PARLIAMENT

Hawera Star, Volume XLVIII, 12 July 1924, Page 5

PARLIAMENT

ADDRESS-IN-R EPLY. NO MONEY FOR FARMERS. HOUSING PROBLEM. (BY TELEGRAPH—PRESS ASSOCIATION.). WELLINGTON. July 11. The debate on the Address-in-Replv «-as continued in the House to-day. Mr McKay (Hawke’s Bay) complained that there was no money for farmers, and declared that the Government’s claim that the housing problem had been solved was absurd, as people were still living in tents and not half the buildipgs required had been provided. He complained of the lack of agricultural education in New Zealand, and then proceeded to deal with speculative land values, contending that this was as evident in the towns as in the country, and unless checked it would bring about- a slump in the towns as inevitably as it came in the country. The towns were going ahead of the country, and so long as land values were kept up prices of food, clothing, etc., must be high and there would be no chance of reducing the cost of living. Mr J. Munro (Dunedin North) dealt with the housing shortage in the Dominion, and especially in Dunedin. He said , that instead of the Government’s amendment to the Workers’ Housing Act having solved the problem it had sent people who had been waiting for years almost to a state of revolt. Continuing, Mr Munro said there was ample evidence that the Government was simply taking taxation off the shoulders of the wealthy and putting it on the shoulders of the poorer classes. ■Mr W. S. Glenn (Rangitikei) said that while the Opposition was predicting that the country was rushing to ruin the facts pointed in exactly the contrary direction. The position of the banks, judging by the deposits, was never better, and private wealth had rapidly increased since 1914. These barometers were the best refutation of the Liberal criticism. Mr Glenn dealt with the importance of improving the grass lands of the Dominion and’ with the necessity for supplying farmers with cheap manures for that purpose. The importance of the matter might be judged by the fact that 96 per ; cent of l the occupied land in the Dominion was grass land. The production from land treated with Nauru phosphates was in some cases remarkable, and to encourage their use every avenue of transport should be made as cheap as possible.

Mr J. Horne (Wakatipu), referring to land matters, urged that some of the larger holdings in the South Island should be cut up, so that men who were at present land hungry might be able to get sections. In Otago and Southland from 10,000,000 to 11,00Q,000 acres of Crown lands were locked up among! a few men, and it was intolerable that applicants for small holdings could not get any. Population and production were wanted, and nothing was being done' to give men the opportunity to ensure these needs being met. Mr H. T. Armstrong (Christchurch East) said combinations of employers aimed to impose longer hours of work at lower wages, and in this country a lead was given by the Government, which reduced the wages of its employees. The Government thus showed that it was prepared to be willing tools to do dirty work that was too dirty for employers’ associations. . To-day, said Mr' Armstrong, the struggle for existence in the case of mothers and children of the poorer paid people was harder than it ever had been in the history of the country. Labour intended to light to the last- against the Government’s', plan to increase the hours of labour. Reduced hours formed the only real gain organised Labour had to show for its efforts in the past year, and the strongest possible defence would be put up to maintain those reduced hours. The House rose at 11.10 p.m. ti11"2.30 p.m. on Tuesday.