THE ELECTION

Press, Volume LXXIX, Issue 24051, 13 September 1943, Page 6

THE ELECTION

TEMUKA ELECTORATE

MR J. ACLAND’S ADDRESS

From Our Own Reporter

PLEASANT POINT, September 11. “We are all agreed that New Zealand needs a larger population,' said Mr J. Acland, National Party candidate for Temuka, speaking at Pleasant Point last evening, “The best way of increasing our population is by relying on the mothers of the country.

“The causes that result in small families must, as far as possible, be removed, and amongst them the difficulty of obtaining suitable help in the home. The National Party intends to establish home-help training centres and a corps of trained homehelpers. Assistance will be given mothers during sickness and confinement. Work-saving appliances will be made free of duty, electricity made cheaper in country districts, and telephone, travel, rail, and educational services improved. Boarding allowances for country children at high schools will be liberalised, and the kindergarten and creche system extended. The Plunket Society will be assisted.”

The family man and those on small pensions and small fixed incomes were the people the war was. pressing on most heavily, continued Mr Acland In spite of what Mr Nash said, the cost of living had increased tremendously. The National Party was going to bring in a sliding scale of taxation by which to assist the family man. The true basis, of national life was a happy family life in the people's own homes.

“The competitive system of house building must come back,’’ said the speaker. “The small builder must be protected because he is the best price fixer we have. Monopolistic control is creeping into the building industry, apparently with the present Government’s knowledge and sanction, and this will definitely increase costs. The National Government has. a plan for building at least 10,000 houses a year. For five years before March. 1940, the Labour Government, plus private enterprise, built 30,936 houses. In the five years before the slump, private enterprise alone built 30,678 houses. In spite of the Labour Government’s much-vaunted housing scheme, all they had done was to transfer men in the building trade from private enterprise to State enterprise, and at some considerable cost to the community. In 1935 a four-roomed house cost £552. It cost £B9O in 193839, and would cost about £llOO today.”

Decentralisation of authority was essential, said Mr Acland. Strong local government was absolutely necessary to take over many of the functions now centralised in the State. The profit-sharing system and the small businessman and trader had to be encouraged and protected front the monopolist. The Labour Party had as its long-term policy the socialisation of the means of production, distribution, and exchange. His idea of the long-term policy for New Zealand was one of, decentralisation of authority, reorganisation of industry, encouragement of the family, and opportunity for youth. “If we carry out this policy it will attain what we are all striving for to-day: ‘freedom,’ freedom not only from want and fear, but freedom from monopolies, from ted tspe, from bureaucracy, and Government control. ' England in the past had a dictatorship of aristocrats; today we have a dictatorship of bureaucrats,” he said. Rehabilitation was one of the means by which the people could try to repay servicemen for all they have done for us and for our country; “It is essential for New Zealand to import on a large scale,” he added. “Many essential commodities such as oil,', petrol, rubber, cotton, and steel, cannot be obtained here. The only means of purchasing such commodities is by means of exports. We must therefore always have a large population of successful, free, and independent farmers. The conditions of life and the financial return from farming, and for farm workers must compare favourably with other occupations.” ,

REVISION OF MANPOWER AND TAXATION

MRS J. A. LEE’S ADDRESS AT ASHBURTON "We believe in manpower revision and revision of wage taxation,” said Mrs J. A. Lee, wife of the leader of the New Zealand Democratic SoldierLabour Party in a political address to more than 200 electors at the Foresters’ Hall, Ashburton, on Saturday evening. Mrs Lee was speaking in support of the candidature of Mr Harry Bates. People in fanning districts had been treated unfairly with regard to manpower, particularly in the north, where only women and old people had been . left to manage many farms, said Mrs Lee. Much good stock had been sold and would cause a shortage of dairy produce in the future. Families were being treated shockingly, she continued. They had to pay a wage tax and a social security tax no matter what their financial position. Wages had been stabilised at the 1938 level and prices at the 1943 level. _ Between 1935 and 1940 the Hon. W. Nash had had plenty of time to reorganise the financial policy of New Zealand and to begin new industries, Mrs Lee said. Did he reasonably care for the sterling funds which had been built up overseas? she asked. He had allowed them to be raided, she added. If those funds had been used to bring foods to New Zealand, we would have een in a better state to withstand war shortages, said Mrs Lee. REPLY TO MR DOIDGE HON. D. G. SULLIVAN SPEAKS AT NGATEA (P.A.) THAMES, September 11. Speaking at Ngatea on Friday night the Hon. D. G, Sullivan referred to matters raised by Mr T. W. Doidge at Ashburton when he criticised the Price Tribunal and referred to its inspectors as “snoopers.” Mr Sullivan said that instead of attacking the Government and Price Tribunal for their gallant efforts to protect the country against high prices and inflation, every decent citizen should support the Government’s efforts to defend New Zealand against the cruellest infliction, namely inflation. It was useless to fix prices unless reasonable steps were taken to ensure that they were given effect to. The whole country was price conscious and eager to be protected against unauthorised price increases. In Britain and America drastic action had been taken to ensure that price control was effective. Apparently Mr Doidge and his Nationalist colleagues would let prices and profiteers go uncontrolled because of the support his Party got from such people. Referring to Mr Doidge’s statement about the Tauranga Gas Works, Mr Sullivan said Mr Doidge had still to answer his question of why Mr Doidge and his friends did not organise a company and take over the works or why the Borough Council did not step in when private enterprise failed.

VOTING IN LONDON

(Special Correspondent N.2-P.A.I

(Rec. 8.30 p.m.) LONDON, Sept. 11. Voting in the General Election by New Zealanders overseas began at New Zealand House this morning. The first voter was a member of the Merchant Navy, Fifth Engineer G. D. Lawrence, of Christchurch, who was in the Empire Cloud when she was torpedoed in the Mediterranean last August. He is now with the Port Line. The next voters were Sister F. M. Brown, of Dunedin, and Staff-Sergeant W. H. Barnard, of Wellington, cousin of the Speaker. They both arrived in London only last night with other members of the 2nd N.Z.E.F. on leave from the Middle East.

The fourth voter was Lieutenant C. P. Thode, of Auckland, the only member of the Royal New Zealand Naval Volunteer Reserve commanding a submarine.