LABOUR'S VIEW

Evening Post, Volume CXIII, Issue 118, 20 May 1932, Page 8

LABOUR'S VIEW

WORK OF THE SESSION

LIFE OF, PARLIAMENT

EXTENSION QUESTIONED

(By Telegraph.—Press Association.)

WESTPORT, ,19th May.

Under the auspices.of the Unemployed Workers' Union, Mr. H. E. Holland, Leader of the Opposition, this evening addressed a crowded meeting in the Westport Town Hall. He reviewed in detail the legislation of last session, claiming that the measures enacted had not been before tlie electors in December -last}..and urging that the Government be called upon to resign and submit its' legislation to the electors.

Regarding the extension, of the life of Parliament, Mr. Holland said he was fully convinced that the clause- was unconstitutional. Members, of' Parliament were elected for three years and no longer, and they had'no constitutional right to extend their own term of office. It was quite within the bounds of possibility that if Parliament should run,' a four-year ' course members would .find themselves re•'quired to refund the honoraria drawn for the: fourth year. In that case all legislation for the.fourth year would be ultra vires. '; ' V -This was not the only illegal act of the Government, he claimed. Deductions made from pensions, etc., before the passage of the National Expenditure Adjustment Bill were glaringly unlawful.- '■•'.■■ : ' "^"UTMOST CONFUSION." ■ pondenining the Government for its failure' to make adequate provision for meeting, the unemployment problem, he said the utmost confusipn had,-pre-, vailed in the" Government's 'introduction of, its legislation, and was now even more prevalent in its administration. Indeed,' New .Zealand had never laboured^ under the misfortune of a more unbusinesslike Government. This fact was emphasised by the manner in which the old and new schemes of the Unemployment Board were now being handled. No one could; say when'the new scheme would become fully operative. had the old scheme operating in some centres, and the new scheme iii others. Consequently there was not only confusion but widespread dissatisfaction and .unrest. Asa concrete/example of this muddle, they had the. farcical methods adopted in con- : neetioii with.the :worfc of the Women's Committee set up by the board. 'When the tcommittee visited the Buller recently it .came in' an atmosphere of virtual secrecy. The Mayor.of Westport was given about; three hours' notice, by, telephone,, and. industrial unions with female .membership were iv no way communicated with. The committee was back in Wellington before the unions knew. of" its visit. - The amount' expended on the trip , was money thrown away. ACTION AGAINST P. AND T. EMPLOYEES. , There was nothing more shameful than the: Government's"' attack on the Public servants, Mr. _ Holland continued. Clause.62 of the Finance Bill embodied a gratuitous insult to every member of the Public Service, and its sinister meaning was now indicated by the,• Government's ' latest outburst against the employees of 'the Postal Department, and its banning '. :bf. the / "Katipo.": The refusal: to give fiirther official recognition to the Post-; and ■Telegraph Employees'' Association was clearly the outcome of the fear • that because of the class nature of its legislation afr fecting the Public servants 'the Government was losing the votes of many postal employees. The • "Ratipo's" only offence was that it had offered a fair and: wholesome criticism of the legislation which affected the'lives and well-being ,of the-men and women in,the^Publie Service. The late Mr. Massey /on one occasion carried a measure through rthe House; to enable Public servants to stand for Parliament without loss of i status, and Mr. Forbes had both, .-'spoken and voted in support of full political rights for Public servants. Now both Reformers-and Uniteds were seeking to deprive Public servants of every right, to secure redress "of their grievances' by constitutional methods^ He (Mr. Holland)'was confident, notwithstanding, the irritational methods now being adopted by the Government, that the Post and Telegraph employees would continue to give the same loyal and capable service to ythe people as in the, past. He was- equally confident they would insist on their constitutional right to.maintain, their organisation and its official journal. No' Government should be permitted to introduce terrorism into its relationships with employees of the State because of ; differing political viewpoint. ,In any. case, the. duty of good, citizenship' must be regarded as the first attribute of a Public servant, and good-citizen-ship did not consist in silent acquiescence when the public well-being was threatened by subversive,legislation. /SINGAPORE BASE. Mr. Holland denounced the "annual payment'of, £100,000 on the Singapore base account as a criminal waste of. money at a time when there was such widespread hunger and want in the homes of the people. Ho was not prepared ;to believe that the British Government would bo so utterlyl callous as to insist on this payment if the position in New Zealand were honestly represented'to it. In any case the Singapore base could.only be regarded as the creation and creator of an atmosphere of fear that might easily prove a.factor in the precipitation of''war in the days of the near future. The meeting carried the following motion:—"That in view of the fact that the : Government's' legislation of last session, abolishing compulsory arbitration, 'reducing wages and pensions, and extending the life of the present Parliament, was not an issue at last election, in; the opinion' of, this meeting the Government should resign and submit its policy to the electors."