COALITION MEMBERS AT LYTTELTON

Press, Volume LXIX, Issue 20957, 11 September 1933, Page 12

COALITION MEMBERS AT LYTTELTON

A SMALL ATTENDANCE Messrs W. J. Broadfoot, M.P. 'Wai-| tomo) and W. A. Bodkin, M.P. (Central Otago), addressed a poorlyattended meeting at the Oddfellows Hall at Lyttelton on Saturday night | on behalf of the Coalition candidate ] (Mr F. W. Freeman). The attendance was less than 40. There were no interjectors during Mr Broadfoofs ad- j dress, and only one while Mr Bodkin j was speaking. j Mr D. Comer presided, and apologised for the absence of the Mayor (Mr W. T. Lester) who, owing to a misunderstanding, was unable to be | Pr Speaking of the present distress Mr j Broadfoot said that the price of New { Zealand's produce was becoming more buoyant and undoubtedly the position of the country must improve. Mr Broadfoot said the Government claimed that in dealing with the period of depression it had taken the right course and the only course. No : Government willingly increased taxa- j tion or effected economies that caused hardship. The course the Government took did not involve it in any popularity, but the Government played ; the game, it played safe. The Labour | party had never had an opportunity \ of putting its promises and projects into effect. If Labour assumed office it would have to live up to realities, > just as had Labour governments in other parts of the world. In England | when the Labour government, led j by Mr Mac Donald, had come into j office, there were 1,100,000 unemployed. Alter Labour had been in office for two years the number had risen to 2.800.000, and the insurance fund had been overdrawn to the extent of £115,000,000. Mr F. Langstone, M.P., had stated that the Labour party would fix the price of primary products. Such a scheme would cost £30,000,000 a year, and yet the Labour party had criticised the Govern- j ment because it might have to pay £5,000,000 under the exchange scheme. Many of the Labour members in the House had accused the Coalition Goverment of being the cause of the depression. That was absolutely fantastic. I Referring to the Tourist Department, Mr Broadfoot said that no State department would ever develop the tourist traffic in the Dominion, and the sooner it was handed over to private enterprise the better. (Applause.) In Canada the tourist trade was the third greatest industry. If the speaker had his way the tourist trade would be handed over to, say, the Cunard Company or the Canadian Pacific Company, and let one of these private enterprises develop it. Mr Bodkin's Address. Speaking of the accusation that had been made that the Government had caused the depression by wage-cutting, : Mr Bodkin said that long before the Government took any action regard- I ! ing the reduction of wages the unera- 1 ' ployment figures had grown alarm- ! ingly, many thousands being out of j work. Admittedly the Government I had been compelled to reduce old ; age pensions, widows' and soldiers* • pensions. Yet old age pensions in New I . Zealand were still the highest in the ; world. Married soldiers on full pen- [ sions were still receiving the highest . in the world. New Zealand's expendi- . ture on social services, a head of popul lation, was the highest in the world. . There was no real distress among those » who were fortunate enough to be in t work. The distress was confined , solely to those unfortunates who were > unemployed. Prices were now definitely on the increase. As they iml PJ-oved, more and more men would be ; placed back in work. This would bring t ma greater amount of relief taxation . which would be distributed among a i smaller number of unemployed 1