The Gisborne Herald. IN WHICH IS INCORPORATED "THE TIMES." GISBORNE, WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 2, 1949 LABOUR MANIFESTO: FEW FRESH IDEAS

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXXVI, Issue 23091, 2 November 1949, Page 6

The Gisborne Herald. IN WHICH IS INCORPORATED "THE TIMES." GISBORNE, WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 2, 1949 LABOUR MANIFESTO: FEW FRESH IDEAS

rpHE full general election manifesto having; been issued, it is now possible to comment more freely on the Labour Party s policy. The remarks made following Mr. Fraser’s opening address m Auckland a week ago are repeated; it is a policy that must cause disappointment among Labour supporters. Although the I rime Minister on October 25 encouraged the hope that something more was in store, yesterday’s manifesto docs little to assist his clarion call that “we go into battle, figuratively speaking, with all our guns blazing” against the “National Tory destroyers and the Lornmunist destruetionists.” On the contrary, the manifesto is someof an anti-climax. It tolls us little, if anything, more than we already know; it is tlic policy of a Government that has been 14 years in office and which must temper a not unexpected difficulty in thinking out fresh ideas with the fact that it holds office by a very slender thread. The 1946 general election saw the Labour Party s traditional objective of the “socialisation of the means of production, distribution and exchange” watered down to “ultimate socialism.” European voters were almost equally divided —Labour 50.82 per cent and National 48.99 per cent. An impossible political situation was averted by the winning of the Maori scats and so the Labour Party got home, but only by a whisker. . “First Objective To Stay In Power”

In the past three years the balance of party support is believed to have shifted further, and this is reflected in a policy that is calculated to gain the maximum following and give the minimum offence. The position was stated very frankly by the Minister of Transport, Mr. Haekctt, at the annual conference of the New Zealand Road Transport Alliance some time ago. “The first objective of the Government,” he said, "is to remain in power. What is the good of taking over the transport industry this November (1948) and going out through it next November?” It was for the same reason, no doubt, that Mr. Fraser in liis opening address spent much time dealing with the past and was much less specific than usual about the future. He drew heavily on the achievements of the past 14 years and, like the party manifesto, had no hesitation in taking full credit for the transformation from slump to boom conditions. 'While this may be good electioneering, it does lack the virtue of modesty, which would require an admission that much of New Zealand’s good fortune today is based on the exceptionally high prices we are receiving for our exports which are decided and paid for by the British consumer and other buyers', not by the New Zealand Government. _ Once again, Mr. Fraser barked back to the depression and did his utmost to foster the old fear complex. That betrayed signs of weakness. No Concern About Expenditure

Mr. Fraser and the manifesto showed not the. slightest trace of concern about mounting public expenditure, which today is unparalleled in the history of the Dominion. From £31,000,000 in 1936 it has risen to £155,000,000 in the present year, the great bulk being the product of taxation. This is not all. In the same period the national debt has increased from £256,000.000 to £615,000,000 (war expenses £204,000,000). As the Labour Party is apparently satisfied with the administration as it at present stands, it is difficult to see how the additional benefits promised can be granted without an increase in the existing taxation burden. It is futile to say that in a Budget expenditure of £155,000,000 there cannot be some savings. Not long ago the British Government said the same, but now that it is put to the test it has found that considerable economies can be made. The National Party has pledged itself to make economies while at the same time guaranteeing full employment and the maintenance of existing wage rates and benefits, and it is satisfied that these can be accomplished to an extent sufficient to permit more benefits and lower taxes. This is a considered statement of policy and must claim the attention of electors in weighing up the merits of the rival parties’ programmes.