endeavour, therefore, is to keep a reasonable and equitable balance and thereby avoid adding to the troubles with which we are dealing. On the other hand it is my opinion that we must not merely say reasonable relief should he granted to those in distress hut must take every step within our power to ensure that no citizen who is prepared to work shall go short of tlte minimum necessities to keep together the body and soul of himself and his dependents. In reviewing (he past few months we are able to se some cause for satisfaction. The rate of increase in the number of registered unemployed has at least been arrested in the meantime. The total stood at 51,408 on October 4. It has been reduced by 7000 and has now been fairly constant at about 45,000 for several weeks.

"Last year the total placements of men in subsidised employment on farms was 27,000. This represents some real progress in moving men over the fence. Every care has been taken to see that these mon have not displaced regular employees. The number actually on farms as additional labour to-day is 7000. In October last the figure was 2000. Our intention is to extend to the utmost the means of placing men on existing farms. "About 1000 single men have been moved from congested city areas into camps for highway construction. These camps were in the nature of a.n experiment on the part of the Main Highways Board and the Unemployment Board, and they arc now to be Judged satisfactory. The principle will be further extended, but with this diffeeruce that the purpose will not be confined to road work. “A start has already been made in establishing camps for married men to enable them to engage in more useful work than they could he offered in the cities. The marked revival in gold prospecting is due, in part, to the assistance given by the Unemployment Board, co-operating with the Mines Department. With gold over £6 per ounce as compared with £3 17s lOd a year ago many workings which were not worth while have now become so. “Much of Scheme 5 work has been of limited value, but special investigation has shown that under Scheme 5 some 10,000 men are now engaged in work of a definitely productive nature, such as land drainage a.nd improvement. “Scheme 4A will continue and as many men as farmers are prepared to take will be made available under this scheme if satisfactory arrangements can be entered into with the farmers. When the farmer has no accommodation available for a man and cannot provide it, arrangements will be made to provide a hut or materials to erect one.

“Although the total registered unemployed has fallen in the past five months there is one group in which the numbers have not fallen, and that is the married men in the cities. While the total of single men registered as unemployed in the four main cities has fallen from 9000 to 7000, a drop of 23 per cent., the number of unemployed married men in the cities was 11,500 in October and is still 11,200 in March.

“This brings me to refer to the first measure which we propose for the further relief of married men. We turn our attention to the land and the proposed scheme of rural allotments. Under this new plan sections from five to ten acres will be acquired by any form of tenure which is most suitable to the case and a cottage of the Public Works type will be erected thereon. The allotments will be distributed throughout rural districts. The occupant of a section will be able to work some of the time for himself on his own place in providing his own sustenance and part of the time for a nearby farmer or anyone in the locality who can employ him. It is recognised that relief workers who are thus moved out will not immediately be able to earn an independent livelihood. Some part of the present relief allowance will, therefore, have to be continued. Again there are many cases -where the land-owner could make available to the worker a portion of his land and the occupant could -work in the same way—that is to say, part of the time on his allotment and part for the farmers in the district. The Government now appeals to all the land-owners and farmers to help in this time of stress. As typical of what can be done and something that has been done we can picture a farmer agreeing to take a relief worker and his family on to his place, with a cottage provided, the farmer setting aside a few acres and providing a cow or two, pigs, and such iai m products as he can, while the relief worker agrees to work on stated terms on the farm. It is not wholly a land settlement scheme, but rather an emergency measure to move some thousands of persons into an environment with opportunities for the individual. At the very least it mil

provide shelter until the storm has passed over, and is certainly preferrable to keeping families in congested areas with little hope or opportunity. The Government has agreed to recommend Parliament to provide a fund, in the nature of capital expenditure, to help to finance this scheme. Transport is amongst the incidental problems raised by a scheme of this character. The flailways Board have been consulted and I am pleased to say that they have agreed to cut the charges and cooperate in a helpful way with -his plan. "Land Drainage offers a very valuable addition to the works to he undertaken. Drainage will enable water-logged lands to be made completely productive and provide for greatly increased production, and ultimately for closer settlement. Tidal flat reclamation also offers scope for considerable development. Some works are in hand and when completed will be immediately made available to those requiring small farms.

“Proposals are being finalised embracing the development of Crown Lands by suitable men. Road work, particularly the metalling of backblock roads, will enable us to give employment to a considerable number of men in providing all-weather access which settlers so badly need. “Hospital Boards will be responsible for relief to those whose distress is due to causes other than unemployment. Hospital Boards will be relieved of a considerable drain on their resources and as a result of the proposed change in method and organisation hospital and charitable aid boards should be able, to reduce their demands for levies on local bodies.

“An increase in the income of the Unemployment Fund is imperative. “It must be clear to all that the Consolidated Fund will not be able to contribute anything in the ensuing year by way of subsidy to the Unemployment Fund, nor is it anticipated that the amount payable this year by way of levy and special tax on wages income will equal what was received during the present financial year from the same income avenues. The special tax for '-unemployment stands outside of ordinary taxation and outside of State revenue. It is in the nature of insurance or a pool as amongst wage and salary earners who are in employment and those who are unemployed. From this view-point, and so long as the available funds are economically administered, I am sure that those who are in employment and in receipt of income. even a falling one, will not grudge the increase shown to be necessary. The tax will now be extended to Include women with individual incomes below £250 a year from sources other than salary or wages. At present they are exempt while women with the same or smaller incomes from wages and salary are subject to the tax. This anomaly will be removed. It "is necessary to ask Parliament to increase the wages unemployment tav to one shilling in the £l.”