REFERENDUM ON CONSCRIPTION IN NEW ZEALAND

Grey River Argus, 17 February 1949, Page 4

REFERENDUM ON CONSCRIPTION IN NEW ZEALAND

Federation of Labour States Its Attitude

P.A. WELLINGTON, February 17. Before any policy of peacetime conscription was put into effect, it should be submitted to a referendum of the people, declared the National Council of the New Zealand Federation of Labour to-day.

The Council, on Tuesday, was told by the Prime Minister, Rt. Hon. P. Fraser, that he hoped that voluntary enlistment would be adequate to meet the Dominion’s military requirements, but that, if that did not do the job, conscription might be necessary. No one, he said, would deny that this country was worth defending, and, if it was worth defending, then it was reasonable to take measures to put defence into effect.

Mr Fraser said that, in his opinion, the policy of the Labour Movement on the issues involved should be fully discussed by the Movement, and he hoped that, before any decisions were made, the matter would be referred to the industrial and political Labour conferences to be held in Wellington in May. The National Council of the Federation, after a long discussion, decided that, before any policy of peace-time conscription was put into effect, the matter should be referred by the Federation of Labour to the affiliated unions, and that the Federation’s policy be determined by the annual conference of delegates in May. The Council, at the same time, declared that there should be a referendum of the people if peace-time conscription was contemplated.