YOUTH MUST CHOOSE

Dominion, Volume 36, Issue 307, 22 September 1943, Page 8

YOUTH MUST CHOOSE

Freedom And Independence Or Labour Socialism NATIONAL CANDIDATE LOOKS AHEAD Dominion Special Service. NELSON, September 21. The responsibility thrown on uew voters in the election was stressed by Air. F. AV. Huggins, National candidate for Nelson, addressing Stoke electors last night, Alen and women up to 26 years of age, representing the youth of the country, held the power of balance in the election, be said, in asking first voters to choose between the National Party, which stood for freedom, and the Labour Party, which stood for socialization. The National Tarty encouraged private enterprise and private ownership, aud was looking to the people to accept responsibility and stand on their owu feet, which was a British characteristic. In planning rehabilitation the country had a particular responsibility toward the large body of men in the services at 18 years of age. who -would need to. be brought up to earning capacity and paid till this had been accomplished. Rehabilitation should embrace all occupations. The Minister of Labour had said that the majority of men on the XVellington -waterfront were over 60, and some over 80. The speaker suggested that the union might consider handing over the union membership tickets of men over a certain age—say. 65—to the Alinister of Rehabilitation for issue to returned servicemen wishing to take up “tin's very remunerative occupation.” Mr. Huggins criticized what he described as the Government's misuse of the XVar Expenses Account, which should be a sacred trust. Payments from the account -had included £169.000 paid to waterside workers, £750.000 to miners, and £1,(XX),000 as a subsidy on sugar. The Government had very little sympathy with or understanding of the lot of the primary producer. The .only Cabinet Alinister who was a farmer was Air. Barclay, and “every time he went near the farmers there is skin and hair flying.” To induce people to stay on their farms conditions on the land must ,be made more attractive, with better educational facilities for their families. One of the greatest charges against the present system of education was that it took people away from the soil. Education in New Zealand should have an agricultural bias. Slay Increase Social Benefits.

Air. Huggins said he did not consider that rehabilitation was going to be such a tremendous problem as regards land. The Government had rather clouded the issue with the Land Sales Act, and the statement by the Alinister of Rehabilitation that 80 men had been settled already and that there was land ready for 600 more, was, the speaker contended, sufficient to dispose of talk of urgency for the Act.

Benefits under Social Security would certainly not be interfered with by the National Party. He considered that with the increased cost of living there might even ibe a case for an increase in benefit payments. Tie approved of the scheme, but thought, -that the administration might have been handled differently and more efficiently if the Government had handed the job over to the friendly societies, who already had in existence an organization which had arisen out of the hearts and minds of the working people. . He believed they would have douo the job twice as well at half the cost.

"It-is not the Government’s social legislation we object to, but this socialistic legislation we 'have seen so much of lately,” Mr. Huggins weut on. “All sorts of crimes have increased as a result of the Government's sloppy and sentimental attitude. iSome members of the Government are to r. certain extent pacifist in their outlook, and the Dominion should not trust men of that outlook. XVe dare not let up after the war and get ourselves in the position of unpreparedness we had reached in 1939.”