ELECTION CAMPAIGN NOTES

Evening Post, Volume CXXXVI, Issue 64, 13 September 1943, Page 6

ELECTION CAMPAIGN NOTES

Wisdom Awakens,

"One fear of the electors is the beginning of wisdom." Mr. J. A. Lee at St. James Theatre last evening.

Industrial Co-operation,

The National Party's attitude towards industrial relations ' was to foster to the full co-operation between employers and employed, said the leader of the party, Mr. S. G. Holland, at .New Plymouth. Without such cooperation, he maintained, national progress would be impossible. At one end of the industrial position, said Mr. Holland, there were a few unscrupulous employers, and at the other a'small body of trouble-makers whose authority unfortunately was greatly in excess of their numerical strength". Between them was the great body of decent employers and workers anxious to do the fair thing. He admitted that the workers had not 'always received a fair share of the increase, in production they had helped to bring about.

Freedom of Choice.

"I believe there should be absolute freedom of choice as to whether people obtain houses on freehold or leasehold," said Mr. J. Hogan, Independent, Hutt, addressing electors. "Arrangements should be made so that houses are obtainable either by purchase or tenancy according to the individual's choice or needs, and so that private building is not restricted by the State." When Mr. Fraser Was Abroad.

"When the Prime Minister (Mr. Fraser) was absent from New Zealand last year, the coal miners in the Waikato went on strike," said Mr. J. W. Munro, Labour Party candidate for Dunedin North, in an address at NorthEast Valley. "The Deputy Prime Minister, Mr. Sullivan, said some silly things—l told him so myself—and Mr. Webb also said some silly things about the miners. Fortunately Mr. Fraser returned and the matter was adjusted. If those miners had been imprisoned I venture to say that not one mine in the Waikato would be working at the present time. More than that, it is probable that not one mine would be working in the South Island."

Expert at Distortion.

"The Prime Minister is an expert at distortion, but he recently received a nasty knock on the knuckles," remarked Mr. Doidge at an election meeting. "A clergyman wrote to me enclosing a letter which he had forwarded to Mr. Fraser protesting against remarks he had made concerning a statement 01 mine dealing with postwar industry. 'You deliberately distorted what Mr. Doidge said,' wrote the clergyman. 'It was a wrong thing to do; you have set a bad example and have lowered ,the prestige of Parliament.' "

Good in Governments.

"Democracy swings backward and forward, and with a change of Government you do not discard the good things done by a previous Government," remarked Mr. C. M. Bowden, National candidate, at a meeting in Wellington West. "And every Government is capable of doing some good, surely." Legislation, he considered, was always progressive; if something good was done it should not be touched, but if something wrong was done the job was to correct it. "There may be an advantage in a change of broom for a while and having a good old sweep up, and that, perhaps, could be done again later on," he suggested.

Contrast,

A contrast in treatment of men called for military service was pointed out by Mr. F. W. Huggins, National candidate for Nelson, when he spoke at Bright water. Recently men on the Auckland waterfront were called up, he said, and he had commented at the time that "he bet they wouldn't go on active service." His guess had proved correct, for just recently they had been told, following appeals, that they needn't report. "Yet," added the candidate, "today I was talking to a man frbm the Blenheim district who had just been medically examined and had been signed up for overseas service. He is 46 years of age and has four children."

Upper House,

"Political flotsam and jetsam" is how Mr. J. A. Lee described the membership of the Upper House when declaring last night that the Labour Party had betrayed its original policy of a -one chamber Government. Two years after Labour came into power this policy had been confirmed, but the leaders were now trying to say that this had never been a plank in the party's platform. These "wheezy old men whose tired buttocks repose on the red moquette of the Upper Chamber" had come in with the political tide and were doubtless hoping that when the tide receded they would be left on the beach until the next high tide.

Right of Recall,

"I believe that the right of the electors to recall their representative is essential for better government, and I am prepared to give the necessary guarantee to that effect and further, if we are to have a new and better order of society we must have a Government where the honesty of its members is beyond question even by those who may disagree with its policy," stated Mr. J. H. Winter, D.C.M., Independent candidate for Hawke's Bay, in a statement. "To enable this to be carried out I believe that, on being elected, a member should have his assets and liabilities audited by the AuditorGeneral and every year thereafter, also by someone representing opposing political parties if they so desire. This would ensure that a member is there for his electors' business, and not his own."

Left to Electors,

The party system offered the elector a list of "planks," some of which might suit him and some not In order to secure the good things he was compelled to vote for the bad ones. An Independent was free to support every measure before the House on its merits. Very contentious matters could be referred to the electors, who would have the benefit of the advice and information of the member. Electors could than instruct their member as to what they required.—Mr. T. O. Maddison, Independent, Wellington South. War Regulations.

Just as soon as possible after the war all war regulations would be cancelled if the National Party were 'reutrned to office. At the moment, and for the proper prosecution of the war, there should be a non-party Government set up, one which did not pass contentious party legislation, and one free from outside domination. —Mr. A. S. Falconer, National candidate for Dunedin West.

A Sartorial Note.

The total increase in the cost of a mail's suit during the whole period of the last war was £2 16s, said Mr. L. J. T. Ireland, National candidate for Dunedin Central, but the total increase so far this war for a suit had been £5. As with many other things, the price had gone sky-high, yet the men running this war claimed they ■>. were more competent than those who were in charge during the last war.

Housing1.

