LABOUR DEFENDED

King Country Chronicle, Volume XXXIII, Issue 4803, 28 June 1939, Page 6

LABOUR DEFENDED

STRONG DEFENCE POLICY. VIEWS OF MR. W. J. LYON, M.P. There were two conflicting major parties in the field to-day, said Mr. W. J. Lyon, M.P. for Waitemata, in policy really is. The only thing they other day. If anyone were to take an intelligent interest in the Dominion’s politics he would have to study the respective philosophies and ideologies of the parties.

“When Mr. S. G. Holland was here a couple of weeks ago he told you that the National Party was a new party. Perhaps he was right, for in the old days the party was comprised of Mr. Forbes, Mr. Coates and Mr. Hamilton. To-day the party is Mr. Hamilton, Mr. Forbes and Mr. Coates. The great difficulty that faces us is to know just what their policy really is. The only thing they produced at the last election that was different from the Labour platform was the ‘baby bonus,’ and even that was not original, for it came from Hitler. I defy any of them to stand on a public platform and tell us just what their policy is.

“We have often been described as the scum of the earth,” continued the speaker. “However, you will notice that in any activities, even in the making of jam, the scum always comes to the top, and that is where we are to-day. Perhaps the description was meant as a compliment. We believe that every man, no matter who he is, is entitled to decent food, decent clothing and decent shelter, and surely no one can argue with such a policy. That is our ideology, for we are aiming at a goal whereby the people can be given the fruits of their own production and the things to which they aspire. Surely there is nothing wrong in that.”

On the Credit Side

“We are still on the credit side of the ledger in spite of those people who mouth patriotism one day and look after their own pocket books by deprecating the Government on the next day,” stated the speaker, when dealing with the financial resources of the Dominion. “I say that our sterling funds were deliberately raided by people who tried to bankrupt the country by taking their money overseas.” Dealing with the Dominion’s defence the speaker stated that when the Labour Government took office, New Zealand’s defences were in a disgusting condition. When faced with that position many people pointed to the disarmament policy in Britain, but rearmament was commenced in Britain in 1933 and New Zealand had two years to make up lost ground before the Labour Government took over. On taking office the Labour Government found that 70 per cent, of the ammunition in the Dominion was defective and that the young men were engaged in firing out-of-date mortars. In addition, the magazines at Devonport were behind the times and were so constructed that if one had blown up the whole lot would have gone up.

Man-Power Needed

“Since Labour took office the ammunition has been stored at Kauri Point under proper conditions,” said the speaker. “There is more ammunition in this country than ever these was and all of it is effective. However, in spite of this we still have people asking what the Labour Government has done for the defence of New Zealand. When the last Government was in power it had guns which might have been very effective against the Japanese, for these were made in Japan. On the barrels you could see the inscription, ‘Made in Kobi, Japan, 1917.’ At Narrow Neck they also had guns which they were afraid to fire for fear the breaches would blow out. In spite of this some people still say that we are not doing enough for the defence of New Zealand.

“We have already spent over £6,000,000 on defence in three years and this year another £3,600,000 will go for the same cause. All we require now is the man-power for the equipment we have in the country. In that direction I must admit that our supplies are short, for we have great need of men between the ages of 21 and 35. We are living in a fine country and surely it is worth fighting for if the need ever arises.” Continuing, the speaker stated that the Dominion’s air force had been built up until it was reckoned by experts as one of the best in the world, and the land services had been completely modernised and brought up to present-day requirements. That in itself was a sufficient answer to anyone who asked what the Labour Government had done toward the defence of New Zealand.