LABOUR CRITIC

Dominion, Volume 25, Issue 155, 28 March 1932, Page 8

LABOUR CRITIC

“Shocking Waste of Public Money” WORK OF THE SESSION By Telegraph—Press Association. Westport, March 26. Mr. H. E. Holland, Leader of the Opposition, arrived at Westport from Wellington last evening. Discussing the political situation, he said that as far as the session had gone it involved a shocking waste of public money, inasmuch as the Government called Parliament together without having agreed upon a policy with which it would meet the House. It was quite clear that there were serious divisions within the ranks of Cabinet and the Coalition generally upon policy matters. More than a month ago Parliament was called together with a somewhat bellicose intimation from the Prime Minister to the effect that legislation was to be forced through with promptitude, and that no delay of the proceedings would be tolerated. On the fifth day of the session the closure was introduced, and with few excei> tions was interpreted by the Press as an earnest of the Government’s intentions. It transpired, however, that apart from the Bill to destroy compulsory arbitration (which apparently was drafted by the Employers’ Federation) the Government had no legislation ready. Now, after the House had been in session for a month, with only one Bill (Mortgagors’ Relief) passed through its final stage, a somewhat lengthy adjournment was found necessary to enable the Government to prepare its policy, which it should have had ready before Parliament was convened. It was more than probable that the I.C. and A. Amendment Bill would be passed by the Legislative Council, and, if this should be so and if the disastrous recommendations of the National Expenditure Commission should be adopted, the most dangerous hour in the history of New Zealand would have struck, and all the conditions making for industrial upheavals and insurrectionary developments would have been created by the Coates-Forbes Coalition. The avoidance of the creation of such atmosphere should be the concern of every sane element in the community, and in this connection the most hopeful sign was the multitude of petitions which had poured in from many hundreds of businessmen protesting against any further wage reductions.