THE WAIMAKARIRI SCHEME

Press, Volume LXXI, Issue 21506, 22 June 1935, Page 16

THE WAIMAKARIRI SCHEME

DIFFICULTY WITH ALLOCATION COMMENT BY THE MAYOR Commenting on the deadlock which has arisen over securing a full allocation of sustenance men for the Waimakariri scheme, the Mayor (Mr D. G. Sullivan, M.P.) said yesterday that the deputy-chairman of the Unemployment Board (Mr W. Bromley) appeared to have the sequence of the events leading up to the difficulty in the wrong order.

Mr Sullivan received a telegram from the Minister for Employment (the Hon. S. G. Smith) explaining the difficulty. Speaking about the summary o£ the position given by Mr Bromley on Thursday, Mr Sullivan said:—

in the first place, the conference on unemployment did not as far as I can remember discuss the Waimakariri question at all. It concentrated on tho following three points: (1) Improving conditions for the unemployed by means of a 20 per cent, increase in relief pay during the winter months; (2) on inducing the Government and the Unemployment Beard to initiate works at standard rates of pay for the puipose of absorbing large numbers of unemployed men. When the deputation appointed oy tho conference met the Minister and Mr Bromley in Wellington, it did not. introduce the question but carried out its instructions, However, when that business had been disposed of and the Minister had replied, Mr Bromley then made a statement in reply to the comments of the Christchurch newspapers and the agitation generally, in which he defended the board on the question of supervision. "We listened to his statement and to that of the Minister, which followed on the same point, asked If supervision costs were to be provided, and were told that they would be. Beyond that my conference and deputation had no relationship to the Waimakariri issue. It appears, therefore, quite out of place to r.houlder any responsibility for the position that has now arisen on to the Mayor's conference and deputation or on to myself.

Time and Patlcnco "I sincerely hope that now that the position has arisen, the board will not cr.-ate further difficulties by any precipitate action such as refusing sustenance to men who do not want, to go to Ihe V/aimnkariri camp. It is my experience that time and patience prove a solvent for most diff'culties, whereas, precipitate action usually only creates a condition of crisis. I have not shirked rny responsibilities during the la 1 ;! four or five year;;," he concluded. "1 have faced them and made my decisions; but in this matter the responsibility in not mine. I am v/illiti;;, though, to help to try to find a way out of the difficulty, and I will see what I can do." A Misunderstanding "There seems to have been a considerable amount of misunderstanding about the nature of the work." said Mr H Holland, M.P., the Government representative en the V/aimakariri li'iver Trust, commenting on the lack of interest displayed by relief workers in the work which has been made available by the Unemployment Board, acting in co-oneration with the trust "The work is"not, as the gcneial opinion seems to be, heavy constructional work, but for the greater part merely planting small trees in the river bed. The trust has decided to plant 750,030 trees in various parts of tlv? river bed, and the work this enleils should considerably relievo the strain on the Idetropoiitan Relief Depot." • When the work., which would absorb •100 to 500 men, was made available, out of the 11 GO men on sustenance only 20 showed their readiness to take it.