NATION'S HEALTH!

Evening Post, Volume CXXIV, Issue 119, 16 November 1937, Page 16

NATION'S HEALTH!

PHYSICAL FITNESS

MINISTER URGES TOLERANCE

DISCUSSION ON BILL

A plea to the • country - not to develop a spirit of intolerance was made by the' Minister of Internal- Affairs (the Hon. W. E. Parry) in the House of Representatives last night when moving the second reading of the Physical Welfare arid Recreation Bill. "A spirit of intolerance in one branch of recreation towards another is not a healthy sign," he said, "and I appeal to the community to. discourage this spirit, and in its place create a spirit of national co-operation.". The Minister drew attention to the increasing predisposition of the people of New Zealand, as well ,as those of other countries, to illness. ■ There was, he said, no more important problem confronting mankind than this. In spite of modern scientific treatment certain people who imagined they were stuffering from ill health flocked .to visit every "cure-all" that came along. This section of the community was a very easy prey to these charlatans, who did a good business. The Minister quoted figures showing the deaths from three diseases in New Zealand. In 1932, he said, there were 1472 deaths from cancer; in 1936; that had grown to 1762; and over thef five years the total deaths were 8213. In the Maori race the annual rate had m"creased from 25 deaths; to 43 over the same period, the total being 162. Deaths from tuberculosis among the Europeans increased from 615 in 1932 to 680 in 1937, and among the Maoris from 291 to 329; and deaths from heart disease had increased from 2935 in. 1932 to 3646 in 1936, while among the Maoris these deaths had increased from 73 to 103, Over the five years, said Mr. Parry, deaths from all three diseases had totalled 28,885. ■ Those figures were appalling, particularly when they, remembered the advancement that had been1 made in science. The . Minister referred to the assistance he had received in this movement from the time he had made his first announcement two years ago. There were some sections of the community that were condemnatory, but the great number of people connected with sports organisations agreed that the movement was along. the right lines. He had, received very great support from these organisations, and he wanted to thank them for their assistance. He paid a tribute to' the newspapers. In the great majority of cases the newspapers, particularly the big national newspapers, had supported the Bill 100 per cent. Mr. Parry, also expressed his thanks to his officers for their help. ■ . PRECIOUS JEWEL. "The most precious jewel ,life. can give is good. health and physical fitness," said the \ Minister. "Good physical and mental health should be the foundation of a good life for the ; individual. and make him profitable to the nation to which he belongs. In^ fact, one of the best legacies we' can hand down to -the future generation is.physical and mental fitness so that it will be able to fight its battles. Physical fitness gives confidence to the, individual, without which the moral' fibre of the nations is weakened. ' "The foundation of physical fitness goes farther back than the schools. It has its s roots embedded in and is de-: pendentupon the food we eat, and also* the contents of the soils in which that; food is grown. Most of us today re-, alise the importance of a properly balanced diet in developing the wellbeing of our people." Mr. Parry said that the movement was going to cost money, but thei amount that would be expended would| be saved in the money that would be' spent on building hospitals. It would be spent for the purpose of preventing illness. • An1 ideal would be created,: an ideal of health as against that of disease and : decay. Almost, the last thing, that most people thought about was health. Their very nature was to: think .in the- negative instead of in the positive. The only, challenge that civilisation had to disease today was physical fitness and wellbeing. - "Personally, I am unable to draw any line of demarcation between the words;'physical - wellbeing' and 'intellectual wellbeing,'" said Mr. Parry, "although I agree that it is possible to have a good physique without a correspondingly high standard of mentality. Neither the physical nor the mental should be developed,at the expense .. of the other—the objective, should be to develop both together. ! RESOLUTIONS NO GOOD. "It is no use contenting ourselves by passing resolutions and laws placing restrictions upon what others shall or shall not do, unless we set out to create facilities which will take the place of those we condemn. A spirit of intolerance in one branch of recreation; towards another is not a healthy sign, -and my plea to the community is to, discourage any spirit of intolerance arid, in its place, to endeavour to create a spirit of national co-opera-tion towards a system that will undermine conditions that bring »about physical and mental disease." ■It was not. sufficient to condemn, added the Minister, who paid a tribute to the work of the V.M.C.A. and the Y.W.C.A. and other organisations that had to do with developing physical fitness. The proposed Act was not all they needed. It had to be administered. It had to have the backing of men and women who were interested in the ■ question and who were really alive to the necessity of it; otherwise it njight become a dead letter. The Minister dealt at some" length with an explanation of the various clauses' of the measure, and formally moved the second reading. OPPOSITION IN SYMPATHY. Mr. J. Hargest (National, Awarua) said he could assure the Minister that members of the Opposition were in complete sympathy with the principles of the Bill, and if they criticised the measure in any way that criticism would not be offered in a spirit of hostility. They felt that it was their duty to examine the legislation carefully, and if they could offer any suggestions for improvements they would do so. The mere attainment of physical fit-; ness would not end things, Mr. Hargest said. Even athletes suffered from minor ailments. Mr. J. B. F. Cotterill (Government, Wanganui): But the hon. . gentleman will admit that physical fitness increases resistance? Mr. Hargest said that he did not know that that was so. He had seen splendid physical specimens attacked by cancer. Chest development helped in tubercular cases and consequently physical fitness helped there,; but as far as other ailments were concerned it was difficult to. say how much physical fitness helped. Actually there was not a great deal in the Bill, Mir. Hargest continued. It provided for machinery and nothing more. There was nothing in it about making people fit. A similai? measure had been passed in England some months ago, but, unlike the Imperial Act. the Bill before the House made one fhan the virtual dictator of sport in New Zealand; it placed all of the

power in the hands of the Minister. Mr. Parry: No, it does not. I cannot interfere with sport. The Bill reminded him of an inverted pyramid, Mr. Hargest said, with the Minister at the apex, the council outside of him and committees outside of the council, and the only man who had any power was the Minister. The council could set up a multitude of committees and none of them would have any power. NO LESS FIT. The young people of today were no less fit than the young people of 20 years ago, Mr. Hargest added. During the war years a tremendous number of young men were classed C2 or were unfit for any service, and the position was similar today. New Zealand and Australia had splendid material to work with, as a visit to any of the beaches would show, and if the great majority of the young people of the country could be brought to the standard set by the few the result would be worth a lot of money. Spasmodic training was useless, and physical training should be made attractive so that the young, people would indulge in continued training. He suggested that the Minister should concentrate his endeavours upon physical training and leave the organisation of games to those organising them at present The Bill gave the Minister extraordinary power, said Mr. Hargest The National Council would be purely advisory. : Mr. Parry: What do you suggest? Mr. Hargest said he suggested that the Minister should follow the English Act, which simply set up a national council to arrange for the establishment of local committees and which left all the power, in the hands of the council. "The whole of the administration of this colossal Act is going to be vested in the Minister," he said. The Minister of Lands (the Hon. I\ Langstone): A good Minister, too. Mr. Hargest: Yes; but I say it is quite beyond the power of any individual to administer, and he is taking that power. . ■ - The debate was interrupted by the adjournment at 10.30 p.m.