"All Parties To Blame”

Press, Volume CVI, Issue 31135, 11 August 1966, Page 3

"All Parties To Blame”

CV.Z. Press Association) , WELLINGTON. August 10. Mr John A. Lee, novelist, political com- ’ mentator and former i Labour M.P.. spoke to ( a capacity audience of j students at Victoria University this after- ' noon. It was his first political speech in 17 years, and it was regarded by Mr Lee as his “swan song.” Mr Lee was expelled from the Labour Party in 1940 for his then-radical political views, and for his alleged personal attacks on Mr Savage. New Zealand’s first Labour Prime Minister. He said today that the[ state of the country was not< greatly affected by the party! in power, but was a resultof the accumulated effect of I all parties which had gone! beforehand. New Zealand, when com-; pared with the past—especi-j ally during the 1920 s—had; never been in better shape. ; “The good of past governments is continued by others.” he said. Measures which were regarded by the Labour Party in the 1930 s as too radical, were now the accepted policies of the National Party. “No party can upset the New Zealand we know. A ■

> party can slow or speed proIgress, but no party can take away our tradition of humaniI tarianism.” Asked if the present Gov- [ ernment’s foreign policy fitted 'into his concept of New Zealland’s humanitarian tradition, •Mr Lee replied he was against .totalitarianism and was not | in favour of the United States ; withdrawing from Vietnam, i Mr Lee. whose visit was proi moted by the University Political Science Society, spoke to a capacity audience which gave him an enthusiastic reception. “When I was first elected to Parliament, the differences between the two parties were clearly defined,” Mr Lee said. “National was anti-socialist, and Labour was very definitely socialist. “We used to close our conference by singing ’The Red Flag,’ ” he said. “Now they I sing ‘God Save the Queen."’ I The unions were Socialist in i precept, but they were syndicalist in action. ■ Mr Lee said the “narrowI ing of the abyss" between the I two major parties had caused a “revolution" in politics. ; “The present Minister of j Finance (Mr Lake) had said i that in the event of a dei pression he would use Reserve Bank credit to employ people. I was criticised and harrowed for using Reserve Bank credit to start the first State housing system." “Today. Mr Shand is carrying out a Socialist form of development in the power 'industry. But we still turn

on the light and say: ’Down with Socialism.’ “We are told today by the •Jeremiahs that New Zealand is in a disastrous state,” Mr Lee said. “There are immense problems of finance. But today we know that if prices fall overseas, we could still enjoy home-made income, goods and services. We couldn’t in the depression days in the early 19305." Mr Lee said New Zealand could be surrendering too much to Australia. “Too much of our sterling funds are being spent on Australian goods. Australia is using our sterling funds to keep up her balance of payments. “The Australians always say to us: ‘Spirit of Anzac, old man.’ But behind them you can always see the ghost of Ned Kelly.” Questioned about his expulsion from the Labour Party. Mr Lee said that if he had! not been then “then the story ' would never have been told."; His expulsion had liberated' his pen. “It is rather interesting that a person thrown out of the Labour Party has become its historian.”