WAGES INCREASED

Evening Post, Volume CXL, Issue 56, 4 September 1945, Page 8

WAGES INCREASED

Awards in which wages have been increased in conformity with the Industrial Conciliation and Arbitration Act, 1925, and the Economic Stabilisation Emergency Regulations, 1942, are cs follows:—New Zealand (except Northern and Otago) Nurserymen and Gardeners'; Northern, Wellington, Canterbury, and Southland and Otago Boilermakers'; New Zealand (except Otago-and Southland) Lime Workers'. respected, said the witness. A police officer's job was law enforcement. Quite naturally he sought the fullest powers which would enable him to enforce the law; which generally meant adding to the list of "Thou shalt not's." Once an act was absolutely prohibited he knew where he was, and could act accordingly. He overlooked, however, that most problems relating to human conduct in matters not inherently evil in themselves become more difficult when an attempt was made to resolve them by mere negative restriction. That there would be misuses and abuses of alcoholic liquor under the most perfect system human ingenuity could devise, he had no doubt. It was the same with every phase of social, economic, industrial, and commercial life. In short, the ideal of perfection in all things would always remain the ultimate goal towards which we might draw closer from time to time, but could never expect to reach. That should not deter us in our endeavour to formulate a system which would eliminate as far as possible the abuses which might operate against public order or interest. "EXTEND FACILITIES." "The most important reform, therefore, is to extend the facilities (both as to times and places) for the retail sale of liquor (other than spirits) for consumption by the glass on the premises; to prescribe heavy penalties on any licensee who is guilty of permitting intoxication, or disorderly, improper, unseemly, or unlawful behaviour on his premises: indeed the penalty of forfeiture should always follow on. conviction for any such offence; and to prescribe heavy penalties (including the penalty of prohibition for a period) on all persons guilty of such behaviour," said Mr. Luxford. "If thi* reform is made, and the churches, edu cational, cultural, and social bodies adopt a determined policy to remove intoxication and drunkenness from .the'permissible' classes of, conduct, we will be well on our way towards resolving most of the problems relating to alcoholic liquor. "The problem drinker will remain until resolved by psychiatry or science; We must realise, however, that he would have been just as big a problem if he had been a teetotaller, and accept him as a public responsibility, in exactly the same way as if his psychological defect or maladjustment had manifested itself in another form."