OPPOSITION LEADER

Grey River Argus, 20 September 1932, Page 5

OPPOSITION LEADER

POLICY SPEECH Currency Reform BETTER UNEMPLOYMENT POLICE GRANT FOR QUAKE RELIEF. (Special to “Argus.”) WESTPORT, September 19. Mr H. E. Holland, M.P., for Buller and Leader of the Opposition, delivered a .pre-sessional address in the Town [rail this evening. The Deputy Mayor Mr J. Menzies, presided. In his o; ening remarks. Mr expressed his sympathy with the peo pie of Gisborn c and Wairoa and the other localities affected by the recent disastrous earthquake on the East Coast of the North Island. Mr Hol land declared that the Labour Party would press for a substantial Government grant for relief. Mr Holland said that there had been a good deal of newspaper guessing ag to what the Labour Party would do at the commencement of the coming session, and a number of hints had been given as to different subjects f hat would be dealt with. It could be taken for granted that every matter of outstanding importance would come under review at the early meetings of + he Party. First there was th e plight of the unemployed and the solution of the general problem of unemployment. Currency was a related subject, and it must com e into any discussion on the main question, and, no doubt, it would engage the early attention oi the Party. They must recognise, however, that no policy of currency reform alone could bring the change that was needed to end unemployment. That would need a comprehensive scheme of social re-construction, of which currency reform would be an extremely important part.

lie strongly condemned the new conditions which it was proposed to impose on the unemployed workers on the relief jobs, The single men would be required to work three hours per

week extra; th e Class B men six hours extra; and th e Class C men a. full day per week extra without pay. The change would mean additional expense for the local bodies, and sooner or later, the system would break down. by reason of its own injustice and ; cinmsiness. Bad as was the plight of the relief workers in th e four main cities, the .position of those in th? 1 country districts would now be infinite--1 ly worse, and he felt that the sooner the Unemployment Board was sent about its business, and direct responsibility was placed on the Ministe;. the better it would be for everyone. Mr Holland made reference + h? statement at a recent meeting of the Takapuna Jockey Club to the effect that every Labour member in Parliament was working tooth and nail to get bookmakers licensed. Mr Holland said that this allegation constituted a stupid falsehood, and whether it was ignorantly or deliberately made, it was inexcusable. There was nothing whatever in either the Hansard w Platform utterances of Labour .members to justify any responsible person making such a charge. THE OTTAWA UNCERTAINTY. Referring to the Ottawa Conference. Mr Holland said that the London “Daily Herald” was well within the mark, when it described the Ottawa arrangement as ‘‘nebulous,’' with no tangible offer to increased trade. He held that what was wanted was definite trade agreements on the basis of a guaranteed minimum price to the primary producers in New Zealand. Instead of that, they would appear to have gained nothing that would substantially benefit the Dominion’s exporting primary producers. Their secondary industries were undoubtedly being placed in jeopardy said Mr Holland. It was, indeed, unfortunate that they were still without definite information concerning such bargains as had been struck. It seemed to him that it would be far better to have conferences like these held in the light of day. CURRENCY REFORMS. Quoting Professors Maynard, Key nes, Soddy and J. A. Hobson, and Mr Arthus Kitson, the speaker proceeded to build up a case for the replacement of the present bank-controlled currency by a National money system, democratically controlled, in which money would be used to keep industry always to capacity, and to ensure a perpetual flow of goods from farm and factory to the consumers. When he s] ok 0 at Auckland, prior to the Ottawa Conference, he had suggested tpiat the ,inter-imperial jwar debts should be one of the subjects to b discussed, but this did not appear to have received any consideration, norwithstanding that the debtor countries were now called upon to pay in goods from two to three times as much as when the debts were contracted. Debt inflation was tli e rotten-ripe product of currency deflation. Mr Coates, himself, had shown that, whereas two years ago it took one-sixth of our exports to meet out external debt charges, jit now required of the total to meet the same charges. A drastic re-arrangement in this con- I uection was called for, and it was hard to understand wh v the question was not raised at Ottawa. He repeated that if the war debts were not cancelled, or subsequently reduced by sensible, businesslike arrangements they would be likely to cancel themselves in another and a less satisfactory way. Mr Coates had pleaded for raising the price levels, and this was a .movement that was inevitable, but, unfortunately all of the delegates had comp. from countries where price levels Lad been deliberately dragged down. The price levels, whether in England or the Dominions could only be lifted by, first of all, substantially lifting wages for the power to increase price de-

pended absolutely upon the power of the people in the mass to mak e . pur* chases. The world was suffering from th e failure of ] urchasing power to keep pace with the increasing power of production, and as professor J. A Hobson had said, unless action was first stimulated in the consumer mar kets, there could be no general uplift This was being generally recognised. A.t the conclusion of his speech, Mr 'Holland was accorded a very hearty vote of thanks for his intellectual address. .