LABOUR SCHEME OF REHABILITATION

Dominion, Volume 36, Issue 305, 20 September 1943, Page 6

LABOUR SCHEME OF REHABILITATION

RevicAV By Major Skinner DEFENCE OF LAND SALES ACT Dominion Special Service. NELSON, September 19. “New Zealand has gone further than any other country in the world in rehabilitation. Our plans are more advanced that those of any other country, and we have reason to be proud ot it, said Major C. F. Skinner, Minister ot Rehabilitation and Labour Candida.e lor Motueka, addressing Upper Moutere electors last night. He outlined, the progress made by the Rehabilitation board and said that already 214 applications had been made for farms, and 1-0 men were now on those farms, the freehold being purchased in each case. • Returned Maori soldiers were be n„ trained in building trades so that t ej could be wholly responsible lor Die p oposed Maori housing scheme Mr. Manner preceded. He paid a tribute to the thoroughness and enthusiasm of the work of Mr. Moohan and members of the Rehabilitation Board, none of whom, he pointed out, received one penny ic. ms ° Major Skinner said that grossly unfair criticism had been levelled against the Land Sales Act. In the past eight yeais the State Advances Corporation had made 8000 loans for building private house,’. “That's the answer to critics who say we won’t allow people to own their own homes,” the candidate added. The Government was prepared to help it is just nothing “At the present time the State ow *‘« land than has ever been V’ e i Ca -l e and the socialization of land is further away in the Dominion than ever before. If the Government had wanted to social ize lhe land it had all the powers it wanted under the Emergency fions. Ton are fold by critics that the Government could take your or farm or even ex-servicemen s land, bn der the Act that is too ridiculous .0 dis Cl '“These wild and woolly stories are an insult to the intelligence of the people of this country. The Act is an honest endeavour to stabilize land values antl prevent sales at prices above productioi value. It enables control of transLis at the right price, and. enables big places to be taken for sub-division. New Zealand farmers were the most efficient in the world but they had neve vet been successful with their own selling organization, the speaker continued. He suggested that no dairy-farmer would like to see the guaranteed price done awav with. The orderly marketing ot tobacco had come to stay, and no K ro " s would want to go back to the old comb tions. No hop growers wished to go back to the old method of direct sales. He hoped that the fruitgrowers "’ OU J (I ® on ? •be on a better footing, but every >1 Pie grower would admit that the I.M.D. had done a good job, and had assisted them fn rnrrv on. ... e Referring to Mr. Holland’s critiemm.of New Zealand’s war commitments, Major Skinner said they were decided on by tne whole House, and the fact that no vote was taken was sufficient evidence of the agreement of all members on it. "The orderly planning of food requirements and raw-material requirements had now become an international mattei. H had been suggested that Britain should transfer whole industries to other conn tides as some raw .materials were running out. and the idea was to take industries to the raw materials and carry manufactured articles to those warning them New Zealand should come in for its share in such matters, which were associated with immigration Replying to a question as to the shoit a 4 of farm labour, Major Skinner expressed the opinion that the. greatest need was for family accommodation on farms, and for the decentralization ,of mdiistry to the country so that rurai family la hour could be absorbed by that means, thus preventing a drift of population speaker received a unanimous vote of thanks and confidence.

WELLINGTON WEST

Mr O. sf. Bowden (National, Wellington West.) spoke at Makara on Saturday evening and pointed out the swin„ of public opinion against the Government on account of the high cost of In in„, wasteful expenditure of the war d. penses Account. Government interference with business, censorship and control or newspapers and radio, and iiiLiniidation of the Civil Service. There was also, ne stated, a feeling of indignation that the war and the armed forces wore being used as a cover for socialist legislation and propaganda. The Government was out of touch with the people, specially the farming community. In the course of a survey of the education, system and requirements of the Dominion, Mr. Bowden suggested that farming should be included in the intermediate course; also that teachers and training colleges should be brought into touch with the agricultural colleges. He advocated the establishment of a school of veterinary science, where research should be based primarily on the cow and the sheep, rather than the horse, as is customary, and particular attention paid to the preventive aspect of animal diseases rather than to the curative side. Mr. Bowden endorsed the recommendations of the New Zealand Educational Institute in regard to the size of schools, buildings, textbooks and research. 'The provision of necessary funds for expansion of educational facilities should be cheerfully faced, he said. WELLINGTON EAST “The Democratic Soldier Labour Party believes in every person who so wishes having his own freehold home, and, in fact, will go further than present-day* methods of finance allow,” declared Major Bishop (Democratic Labour), speaking a': Miramar. He said that even insurance companies could today oiler a better proposition for the home-maker than the Labour Government’s financial arrangements for housing at that orthodox yate of 4 1-S per cent, to which Mr. Nash was wedded. The Democratic Soldier Labour Party offered advances for housing at li per cent., which would mean that the home would cost about 10 per cent, of the weekly wage, and would become the unencumbered property of the purchaser. That was to say. the same method could be applied as was offered by insurance companies today with the difference that instead of 31 per cent, interest, the interest charge would be reduced so that the weekly payments would be about 15/- a week for the lower-paid worker. The young man of 25 woulu have paid off his mortgage at. 60, and in, the meantime a non-profit insurance ot one single premium of £B3 added to the mortgage ami paid with lhe mortgage would keep him covered for the unpaid balance of the loan, so I hat should he die nt any time during the 35 years, his widow would have a freehold home unencumbered-