IN RETROSPECT

Evening Post, Volume CXII, Issue 91, 14 October 1926, Page 7

IN RETROSPECT

WORK OF LAST SESSION

REVIEW BY MR. P. FRASER, M.P

LABOUR'S PROPAGANDA EFFECTIVE.

A review of th*3 work done by Parliament last session was given by Mr. P. Fraser, M.P., at a public meeting in the Trades Hall laiit night. Mr. J. Trim presided. Among those present was Mr. 11. G. R. Mason, M.P. for Eden. There was a large attendance. Mr. Fraser said the session had been a rush one, and the work of six months hail been packed into throe. It had been impossible, therefore, for members to grasp amply and fully the business put through. He referred to the lateness of the sittings and to the pressure on members' time by committee meetings, some of which were held at the same hour, thus making it impossible for members to bo present at all of them simultaneously. . There had been no reason why the session ' could not have been continued after the Prime Minister left for London. THE OUTSTANDING FEATURE. The outstanding feature of the session was that, while the Government had such a large majority in the House to maintain Conservatism and oppose Socialism, the force of circumstances and evolution had seen it pass some Socialistic legislation. Town-planning, dairy control', the Motor-bus Traffic Act, and the Family Allowances Act were mentioned by Mr. Fraser in this connection, and he said that Labour's propaganda had made it imperative on the Government to give some instalments of the programme that Labour stood for if it wanted to remain in office. Although Labour had lost the battle last election, it was certainly winning the campaign.. The "ridiculous collapse" of the Government in regard to the Licensing Bill was referred to by Mr. Fraser as an extraordinary failure in governing; the . Government had brought in a Bill and then run away from it. In regard to the last loan flotation, the Labour Party, particularly Mr. M'Combs, had demonstrated that other countries, and at least a private concern, Dormer, Long, and Co., had done better. As far as the London financiers were concerned, it was only a matter of offering the rate of interest and the money would be available. THE UNEMPLOYMENT PROBLEM. The Government, continued Mr. leaser, had lamentably, failed to deal with the problem of unemployment. The whole attitude of tho Government was that tho responsibility did not belong to it; and it was not prepared to provide work, in conjunction with tho local bodies, or to pay sustenance to those who could not find employment. The question was being made a shuttlecock betwoen the . Government and the local bodies. Ministers had failed to grasp the seriousness of the problem. Recently a deputation had reoeived from the Acting-Prime Minister a very interesting philosophic dissertation on the evil effects of unemployment, and very little else. He had never attended a more disappointing deputation, and one that left those present with so little hope. The Labour Party was the last to use the problem for political purposes, contrary to what the Hon. G. J. Anderson had said, and year after year it had pressed the Government to bring down legislation which would solve the problem once and for all, but without success. The speaker's Right-to-Work Bill had received the most sympathetic consideration it had yet got from the Labour Bills Committee. Reform members of the Committee had opposed the proposals, but said they were some attempt to deal with the problem. The Government had shown itself bankrupt of an unemployment policy, and its policy wag not only one of incompetency, but of indifference. RENT RESTRICTION. Speaking of the rent restriction legislation, Mr. Fraser said that it was not as effective as it ought to be, but it still stood as a guardian against the exploitation of the poorest section of the population. It had been proposed that the legislation should expire next March, but thanks to the fight made by tho Labour Party it was agreed to continue the present law until 31st August next. Had the Bill been passed in the form in which it came down it would have meant that rents would have been increased. While the housing shortage existed there was need for some restriction. Personally he thought that something in the nature of a Fair Rents Court would be better. The Tho Minister had undertaken to gather evidence as to what would be likely to happen if the rent restriction legislation was allowed to lapse at the end of August next. Mr. Fraser said that valuations had improved so much in some localities that it was certain rents would be doubled unless there was some restriction. In regard to the-Family Allowances Act, the principles of which had been first embodied in a Bill by Mr. M. J Savage, Labour M.P. for Aucklaiv West, Mr. Fraser criticised the Go\ ernment 's measure as inadequate. Twi shillings for a child was ■not a ver, serious effort towards helping big families. The principle was a good one, but. the amount granted was miserable, and every year the Labour Party would try to lever it up. Except for the lowest paid workers, very few people would benefit by the. Act, and already the disappointment at the measure was making itself manifest. "This Act has been trumpeted forth from the Reform Party's platform and claimed aa a big step in social legislation, but it will be a great disappointment to hundreds of struggling families throughout the Dominion," said Mr. Fraser. "However, the principle is sound, and the Labour Party will endeavour to make it more beneficial. The fact that it is on the Statute Book will make our task easier than would otherwise be the case." OTHER MATTERS. The, improvement in the Workers' Compensation Act was explained by Mr. Fraser, although he said that it was not all that the Labour Party wanted. Workers' compensation should be made a State monopoly, and full payment should bo made for incapacity. Reference was made by Mr. Fraser to the Labour Party's advocacy of wireless installations on all ships, the passage of a consolidation of the pensions law, the harbour regulations, and the Town-planning Act. In regard to the latter, he in common with other local members received a request from the Wellington City Council to oppose the passage of the Bill, but had decided to vote for it. The time had como for such legislation. He thought tho Motor-omnibus Traffic Act was satisfac;ory in its final form, especially as municipally owned concerns were beine protected. .