THE UNEMPLOYED

Manawatu Standard, Volume XLVII, Issue 92, 16 March 1927, Page 12

THE UNEMPLOYED

GOVERNMENT’S MEASURES. PREMIER REPLIES TO CRITICISM. WELLINGTON, March 16. “The country is temporarily facing a real national problem, and nothing is to be gained from £ national point of view by attempting to make political capital out of such a situation. The Government are quite as sympathetic with the man who is out of work through no fault of his own as any other political' party in New Zealand, and have shown their sympathy-' in a practical way hy employing large numbers of men in excess of normal requirements.” So said the Prime Minister (Right Hon. J. G. Coates) yesterday, when asked to comment on the criticism of his recent statement on unemployment and the measures taken by the Government to cope with the situation. “The Government,” continued Mr Coates, “are in no way responsible for the causes which have led to unemployment. The obvious fact is that our national revenue has shrunk heavily, and under these circumstances the nation must reduce its expenditure. The consequences of spending more than one earns are the same for a nation as they are for an individual. The sensible person who finds that his income is shrinking takes immediate steps to rectify the balance—he strains every increase his income, and, above all, he loses no opportunity of reducing his expenditure. NEED FOR ECONOMY.

“There are people of course who in such circumstances merely continue in their accustomed course on the assumption that some miracle or act of God will save them from their fate, or that they might as well be hanged for a sheep as for a lamb in any case. I need- not point out the folly of such a course when applied to the Government of, a country, and it is my intention, as already announced, to keep down our national expenditure in every feasible direction, and at the same time to explore every possibility of increasing our national revenue. “I should be glad if it were possible to continue undeviatingly in this course, but it is unfortunately a fact that the very causes that have rendered it necessary to reduce both public and private expenditure have contributed largely towards creating the present unemployment. It is for the Government to consider how far they are justified- on humanitarian and other grounds in increasing their expenditure for the purpose of finding employment. It must be recognised that the greater the sum spent the longer will pur return to a normal state of affairs be delayed.

“The decision of the Government ’ was, as I have stated, an honest attempt to strike a reasonable balance and will, I think, be recognised as , such by all reasonable people. Money does not come out of a hat, and any thinking man will agree that if an undue amount is spent in relieving unemployment it will at no distant date merely have the paradoxical effect of creating further unemployment. TEMPORARY EXPEDIENT! “I repeat that the Government would not be justified in paying more than the wages decided upon, and if any worker refuses to recognise that, in the circumstances, work on the terms outlined is better than no work at all, I thii.k he will meet with little sympathy in this country. We have not attempted nor do we intend to attempt to provide permanent and remunerative employment such as would induce a man to remain indefinitely; we have endeavoured to provide a temporary expedient that will tide him over until something better is available. In this connection it will be recognised that the picture painted in the Labour Party’6 manifesto is an exaggerated one; for example, the usual cost of food to a worker in a Public Works camp if supplied in the cookhouse is not 30s, but 255, and there is nothing to prevent a worker from catering for himself at a considerably reduced cost. RESTRICTED IMMIGRATION. “There need be no doubt as to the intention of the Government in regard to immigration. From the first week of May to the end of August no assisted immigrants will arrive in New Zealand other than boys, domestic servants and members of separated families. My colleagues and I regard a rogulated system of immigration ns essential to the continued developmnt and prosperity of this Dominion as well as a measure with a large Imperial significance, and we hope and believe that this restriction will be a temporary one. No one regrets more than I do that conditions have rendered the adoption of this course necessarv.

NO ATTACK ON WAGES STANDARD. “The suggestion that the decision of the Government constitutes an attack on the standard of wages of New Zealand workers generally, or on the employment of the regular workers of the Public Works Department is entirely without foundation. Tiro Government have no intention of interfering with the general wages, they are taking every care to ensure the continuity of the employment of those workers who are regularly engaged with the Public Works Department and they regard the present measure as a purely temporary one to be removed at the earliest possible opportunity.. I entirely appreciate the difficulty of finding suitable employment for those men who are unable to undertake hard manual labour; this difficulty is always with us and if some of our critics would endeavour to assist with constructive and practicable proposals they would be rendering a more useful service to the sufferers than by senseless attacks on what is an honest attempt to meet the difficulty as far as possible.

TOO MUCH RELIANCE ON GOVERNMENT.

“Miglrt I make this point quite clear —that neither my colleagues nor myself are prepared to accept the whole responsibility of finding employment for those who need it. There is far too much reliance in this country on Government assistance in every direction, and it is the policy of the Government to inculcate wherever possible a healthier reliance on individual efforts. So far as the present unemployment is concerned we have recognised the necessity of taking reasonable steps to remove the difficulty, but I sincerely trust that our efforts will be assisted in no small measure by local authorities, public bodies and by a general public effort.”