UNEMPLOYMENT

Evening Post, Volume CXXVI, Issue 7, 8 July 1938, Page 5

UNEMPLOYMENT

THE PRESENT POSITION

A reply to charges made by the Opposition about the "rigging" of the unemployment figures was made, by the Minister of Labour (the Hon. H. T. Armstrong), who said that the unemployment figures for the present month were lower than they had ever been since the nineties. Before the last election the then Government, ■in to help them at the polls, cut out of the published figures those full time people who were earning 17s a week in camps. They did not count any members of the Native race, nor any of the married men who were shanghaied into the backblocks. "I will show where these men are placed today," he said, "and how much the jobs are costing. The newspapers are asking for figures that they will not publish. I have been talking, them all round the country, but they have not been sent

out by the Press Association. Some of the papers in the backblocks may have published them.

"Let me show you what has happened since the Labour Government came into power. There are 16,000 more people in shops, 25,000 more in factories, and 20,000 more on the land and in other avenues of employment. That makes a total of 61,000 more people employed by private enterprise and industry than were employed before we came into office. The State, including public works, employ 18,000 more people, giving a total of 79,000 more at March 31, 1938.

"And the Leader of the Opposition, i when he was in charge, showed the unemployment figures to be 35,000. How does he work that out? If I wanted a lesson rigging the unemploy- j ment figures I would not look to the members of the Labour Party, but to I the members of the Opposition^ who ! are past masters at it." NONE OUT OF WORK. He said that there was not one man unemployed in electorates represented by members of the Opposition. As I fast as men were coming out of seasonal employment, they were transferred to other work at award rates of] pay. The actual figures as far as unemployment was concerned for July were lower than they had been since the nineties. The Minister, referring to the distribution of propaganda, said that mam-' bers of the Opposition had held up their hands in horror when Mr. Semple had accused them of distributing literature that would be a discredit to any party. "I take it that the present members of the National Party in the House are not responsible," said the. Minister. "They are irresponsible. The real party is outside the House —the black thand gang. Those inside are just the (marionettes who jump to the tune. That literature is distributed for them by people outside the House. It should be repudiated."

Mr. W. J. Poison (National, Stratford) : It has been repudiated. The Minister: After the damage has been done.

It had been said that the Communist Party supported the Labour Party. He had never known the Communist Party that did not bitterly oppose the Labour Party every inch of the way. "It is a well-known fact in other countries that the Communist Party is financed from the very funds that the Nationalists are financed from. (Loud Opposition laughter.) It is absolutely ijertain that they could Hot be financed from the Labour Party funds."

Mr. J. Robertson (Government, Masterton) charged the Opposition with lacking constructive proposals and indulging instead in criticism of the Government's work. The member for New Plymouth (Mr. S. G. Smith) had, he said, implied in reference to the High Commissioner that if anyone expressed at Geneva an opinion differing from that held by British Ministers it was something approaching treachery. Mr. Jordan's attitude had been described as having met with a greater measure of approval than had been mentioned in the British Press, and the "Manchester Guardian" had stated that at Geneva Mr. Jordan had represented not only New Zealand but all the best traditions of British history and life.

The debate was interrupted by the. rising of the House at 10.20 p.m.