"My grouch about the State housing scheme is that the houses they built were much too good and cost too much—they were no good to the working man who can't afford to pay the rent," said Mr. Mark Grace, Democratic Labour candidate for Marlborough, at Blenheim. The idea had been all right, but the wrong type of home had been built. "We say, put up a house that can be rented for about 15s a week—leave out the streamlined taps and build a family home that is some use to the working man and which he can buy if he wants to." he said.

The Comrade Circus,

"The Labour Party's Comrade Circus, who go yelping around helping" Peter Fraser to do his job."— Mr. J. A. Lee's description of the Communist supporters of the Labour Party in the election campaign.

A "Glorified Cowyard."

"The Tory idea is that New Zealand must remain solely a primary-produc-ing country for ever and ever—a market garden or a glorified cowyard and nothing else," declared the Rev. Clyde Carr, Labour candidate for Timaru, advocating further development of manufacture in the country. He quoted the increase in the number of factories and workers and the increase in volume and value since the Labour Government assumed office. "As men can enslave Nature so can men control economic laws," he affirmed, "and turn them to the advantage of all. Instead of being slaves of economic laws, men can be the masters because the economic laws were made by men."

A Promise.

To a questioner at a recent meeting, Dr. A. M. Finlay, Labour candidate for Remuei*a, said he agreed that the present standard of Parliamentary debate was low. If elected, he hoped to assist in raising that standard partly by speaking only when he had something to say and by finishing wh.en he had said what he set out to say.

Not Helpful,

Speaking at Garrett Street on Friday Mr. C. H. Chapman, Labour candidate for Wellington North, said some of the Nationalists in Parliament were not helpful to the war effort. Mr. S. G. Holland, their leader, had declared that the bonds issued to farmers in payment for the extra 15 per cent, received for wool were "worthless pieces of paper," and Mr. Hi G. Dickie made the mischievous and unfounded statemen while the ,£35,000,000 loan was being raised that war loans would never be repaid. These statements were certainly not calculated to help the war effort.

National Party Promises,

"In view of the brilliant promises of the National Party, I expect many of you will vote for them," said Mr. T. O. Maddison, Independent, Wellington South, at an open-air meeting yesterday. "I don't blame you, and when I get in that House I shall support some of them myself. The only catch is, they hang desperately to the orthodox theory of money and there is no hope that they could finance their own promises. If only we could have Mr. Lee to find the money and Mr. Holland to spend it everything would be fine."

The Civil Service.

"It is natural that there should be a great growth in the civil service of a modern state," said Mr. R. Malcolm, Independent Group candidate, Wellington North, but it is regrettable that this growth should never be altered and changed to meet modern conditions. The civil servant today is one of the worst treated sections of the community. The individual is definitely overwhelmed by the weight of bureaucracy above and around him. He is bounded by obsolete regulations and restrictions, squeezed by the demands of Ministers with political axes to grind, and hounded by a system of discipline which not be tolerated for one moment by a worker in industry. He is usually underpaid, Overworked, and completely stifled by a system which is soulless and machine like. A great number of administrative difficulties and inefficiencies of State organisation can be traced to these causes." .

Licensing the Press?

When the farmers recently carried a vote of no-confidence in Mr. J. G. Barclay at Eltham, it was because they had been kept in blindness by the newspapers. "There should be licences for newspapers, and every paper caught twisting the facts should have its licence suspended."—The Minister of Transport (Mr. O'Brien), speaking at Tinwald.

Not for "Big People."

"Don't think this party is for the big people—we have no use for the money-grabbing capitalists," remarked Mr. E. N. Pryor, National candidate for Hawke's Bay, at a meeting in Hastings. "We are not extremists, but we want everyone to have a reasonable standard of living and freedom, and our whole policy is intended to do just that."

Paying of Subsidies,

"Do you know that £750,000 has been taken from the War Expenses Account to subsidise miners' wages?" asked Mr. W. A. Bodkin (National) when speaking at Oamaru. "And," he added, "the sum of £169,000 has been used to subsidise the wages of waterside workers, and no less than £1,000,000 has been appropriated for the sugar subsidy. Are you, as loyal citizens of New Zealand, prepared to stand for that?" Cries of "No."

"Nice Work!"

"As New Zealand Minister to Washington the Hon. Mr. Nash receives just £2000 a year as his salary. This sounds all right, but it is not enough," said Mr. W. A. Bodkin (National) during an address in North Otago. "He receives an additional £5000 as a sort of cost-qf-living bonus, exempt from taxation, making his total emolument just the mere £7000 per annum. Nice work. ..."

A pained voice from the back of the house: What does the Governor-Gene-ral get? Mr. Bodkin: Not as much as that.

Continuing, Mr. Bodkin said: "But the Washington story does not end here. New Zealand's military attache, an erstwhile union secretary, who once did Mr. Nash a good turn, receives £2700 per annum, and his salary is free of tax; Who wouldn't be a union secretary?" (Laughter).

Hidden Tax.

Declaring that there was no room in New Zealand for two broadcasting services, Mr. W. A. Sheat, National candidate in the Patea electorate, said he stood for amalgamation of the existing services under non-political control on lines similar to that of the 8.8.C., which was conducted by a body containing a representative of the listeners and completely devoid of political influence by the Government. Criticising the annual radio licence as too heavy, Mr. Sheat said that the public paid £374,361 more in fees than it cost to conduct the services. This amounted to nothing more than a hidden tax. It would be said that the money was being put aside for expansion of the services, but already the accumulated fund was sufficient to provide all the requirements of the serv/es for some time to come.