WAGE STANDARD

Evening Post, Volume CXX, Issue 137, 6 December 1935, Page 10

WAGE STANDARD

EARLY RESTORATION

MR. SAVAGE'S INTENTION

UNEMPLOYED RELIEF

Restoration of wage standards for the Public Service, unemployed, and those engaged in ordinary industry will be one of the first steps taken by the Labour Government, according to a statement "made to a "Post" "reporter today by the Prime Minister (the Hon. M. J. Savage).

"We will put first things first," said the Prime Minister. "The first thing will be to improve the lot of the unemployed. Next, and as soon as practicable, the Government aims at facilitating the process of restoring wages in industry, not overlooking the Public Service. You cannot bring back prosperity without increasing the purchasing power of the people. The state of the country today is largely due to the reductions that have been made from 1932 onwards. Our job is to start to restore the foundation. We are not asking anyone to pay wages that they are not able to pay. Our object is not to follow the downward course of other countries, but to build up living standsards within New Zealand. If we are going to wait for prosperity to come from abroad it may never come. We shall have to get in touch with those controlling the financial system, including the Reserve Bank, to make available the country's real resources. We shall have to provide the resources, but we are not going to follow the old ideas of continually borrowing abroad, adding to our Public Debt. Our object is to "gradually get the 50,000 unemployed into public works and industry, and the Minister of Public Works and. the Minister of Industries' and Commerce will have that job immediately in front of them. They won't be playing a lone hand.

"One newspaper has said we have not sufficient representatives of the farming industry, but we have the Minister of Lands and the Minister of Agriculture representing country constituencies and Mr. Langstone, in intellectual equipment, is one of the best farmingx representatives. For many years he has had a wonderful grip of land legislation."

Mr. Savage said that there were representatives of farming constituencies who had expressed their willingness to form groups to assist the Ministers of Agriculture and Lands.

"Instead of looking for relief works," the Prime Minister concluded, "we are going to put men into their places in the primary. and secondary industries. We argue that the money system of this country must be associated with our efforts, We don't want someone in London telling us what we are going to do with our secondary and primary industries, but so long as we rely on them for our money they will be able to tell us. what to do. If we make it possible for New Zealanders to buy more we are making better purchasers for the farmer and the business man, and making it more possible for New Zealanders .to buy their own goods. In other words, whereas the horse has been at the tail end of the cart, we are now putting the horse where he ought to be—in front."

lof the fund, but he did know that in ,the past few months the rate of expenditure had far exceeded the rate of income, and if the present position was continued there would be a very substantial cash deficit by the end of March. It was clear that the recent reduction in the unemployment tax was quite unwarranted. '

"I do not want anyone to be alarmed by that statement," said Mr. Armstrong. "It seems to me that the Unemployment Board has been contributing more to the cost of public works than its proper share, and that a new arrangement must be made for the provision of revenue for public undertakings."

In the new Ministry the Departments of Employment, Public Works, and Industries and Commerce will work in the closest collaboration in»providing employment, and Messrs. Armstrong, R. Semple, and D. G. Sullivan will practically comprise a sub-committee of Cabinet to deal with unemployment. '