THE ELECTION SOUTHERN MAORI SEAT

Press, Volume LXXXVII, Issue 26509, 25 August 1951, Page 8

THE ELECTION SOUTHERN MAORI SEAT

ADDRESS BY MR TIRIKATENE LABOUR PARTY PRAISED Mr E T. Tirikatene. the Labour Partv candidate for the Southern Maori electorate who addressed a meeting of about 40 persons in the Maori hall. Tuahiwi. on Thursday evening was given an attentive hearing with no interjections. A vote of thanks was passed. The Labour Partv was also given a vote of confidence. Mr Tirikatene first addressed the meeting in Maori Mr Tirikatene said that in 1930. when Mr Savage became Prime Minister. the discrimina'ion shown , against Maoris in regard to employment was abo’.shed overnight. Mr Semple opened up works in various parts of the Dominion and equality of payment was given to Maori and pakeha alike. Referring to housing Mr Tirikatene said that the Labour Government had been of great help to Maoris, enabling them to undertake ownership after putting down a small deposit. The sze of the deposit was now considerafclv larger but if a reduction in that regard was desired he advised his hearers to vote Labour again. Maoris have proved themselves to be good tradesmen and had given value for the wage they had been given while engaged in the building of houses. The cost of building sections had gone up. as had the cost of building, i The result was that any young couple trying to own their house to day were faced with a tremendous handicap. Farming was a vital part of the economic life of the Dominion, said Mr Tirikatene. The rank and file of workers were not the only workers that the Labour Government had helped. Those on the land had been helped as well. One had only to think of the assistance that had been given by the Mortgages Relief Act to realise just how much farmers had been benefited. Before the act had become law. many struggling fanners had to walk off their properties because the odds were too much for them.

The value of guaranteed prices: should not be overlooked, said Mr! Tirikatene. Dairy farmers had been given a better price for butter-fat and! no one could deny that they de-1 served it, for farming was a gamble! at any time. Guaranteed prices bene- 1 fited dairy companies also, and altogether the dairy industry found it-! self in a much better state after five or six years of Labour government; than before. The better equipmentwhich appeared on farms in replace- 1 ment of the old and antiquated type previously in use showed how those engaged in the industry had benefited Previously men and women had toj labour in"the fields to supplement the! family income. He would fight against" any policy which would drive human-; ity back to such conditions. Social Security

The National Party was talking a lot about social security, said Mr Tirikatene, but it should not be forgotten that in Parliament it had voted against every single clause when the bill was being discussed. Nor should the part played by Labour in helping orphan children be forgotten. Labour introduced legislation to provide such assistance for them, which no other government had equalled, and Maori and pakeha were treated on equal terms in the administration of social security. Credit should also be given to Labour for what it had done in providing free hospital treatment.

Referring to the cost of living, Mr Tirikatene said that Mr Holland had said that prices would be kept down. It was useless trying to tell people that the cost of living had been reduced. said Mr Tirikatene. The opposite was the case. Groceries had increased to an alarming extent and a similar position existed in regard to clothes. One’s wife knew how costs had risen, but statistics put the matter beyond doubt. That was why women Tv tei ? were * oin £ to vote Labour at the forthcoming elections. The waterside strike was really a family squabble between the waterrderr and the shipping companies, but the Government introduced regulations which were undemocratic and un-Christian, said Mr Tirikatene The of free speech was denied, and Mr hash was not allowed to speak in the Auckland Town Hall when he wanted to do so. Men were not even allowed to give their own relatives financial assistance. Transport was brought to a standstill and chaos should have been caued together to deal with the matter, but that was not allowed, and soldiers were used in the dispute. It was a lock-out and not a strike and was due to bungling on the part of the shipping companies and the Governvment The fundamental ethical code. “Give us this day our daily bread. - ’ had been shattered by the Government in a land of plenty. Mr Tirika*ene said.