LABOUR’S RECORD SINCE 1935

Press, Volume LXXXII, Issue 25021, 1 November 1946, Page 8

LABOUR’S RECORD SINCE 1935

RISE IN NATIONAL INCOMES

HON. A. M’LAGAN AT RICCARTON

“Labour makes no wild promises. It asks; you to look on what it has done, and ft says that it will build on that,” said the Hon. A. McLagan, Labour Party candidate for Riccarton, addressing an election meeting in the Addington School. Mr McLagan said that the growth of the national income, and of the savings of the people, from 1935 to 1946 made the best proof 6f what Labour had achieved. “The National Party cannot deny that people are living better to-day,” he said, “and that in addition to living better they are also saving more. Not only has Labour increased the money income of the people, but it has also increased the useful production of the sort of goods that people can buy.” As an example, Mr McLagan said, the farm labourer in 1935 was paid £1 Is 3d a week, with his keep, if he was lucky. Now he was paid four times as much, £4 5s and his keep. Under Labour’s administration wool production had gone up by 20 per cent., meat production by 15 per cent., butter-fat by 5 per cent timber by 44 per cent., coal by 34 per cent., and cement by 55 per cent The demand for electric power under Labour rule had more than doubled Some people had strongly attacked the Minister of Public Works (the Hon R. Semple) years ago when he sought to increase hydro-electric works, on the ground that the Dominion was then producing sufficient power for all its needs in years to come. Now they blamed him for the shortage, although the Minister had done everything in his power to increase the nation’s power supply. “Labour has not only increased the national income, but also it has dis-, tnbuted it more fairly and more evenly than ever before.” Mr McLagan went on. “It has taxed the people in receipt of big incomes The National Party does not like that just as it does not like higher wages and social ? e curity, in spite of its protestations in this election campaign.” Payment in Taxation

It had been said, and rightly said, that people received nothing which they had not paid for Mr McLagan **® u t the people who do most of the paying are the people with the big incomes.” The family man with two children, he said, paid no income tax up to £4OO. On £4OO a year he at present £4O in wages tax (and that would be reduced next May) and received £52 in family benefit. As well as that, he received free hospital treatment, free medicines. “Th® average family gets a very good bargain if what it pays in wages ‘ ax , *5 compared with what it gets back. Mr McLagan continued. Discussing housing, Mr McLagan said that when Labour came into power the country was short of 30,000 houses: and another 50,000, according to a survey were sub-standard Labour had built 22,000 homes, and it was planned to build another 60.000 in the ?? xt y . n had to be remembered that for six of the 11 years Labour had been in office there had b’ y exacting war. in which building had had necessarily to be diverted to defence work A total of 400.000,000 feet of timber had been used m defence works in the war. Had “"ere been no war, that could have built 37.000 homes

"We believe our rehabilitation scneme is second to none anywhere,” Mr McLagan said, giving details of the number of men settled on farms, provided with homes, and given other forms of assistance. A total of 20.000 returned men, he said, had already been assisted into homes, and the job was continuing. The trade training schemes how doing a splendid job in - n £ returned men for the work which suited them, would be used in years for training others, he said. *This work of rehabilitation costs large sums of money,” he said. “But the Government spends it cheerfully, and will continue to spend it, because it believes that nothing is too good for these men who defended their country in its darkest hour.”

National Employment Service Mr McLagan spoke at length on the work of the National Employment Service, which, he said, had been strongly opposed by the National Party The service, it had been thought, would be needed to cope with the demobilisation of men from the forces. So successful had it been that in New Zealand to-day after demobilisation had been. carried out, there were only 268 unemployed—many of them, too, only out of work for a da 7 or two in the process of changing jobs. Canada thought it had done well in restricting its unemployed after demobilisation to 276,000. which, in comparison to New Zealand’s population, equalled a figure of 38.000. In Britain the figure was 380.000, which on New Zealand’s population scale would equal 12,500. In the United States millions were unemployed. The present state of full employment in New Zealand, Mr McLagan said, had come about because of Labour’s intelligent planning. “If we go back to the old ; system of private enterprise we must have unemployment,” he said. “Professor Tocker, of this city, once said unemployment was not a bad thing. It may not be a bad thing for professors, rho are i ot often out of work.” But now, if there were depressions overseas, the Government, through its control of the Reserve Bank and the Bank of New Zealand, could prevent unemployment becoming prevalent in New Zealand. The National Party was presenting a gift horse, Mr McLagan claimed, but no one was supposed to look in its mouth. The National Party talked of child welfare, but no one was supposed to remember what it d’-’ to the five-year-olds. It talked of helping adult education, but no one was supposed to remember that in the last two years of National rule not one penny was spent on adult education. Mr McLagan was given a vote of thanks and confidence by the meeting. Mr J. Dixon presided.