PARTY POLITICS

Evening Post, Volume CXXX, Issue 129, 27 November 1940, Page 8

PARTY POLITICS

SYSTEM CONDEMNED

THE PEOPLE'S MOVEMENT

POINTS IN POLICY

About 1200 people attended the People's Movement meeting in the Town Hall last night. Including the chairman, there were five speakers, who discussed the present political position and covered various aspects of the organisation's policy. A resolution was carried, with some dissentients, thanking the speakers, approving the main planks in the policy, endorsing the movement's unification proposals, and requesting the National Party and other organS1 isations to join without delay in giving effect to these proposals. The resolution also embodied a suggestion to send telegrams to the Leader of the National Party and heads of other political organisations informing them of the resolution.

Mr. W. H. Hindle presided,

Mr. E. R. Toop. Dominion president, said that the policy of the People's Movement offered an alternative to the apathetic acceptance of a system that violated many of our British traditions. I Their first plank was an all-in war I effort and they believed that their 1 policy provided practical proposals to ensure that whatever party was in power, the people as a whole would have some protection from

class and sectional legislation

Reference was made by Mr. Toop to the Small Farms Amendment Bill, which, he said, was causing, only disruption and was about as helpful to our war effort as Mr. Webb's reference to Julius Caesar and the capitalists. If, Mr. Toop added, the National Party thought a mere change of leader was going to convince people of this country he feared the party did not understand. DEMOCRATIC LABOUR PARTY. Mr. A. E. Davy, who dealt with the subject of party politics, criticised the policy expounded by the Democratic Labour Party, describing it as a cruel policy, because in his opinion it was one which raised people's hopes but was impossible of implementation. He ventured to say that the most unpopular feature of politics today was party politics. (Hear, hear.) He could stand before them for a fortnight and tell them of things that had been done to the detriment of New Zealand in the name of party politics.

Mr. Davy referred to the movement's unification proposals. He contended there was a possibility of the unification of the anti-Government sections and he ventured to say that if that came about the 'present Administration would go out of office on the first polling day. The present Government, he declared, would never depart from the first plank in its platform—the socialisation of the means of production distribution, and exchange. The People's Movement said there must be equitable distribution of the rewards of production. "NEW ZEALAND FOR NEW ZEALANDERS." Mr. W.H. Fortune, of Auckland, who contested the Auckland West byelection after Mr. Savage's death as an Independent, said he was not a member of the People's Movement, but he was in sympathy with anything that w6uld bring about a union of all people who were sympathetic towards the idea of New Zealand for New Zealanders and not for one section or another. Captain S. Frickleton, V.C., dealt with New Zealand's war effort and in particular the need for an ordered plan when ttie war is over. "We must make our planning for peace go hand in hand with our planning for war," he said.

The resolution carried was moved by Mr. H. J. Tubbs, Wellington, and seconded by Mr. J. Crisp, Auckland.