NATIONALISTS SPLIT ON HOUSING AND “DISCIPLINE” OF UNIONS

Grey River Argus, 10 November 1949, Page 3

NATIONALISTS SPLIT ON HOUSING AND “DISCIPLINE” OF UNIONS

WELLINGTON, November 9. The Nationalists don’t know where e they are going., They are contradictd ing each other right and left while - Mr Holland goes round the country >. saying “we are going to have some i, discipline in New Zealand, and we are e going to get it”. Nationalist candid- ■■ ates are becoming pessimistic. A f serious rift has developed in the - Party’s ranks over interpretation of I certain basic features of Nationalist ] policy. It is widely known that durr ing the week-end following Mr Hol--land's opening address in Christchurch sharp words passed between him and s some of his lesser henchmen. I, Only the upper crust of the Partv :1 hierarchy knew the details of the Nab tionalist manifesto before Mr Holland :1 went south for'his broadcast. When c it was announced many of the Nar tionalist candidates, including some f sitting members, were openly disr mayed. They felt, and had no hesitat tion in informing their leader at ; Party headquarters, that some of the - “get tough” proposals contained in th e policy were certain to cost their - Party the election. ? The speeches of Nationalist candidates have shown a most surprising 3 cleavage over points of policy, and ? this fact adds weight to the well in- ? formed report of disagreement bei tween the legal men of the Party and ? the “moderate” element The policy 1 was the product of the legal brains f within the Party, directed by the pre- - sident, Mr W. J. Sim, K.C.' f It is also reported that Nationalist > candidates contesting what are known 1 as marginal seats told their leader i they were seriously perturbed by the ■ stringent nroposals for “disciplining” ; the workers as this would seriously i prejudice their polling chances. > The disagreement pver policy has i come out into the open with Nationalist candidates making diametrically opposed statements on the same sub- . ject. Mr Holland pledged that State > house rentals would not be increased, i but Mr Clifton Webb (Rodney) told a Brooklyn audience that a changed Government would see increased rents for new State tenants. On the same night in Seatoun, the Nationalist candidate for Miramar, Mr C. H. Taylor, declared that rents would not be raised! Obviously three was no prior agreement on this issue, and Nationalist spokesmen have gone their own way on the matter. Mr Holland has pledged on innumerable occasions that taxation would be drastically reduced if his Party became the Government, but he is contradicted smartly by Mr Webb, who flatly denied there was any Nationalist platform for reducing taxation. He is supported by the Nationalist candidate for Onslow. Mr J. S Meadowcroft, who said his Party had not committed itself to reducing taxation, but after looking behind the scenes “it might do so”.