MR OWEN AT CASHMERE

Press, Volume XCVI, Issue 28447, 29 November 1957, Page 16

MR OWEN AT CASHMERE

Final Campaign

Address

Churches should be brought together to solve their differences and certain legislation repealed so that all children could have the opportunity of learning Christian teaching—“an inherent right” that was at present being denied them, said the leader of the Social Credit Political League (Mr Wilfrid B. Owen) last evening.

Mr Owen was making his final campaign address in his home electorate of Lyttelton. Thirty-, one electors were in the Masonic Hall, Cashmere, to hear him. Mr Owen said he was not interested in the teaching of religion in State schools but he was very interested in the teaching of Christianity. “It is not religion we want; it is Christianity and if there are impediments in the way—and there are in acts of Parliament—then they should be removed,” he said. Churches should be brought together and a solution found for their differences which were mostly imaginary anyway. If the churches would not come together voluntarily, they should be subpoenaed to meet and come to some agreement so that young children could be taught the principles of Christianity. “Class Politics” Mr Owen said that if one looked back as far as one could remember political life in New Zealand had been class politics. There were two main parties and each supported so-called classes that kept warring against each other. It was a very real war. But as long as it kept up it would be to the detriment of the whole community. The productivity of the country was the responsibility of everybody and everybody did his fair share in association with his fellow towards it. “None of us can manage without the other and it is time we woke up to the fact,” he said. “Social Credit will see thai something is done to stop this warring between so-called classes. We are all New Zealanders and we ■ have a productive capacity and a potential beyond our wildest dreams. “It is the money power that sits on top of us and rules us, that holds us back from development and perpetuates the class struggle.” “Plenty of Money” An analogy of the money problem could be drawn from the lifeboat containing survivors from a shipwreck. As water supplies dwindled friction would break out and men would murder to get the water to keep them alive. Transfer the lifeboat to a freshwater lake and the friction would cease immediately. That was because there was plenty of water. “Social Credit will see it is the same with money—that there is enough to go round and then to spare and in this way we will stop this silly class friction,” he said.

It should not be forgotten that Social Credit was not merely a one-plank party with monetary reform as its sole object. Its policy for the 1957 General ‘Election covered every aspect of Government, and included two supplements on education and farming. Savings It was rumoured that if Social Credit became a Government it would do away with the Post Office Savings Bank. There was no intention of doing any such thing. The people’s savings would not only be safe, they would be safer than now.

This was because the present loss on deposits was 2 per cent, —the difference between the 3 per cent, interest rate and the 5 per cent, drop in the value of money. Stabilised currency under Social Credit would mean that £lOO deposited would still have

£lOO value later and the depositor would get the interest in addition.

Building advances up to 100 per cent, of the total cost would still have interest on them under Social Credit but it would be as low as possible. This was so that many persons, including old people who had savings invested in mortgages, would not be penalised. Over the years a Social Credit government would steadily lower the interest rate. Social credit would also make money freely available for subdivision of land for housing. At present money could not be borrowed to cut up blocks of land and this led to uneconomic ribbon development along existing roads. Mr Owen said Social Credit stood four square behind private enterprise and against State control and a government which poked its nose into industry. The proof of the prosperity pudding was in the eating. Devastated after the war. West Germany had let people and money loose and as a result of that and freed exchange was now the most prosperous country in the world. New Zealand could have the same opportunity.