CHRISTCHURCH SOUTH

Press, Volume LXXIX, Issue 24053, 15 September 1943, Page 6

CHRISTCHURCH SOUTH

DEMOCRATIC LABOUR CANDIDATE

PARTY’S VIEW ON MANPOWER

' POLICY

“We are only a young, small country, and although the war has got to be fought and won, we must see that we are not bled white in the process. We have got to see that'we are in-a fit situation to win the peace when the war is over,” said Private Russell Pearson, Democratic Soldier Labour Party candidate for Christchurch South, when he explained to a meeting in the Oddfellows’ Hall, Selwyn street, last evening, his party’s views on New Zealand’s manpower commitments overseas. Mr J. Jennings presided. Private Pearson said the Democratic Soldier Labour Party maintained that New Zealand’s manpower commitments were grossly overtaxed. New Zealand was a small country, with a small population, but she was trying to maintain the equivalent of four divisions overseas. In the' last war New Zealand had a population of slightly more than 1,000,000, and maintained one division. The population to-day was 1,500,000, and New Zealand was committed to maintain a division' in the Middle East and another in the Pacific. ' “We advocate that the Middle’ East division should be recalled,” said Private Pearson. “Our fight lies in the Pacific area, where our interests lie.” Private Pearson added that the Labour Government was trying to take some comfort from the fact that a Labour Government had been returned in Australi., and regarded this as a vote of confidence in Labour politics. This was not the situation at alb Mr Curtin had been responsible xjr bringing back the Australian soldiers from the Middle East to protect their own shores. His attitude was identical with that of Mr Lee. It was not Labour politics, but Mr Curtin’s attitude to Australia’s overseas commitments which bad gamed him such overwhelming support Explaining, the party’s. monetary policy, Private Pearson said that for the last 20 years he had been a member of the Labour Party or associated with *it. Like a lot of people, he had supported the Labour Party, but ’ was now disillusioned. He had expected great things from the Labour Party, but many of the things he expected had hot come to pass. “The control of currency and credit is a fundamental plank of the Democratic Soldier-Labour Party’s pwicy,’ said Private Pearson. “We maintain that by having control of credit and currency and using it in . the interests of* the people a great many of the reforms which the Labour Party laboured to bring into being could be achieved far more quickly and effectively. Control of currency and credit is fundamentally necessary before New Zealand can tackle the question of rehabilitation or the bringing intojbeing of a new order. These things will not be possible unless we have a money system which will fit in with the physical capabilities of the people of New Zealand. . u “We maintain tyat we have the policy which the Labdur Party had in 1935, and which it has. forgotten or ignored,” continued Private Pearson. “The Labour Party has no intention-of carrying out the pledge of monetary control and reform which it made in 1935. That is where J. A. Lee and I split with the Labour Pariy." Dealing with manpower problems, Private Pearson said that there were approximately 8000 girls in camp, and now that an election was drawing near the people were told that there was going to be a review of the numoers. At many of the camps there were hundreds of girls who were doing nothing which contributed to the war effort. All that some of them were doing were semi-permanent fatigues. ’The girls themselves, were getting sick, of it, and would far .sooner be out doing a useful job in industry. , ' The audience of 30 people gave the candidate an attentive nearing, , gnd after he had answered, several questions, he received a vote of thanks.

MANPOWER POLICY CONDEMNED

MB D. J. UPTON'S ADDRESS

“We of the Democratic Labour Party are convinced that the • Government’s handling of the manpower problem is stupid,” said Mr D. J. Upton, Democratic Soldier Labour, candidate for Avon, in an address to electors at the Richmond Methodist schoolroom last evening. "The manpower of this little country has been grossly over-com-mitted. It is most unfair for a small country with a population of. a, million and a half to be made to support a division in the Middle; East, another in the Pacific, to supply 3000 men to the Air Force, and 2000 to , the Navy each year, and at the . same time to keep the home frpnt going.’’ ' Mr Upton was given a good hearing by an audience of about 30. He answered a great many questions at the end of his address and was accorded a hearty vote of thdhks. “The Labour Party is inviting the electors of New Zealand to accept the result of the election in Australia as a sign. 1 would point out that Labour was returned in Australia as an endorsement of its policy of bringing back the Australian division to protect their home land,” went on Mr Upton. New Zealand, he said, was in a fairly happy situation from the war point of view at the present time, but it was no thanks to the policy of the Government, which was the opposite of Australia’s. Mr Nash had declared that the Government recognised war in the Pacific to be inevitable, yet it had immediately sent men to the Middle East and to England on the outbreak of war and had left the Dominion defenceless against the Japanese, “I am not going to say that I was against sending men to the Middle East and England, but I do say that u should have been a small force, as a token of good faith,” the candidate declared. If Japan had not attacked the United States, and if the Sovief Union had not stood firm throughout 1941, 1942. and -1943, New Zealand, he said, would have been invaded by the Japanese and would have been defenceless.

Mr Nash was reported to have told Mr Litvinov that one of every two able-bodied men in New Zealand was bearing arms, and Mr Litvinov was reported to have replied that he did not believe it. “Quite a lot of those men in camp were qot bearing arms, though,” said Mr Upton. “We simply did not have the arms for them to bear. That there was insufficient equipment did not deter the Govern •- ment from taking men from farms and from industry and putting them into camp.” Mr Upton said it should not be necessary to elaborate on his party’s financial policy, “That question was threshed out in 1935," he said. “The first plank of our financial platform, the control of currency and credit, is what the Labour Party promised us before it came to power. It was promised again in 1938. although the issue was somewhat clouded by the, social sf purity question." He thought the people of New Zealand honestly believed that the monetary system was ' Tong, but they were thwarted in their attempts to reform it. Why did not the Government put into effect what Mr Savage stood for. a credit system, instead of a debt system? He contended the settlement of soldiers on the land and the establishment of their homes should be financed at 1J per cent., instead of 4J per cent. Labour was using the same arguments as the National Party had used during the depression, announcing proudly that it "had balanced the budget.” when all the time it was running the "ountry further and further into debt. He contended that the National Efficiency Act. in conjunction with the Government’s financial policy had led to the creation of monopolies. The small baker was being steadily squeezed out, and the same applied to all industries. In spite of all the Government’s assurances, there was evidence that already the act was interfering with the operation of the rehabilitation plans, because returned soldiers found they could not set up in business.