NO BENEFIT GIVEN

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXXIII, Issue 22200, 10 December 1946, Page 6

NO BENEFIT GIVEN

NEW BOUNDARIES SPEAKER TO VOTE ALTERATION SUGGESTED (P.A.) DUNEDIN. Dec. 10. "A few words about the calculations, miscalculations, vagaries and mistakes in Mr. S. G. Holland's statement." was the way in winch the Prime Minister, Mr. P. Fraser, described a lengthy repfy he made last r.ight to the published remarks of the Leader of the Opposition on the final results of the elections. “Mr. Holland’s concern as to how the Government is to carry on is much appreciated by me," he said. "It is true that the Government’s majority in the House of Representatives is not over large, but it will suffice for the next three years. "I agree with .the Leader of the. Opposition that there has been no sweeping victory, but I can claim that Labour has won a victory and .that nothing remains of his confident forecast repeatedly uttered in Parliament and on the platform about the likelihood of a change of Government, while his more loud and strident supporters confidently asserting the inevitability of forthcoming victory are stricken dumb with disappointment. Old Parliamentary Practice “His unconcealed delight, of which obviously he is already enjoying a delectable foretaste at the possible predicament of the Government in being deprived of two votes in committee, on the whole may be somewhat modified by reverting to the old Parliamentary practice of Mr. Speaker voting as well as speaking in committee," the Prime Minister stated. "This will leave a majority of three, and while narrow it is not so precarious as a number of some other Governments have had to carry on with.

“In any case,’ he added, “the fate of Governments is not sealed, their lives are not surrendered, on catch votes. The confidence of the people can only be withdrawn by the people, no.t by a voting accident in the House of Repre ; sentatives.

“I have little or no objection to Mr. Holland's winning electoral victories in the columns of the newspapers so long as Labour wins them at the ballot box,” Mr. Fraser stated, “but his reckless mishandling of the electoral figures shows that he can do anything with figures, except understand them. “By taking Raglan (39) and Roskill (169) and by ignoring Otaki (44) and St. Albans (86) lie has the Government well defeated to his own complete satisfaction,” Mr. Fraser said. “By applying the same method to all National majorities under 300. I could easily prove that with a turnover of -from 23 to 119 Labour could have won six seats held now by Nationalists, and our majority could be 16. “Wha.t profit is there in such vain, calculations? Nothing whatever.” calculations? Nothing whaterer. Labour 51.4 per cent of Votes “The facts are. he said, “that Labour polled 533.733 votes. 51.4 per cent of the votes cast throughout the country, that the Nationalists polled 504,074 or 43.35 per cent of the total votes cast. Votes cast for other candidates being negligible, this gives Labour a majority of 29,699. These figures may be slightly altered when the final figures still outstanding from six electorates are received.”

The Maori people would bitterly resent the imputations cast on .them by Mr. Holland that the main issue voted on by them was social security, the Prime Minister continued. How had he completely missed the outstanding fact that what the Maoris voted for in such overwhelming numbers (Labour 23.009. Nationalist 11.855) was for equality for the Maori people in all spheres—political, educational, social and economic—and for the future of their race on that basis. “They were the result even more.” he said, “of an utterly unworthy and venemous suggestion initiated by the Nationalists in the depths of their chagrin and now given circulation by their leader that there was extensive duplicate voting by the Maoris. It is regrettable that the National Party has always to discover or invent excuses for defeat and to justify their moans and groans over their failure with the p]pctnr<; Burnt Ballot Papers “Perhaps it is this necessity that induced Mr. Holland in his press statement to take a nose dive into political pollution by his reference to 'burnt ballot papers’,” Mr. Fraser continued. “If Mr. Holland by that reference means to state or to infer that I as Minister in Charge of the Electoral Department. or any of my Cabinet or Parliamentary colleagues, were parties to or had any responsibility in connection with, or wore consulted in any way, or had any knowledge of the burning of the ballot papers in Egypt in 1943, and I earnestly hope that is not his intention, then I am compelled to do as I was constrained to do to a much more prominent person in London early this year and fling the falsehood back full in his face.

"As regards the effect, of the abolition of the country quota,” he added, “it does not appear at the moment that it had any result other than to enforce the Labour principle of ‘one vote one value.’ The alteration of the boundaries does not appear to have resulted in an advantage to either party. “When I said in Christchurch on Friday evening last that with the maintenance of the great energy and enthusiasm shown by Labour supporters in the recent campaign, and with improved and more extensive organisation and dissemination of facts, opposition to Labour could be wiped out, I had no thought of any course but a democratic one of informing and trusting the people,” said Mr. Fraser. "Menace of Reactionaries” “When the people as a whole know the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth, in regard to the work of the Government and the objective of the National Party, that truth will set them free from the menace of reactionary politics and economics. "The Labour Government accepts once more the definitely expressed decision of the electors and again takes up the responsibilities of office,” Mr. Fraser said. "It will maintain and further the intsalmcnts of social justice already established..and it will proceed with its plans to promote the development of our country, and the prosperity and happiness of all its peopie in this task,” he said. “It asks for the assistance of all people of goodwill who are imbued with a desire to put the welfare of New Zealand and all its people before any sectional interests whatever.”