Mr Shand’s Lively Meeting In Lyttelton Electorate

Press, Volume CII, Issue 30287, 13 November 1963, Page 19

Mr Shand’s Lively Meeting In Lyttelton Electorate

In perhaps the liveliest campaign meeting so far, the Minister of Labour (Mr Shand) last night fought a verbal battle with about eight extremely vocal interjectors. He spoke for two hours and a quarter in St. Anne’s Hall, Centaurus road, in the Lyttelton electorate. Mr Shand parried blow for blow in the vocal exchange with a well-built man in the front row, and several others standing up at a doorway at the rear of the hall.

On one occasion, in front of the audience of 122, including many women. Mr Shand called to one interjector: "Shut up. chum . . . ■hut up and let me get on.” A woman in the audience called on Mr Shand not to be rude in front of women, and instead to ask the man to "please be quiet.” She bad not, she said, expected the language to be of the “market place." When the interjections became particularly heated, they brought a series of rapid-fire interruptions from throughout the packed hall, many of the audience trying to join in. On the occasions when Mr Shand made a flooring retort. he received roaring approval from the crowd, combined with a stamping of feet. When questions tended to be of the muck-raking or character-assassination type, Mr Shand told his interrogators that he “was sick of that type of question.” In reply to one interjector, who said that Mr Nordmeyer had more brains than Mr Shand would ever have, Mr Shand said: "Before I believe it, chum, I'd want a better advocate than you,” To a retort from the audience that Mr Nordmeyer

would be Prime Minister, Mr Shand replied: “You whittle, chum ... to keep your courage up. About 8.30 p.m. on November 30. you will need some Dutch courage, too.” Composite Awards Mr Shand said that the Government had amended the law so that a composite award could be provided for on such projects as the aluminium industry. No big overseas company, he said, would start work in New Zealend unless irt could And scmeame to represent the men. to see if it could negotiate a reasonable agreement. "Most of our unions are so small in their own numbers that they ha‘e like blazes to lose even a handful of their numbers. “We amended the law so that this could be done. Now they’re trying to negotiate an agreement for Menapouri. Because of silly things said, they were frightened to try so tha t all umons could be in the picture. “One union comes along and says ‘we can do it,’ and takes over. Not unnatuarally many other unions are "kicking up Bob’s-a-die” Now the schemozzle has nearly split the Federation of Labour from top to bottom.” Mr Shand said that the National Party believed in private enterprise because it was the safer way. The party wanted people to have enough power outside the Government to be able to stand up to the Government and be able to resist the Government, The power should remain in the hands of the "Utile people” even if their only stake in the country was their home.

Socialism, said Mr Shand, seemed to believe in fairies. Fairies “ would not bring you the things you wanted unless you worked to get them.” “If I believed all the promises of the Labour Party, I would vote Labour myself.’’ Mr Shand asked the audience why it was that countries like Japan and France

were greatly increasing their productivity and New Zealand's incresae had been dteaptx. inting by comparison? “Half of the New Zealanders don't work,” sstsd an interjecter. “France has bed 26 Government* since toe war toe.” Mr Shand said there were no reserves of unemployed in New Zealand or badly employed people An interjector: The badly employed are the politicians. Mr Shand: We will come to that in a minute, chum. But I can think of someone else who is badly employed. The interjector: You would be the biggest no-hoper, Shand. What about S.P.AN.Z. Shand? “Now lock. chum. I don’t mind interjectors. But I am not going to stand here to hear damn lies about people,” replied Mr Shand. At least six members of the audience urged that the interjector be thrown out. Mr Shand ended this phase of his speech by saying that he did net thank S.P.AN.Z. would survive. he did not think S.PAN.Z. began when Mr S'hand said that New Zealand could produce butter at 32d per lb against the 6s per Jb of the English. French, and American farmer. An interjector shouted: “It does not compete with Paparua prisoners. I am in business, too.”

The interjector added that he was in the furniture trade. “You pay your workers 4s an hour,” he went on. I have to pay 10s an horn: for tradesmen. We haven’t got a job on the books because of Paparua prisoners.” Mr Shand: There is an awful lot of furniture, chum. If you can design better furniture than Paparua turns out. . . . The interjector: They pinch my designs, chum. Mr Shand: “Look, chum, I think you had better go out to Paparua and get a job there." Mr Shand then told the audience that he could deal with one interjector at a time. “What in the devil do you think we should do with the prisoners in Paparua?” Mr Shand asked the interjector, A voice from the middle of the hail: Put ’em out . . . let ’em out. Several persons spoke at once. “Put then in Parliament,” yelled another interjector.