FAMILY LIFE AS BASIS

Press, Volume XCIX, Issue 29370, 24 November 1960, Page 7

FAMILY LIFE AS BASIS

Family life is -the basis of our society.

As a people, all our aspirations, our endeavours and ambitions are based on independent, secure and happy family life. Labour has always believed that if social, economic and political policies promote family life they are good. If they handicap it they are bad. Over the years, policies reflecting this belief have been implemented and everyone everywhere has benefited materially as a result. Today our population is growing as never before. In the last three years 50,000 new jobs have been filled and are a reminder that if our sons and daughters are to continue to have the chance to make their own way in life by entering the vocation or business of their choice, to be able to raise their families in good conditions and environment, policies directed at the immedfate economic development of the farming and industrial capacity of our country are essential. By increasing the country’s capacity to produce we can create the goods and services on which tasting prosperity and family security are based. Record levels of production from farm and factory, huge public works, large-scale extensions to public services and communications in town and country, many new schools, the new houses, record levels of homeownership, increased social benefits and more people gainfully employed than ever before demonstrate the real progress already achieved. Increased development in the South Island, irrigation, land and industrial development, all have a part to play in the plans to accentuate this growth in the future. Hire-purchase New and rapid development in some fields will give rise to considerable growth in others. For instance, as we turn more and more to mass production, hirepurchase, or time payment—call it what you will—is likely to play an increasing part in financing mass consumption. Under these conditions there must be proper safeguards to protect consumers, from those who would seek to impose high interest charges on them. Knowing this, the Government wrote into the Reserve Bank Amendment Act provisions that enable interest charges on hire-purchase to be limited to a fair amount. The next Labour Government intends to use those powers. We are building for the future. A future in which there will be more families. The first task is to produce more and to produce it better, for the real Wealth of our country is the volume and quality of the goods created by hard work. The second task is to ensure fair shares of prosperity and personal security for all. The maintenance of full employment is fundamental to this aim

While planning for material progress in our country we must —if personal security is to mean anything—-be prepared to do even more to help eliminate the appalling poverty of the peoples of Asia and Africa. '

In this way, even though a small nation, we can make a worth-while contribution to fostering the international friendship, peace and prosperity we all want to see in the future. That is what we want. It is what we are working for.