LICENSING HOURS

Press, Volume CII, Issue 30289, 15 November 1963, Page 17

LICENSING HOURS

Mr I. Wilson’s View

Licensing hours could well be left in the control of local licensing authorities, so that hours could be adjusted to suit local conditions, Mr I. Wilson, the National Party candidate for Ricearton, told an election audience of 52 in Upper Ricearton last night. “In country areas, when farmers and other workers want to take advantage of daylight hours on their jobs they are unable to relax and enjoy a drink later in a sociable atmosphere,” Mr Wilson said. “However, the National Party does not feel that any change should be made without a referendum.” A second personal view, he said, was his wish to investigate the possibility of completely free treatment for social security beneficiaries on low incomes whose doctors could certify a need for frequent treatment. He did not, however, favour full payment of doctors from the Social- Security Fund, as the small fee payable at present discouraged abuse of the system. Some persons visited two or more doctors on the same day for the same complaint, and thousands of pounds’ worth of drugs was wasted by persons who never collected prescriptions from chemists. “No fee payable to G.P.S. as proposed by Labour, would. I am sure, lead to an expensive abuse of the system by some irresponsible people,” Mr Wilson said. Party Differences

In examining differences between the major political parties. Mr Wilson quoted Mi - Nordmeyer’s statement that "the Labour Party believes the true purpose of society is to promote and protect the dignity and wellbeing of the individual. *T would, of course, agree, but I would add as most important the ‘personal freedom’ as well as the ‘dignity and well-being’ of the individual.” Mr Wilson said. “National, Labour, and Social Credit all aim at the protection of the weak and needy and the provision of justice for all. They all aim, also, at prosperity and a high standard of living for New Zealand, but they differ as to the best means of achieving this happy state of affairs.”

Social Credit based its policy on a monetary system which had been examined by reputable economists and found unsatisfactory, while Labour wanted to extend the spheres of government, which meant that restrictions and controls would enter more and more spheres of life. “As the government enters more and more into business, so our freedom of choice diminishes, and with it our initiative, self-reliance, and individuality,” he said. “I believe that the more Socialist principles are put into effect, the less is our personal freedom and our sense of responsibility. “Restrictions, once they are here, are hard to get rid of without upsetting the system which has grown around them, but a National Government will continue to reduce restrictions, as it has done all the years that it has been in office.

“I do not intend to spend much time criticising what Labour Governments have done or failed to do in the past—it is the future that matters—but the basic Socialist principles of the Labour Party are unchanged, and what it has done in the past it may easily do again.” The Emergency Supply Regulations in 1947 were an example of this, Mr Wilson said.