PARLIAMENT

Evening Post, Volume CX, Issue 43, 19 August 1930, Page 11

PARLIAMENT

TO-DAY'S PROCEEDINGS

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

The House of Representatives met at 2.30 p.m. to-day.

Mr. W. J. Jordan (Labour, Manukau) intimated that ho proposes to call foist report showing a list of members of the House who aid not accept tho bonus of £100 voted last year; a list of those who returned tho amount to the Treasury; the dates respectively - on •which ■ the various amounts were received; ana the form in which the payments were made.

Mr. F. Langstone (Labour, Waimaririo) gave notice to introduce the Shearers' Accommodation Amendment Bill.

It is the intention of Mr. Jordan to ask the Prime Minister whether, in arranging the allocation of petrol tax, he will consider making grants to road boards and other local bodies which are neither counties nor boroughs with a population over 6000.

Mr; Nash (Labour, Hutt) proposes to ask the Minister of Labour what provision is being made for the employment of married men who arc unable to leave their homes through the illhealth of their wives and children. ""When married men are offered employment outside the radius of their homes and are unable to accept owing to illness in -their-families," said Mr. Nash, in giving notice, "the registration card is endorsed 'refused.' A number of applicants are afraid that this endorsement will jeopardise their chances of obtaining work w|thin'reasonable proximity of, their homes." The Minister of Labour (the Hon. S. G. Smith) said that the only work offering at present available to married men unable to leave their homes was private work. If a married man had a reasonable excuse that he was unable to leave home, he was not prejudiced. The note made on the registration card was purely for record purposes. UNEMPLOYMENT POSITION. The Leader of the Labour Party (Mr. H. E. Holland) asked the Prime Minister whether, in order that immediate steps may be taken to provide employment—or, failing that, a measure of sustenance—for. .unemployed workers in the interval which must elapse before the Unemployment Bill can come into operation, he will at once wove to release from their ordinary Parliamentary duties the members of the Select Committee specially set up to report to Cabinet in this connection; whether he will place both the advice and machinery of State Departments at the! service of the Committee during'the. course of its deliberations; whether he will give the House an assurance that legislative provision will be made prior to his departure from New Zealand for whatever finance is necessary to carry out the. practical recommendations of the Committee; and whether he will endeavour to have the report of the Select Committee on the Unemployment Bill tabled before the «nd of the present week, in order that the Bill may bo put through all _ its stages in the shortest period possible. "Definite information is available," said Mr. Holland, "to the effect that the position affecting unemployment has reached, a. desperate stage, particularly in the larger, centres of population, where many_ families, because their breadwinners have no work, are without the means to procure sufficient food and clothing; and, in view of the undertakings given to permit the Prime Minister to attend the Imperial Conference, whatever Parliamentary action is necessary to ensure that the. families of unemployed men will not be left unprovided for pending the parsing of tho Unemployment Bill must lie taken before the Prime Minister's departure." ' '"The Government is fully , alive to the gravity of the position in regard ■to unemployment," the Prime Minister (the Hon. G. W. Forbes) said. "The Cabinet Unemployment Committee is mapping out work for the future works to be put through by the Public Works Department, the Forestry Department, and the Lands Department, to keep the largest number of men possible in occupation during the next few months. The Unemployment Bill is now before a Committee of this House, and I have asked them to deal with it without delay, so that it may be returned to the House, aM put on to the Statute Book as soon as possible. Power will be taken in the Bill to permit of an advance being made in anticipation of the revenue from tho proposed levy to allow of some of its powers being put into • operation immediately after the Bill has been passed. Local bodies are being circularised drawing attention to the Government's subsidy of £2 for *1 for labour costs of any relief work that is put in hand, and asking them to co-operate with the Government to the fullest extent in their power. The Government will also find £2 for £.1 of the labour costs of any relief work carried out by public subscription which should encourage the assistance of private citizens in dealing with the present serious unemployment position. The Select Committee which has been set up by the House will be asked to make recommendations to the Government in regard to further avenues of relief work, and the facilitating of the employment of men out of work." MINES AMENDMENT BILL. ' Moving for leave to introduce the Coal Mines Amendment Bill, the Leader of the Labour Party said the Bill provided for the weekly yayment of wages instead of every fortnight. There was also provision for the prevention of dust nuisance in mines, with the object of doing away with the danger of ' miners' phthisis. A further provision was that miners' inspectors would be . paid by the Government. He hoped the Government would allow the Bill to go to its second reading in order to allow the Bill to be considered by the Mines Committee of the House.

Mr. G-. C. Black (United, Motueka) supported the BiH, especially in regard to its provisions to deal with miners' phthisis. The Bill was read, a first time, and was set down for second reading on 27th August

(Proceeding.)