OPPOSITION’S VIEW

Manawatu Standard, Volume LX, Issue 167, 14 June 1940, Page 2

OPPOSITION’S VIEW

PLANS “FAIL LAMENTABLY.” DEBATE GOES BY DEFAULT. Per Press Association. WELLINGTON, June 13. When the Speaker (Hon. W. E. Barnard) called on Hon. A. Hamilton (Leader of the Opposition) to continue the Address-in-Reply debate in the House of Representatives this evening, Mr Hamilton said that, in lieu of making an Address-in-Reply speech, he wished to make a statement on the recent negotiations between the Government and the Opposition. The need, of the moment was for quick acting on an all-in Administration following up the recently passed allin legislation. Mr Hamilton then read a letter which he had received from the Prime Minister to-day, stating that, in addition to the representative War Council which- tne Government intended to appoint immediately, the Government proposed also to set up a War. Cabinet and would be pleased il the Opposition would accept an invitation to appoint two members of the Opposition Party to act in the War Cabinet, with three members representing the Government. The Opposition members of the War Cabinet would be members of the Executive Council without portfolio The War Cabinet’s responsibility would be to consider and determine all matters relating to the Second New Zealand Expeditionary Force, the Naval and Air Forces, and home defence. The remaining duties and functions of the Government would be carried out by the present Cabinet in the usual way. In the event of the War Cabinet being established the functions of the War Council would necessarily be consultative and advisory. "SIMPLY TRIFLING.”

This proposal. 6aid Mr Hamilton, had been considered by a caucus of the Opposition and in its opinion the latest proposal of the Government was simplv trifling with an important question at the very moment of the Empire’s darkest hour. The complicated nature of this latest proposal, said Mr Hamilton,_ in no way met the situation. It failed to give the country the leadership it needed, and ho wiw certain that nothing less than an all-in, quickacting, non-party Cabinet with full administrative po .vers would satisfy the people of New Zealand. Mr Hamilton pointed out that under the proposal the Opposition members of the War Cabinet would not have the right to attend Cabinet meetings, and it was equally halfhearted in the powers with which it suggested this War Cabinet should be vested. It merely dealt with matters relating to the Second New Zealand Expeditionary Force, the Naval and Air Forces, and home defence. This was but a very small part of what was represented by New Zealand’s war effort.' He was certain that the Government’s proposal would be cumbersome and unworkable.

The Opposition was determined to stand 100 per cent, behind New Zealand’s war effort, and the moment the Government was preoared to give effect to a non-party Cabinet, with full , Ministerial responsibility'' and power, it would be ready and willing to nominate its members. All would he sorry, said Mr Hamilton, that the Government’s proposals had fallen so far short of what was obviously reasonable in the circumstances. “But they fail,” he added, “and fail lamentably.” As far as the Address-in-Reply debate was concerned he said the Opposition would allow it to pass by default.

PREMIER’S. REGRET. “I can only share the regret which l am sure will be shared by every earnest person in the Dominion who is really sincere to unite the country at the tone of the rejection of the Government’s proposals by the Leader of the Opposition,” said the . Prime Minister (Hon. P. Fraser). “I do not think during the period I have been in Parliament that I have ever before heard a statement that in almost every line breathes arrogance.

“Up to the present moment,” continued Mr Fraser, “the overtures that have taken place have been conducted in a friendly way, not in a dictatorial way.” That was not the way to bring out national unity, and when the honourable gentleman presumed to talk to the people he was forgetting himself and overstepping the authority he had received from the minority of the people. However, it was an important minority, and the Government had endeavoured to give it consideration. / •

The Premier said he proposed to confine himself entirely to Mr Hamilton’s statement and to express the hope that the effort for unitv, though it had been flung back with such contempt, would not he permanently lost or defeated. s Mr Fraser proceeded to examine Mr Hamilton’s statement in detail. Throughout the negotiations Mr Hamilton had acted in a friendly manner, but the' statement he had just received had given him a shock and was entirely contrary to the spirit. He quite agreed there were many important matters connected with the war effort that were not covered by the proposals he had submitted to Mr Hamilton, but the War Cabinet was to have full and complete charge of the matters mentioned in his offer. -

Mr. S. G. Holland- Over finaaice, too? Mr Fraser: As far as money for war purposes is concerned. “The Government,” Mr Fraser continued, “does not feel, it has not felt, and it is not likely to feel, that it requires any particular assistance so far as New Zealand’s war effort is concerned. It is not in the mood to be sermonised or lectured as it has been in the document read- by the Leader of the Opposition. It is not in a mood to go on the penitent form, as apparently it is expected to do. On the contrary, it is prepared to carry on efficiently as in the past.” He regretted that the statement by Mr Hamilton cut across so abruptly the negotiations that had been in progress. Mr Hamilton: We think it.wise to clear away the confusion.

WAR COUNCIL PROPOSALS. Mr Fraser continued that, so far as the Government was concerned, it was anxious all the time to explore the possibilities of united action, but there was no hope of that being achieved in the spirit of Mr Hamilton’s statement. The Opposition deserved full credit fOl- - that, even if unity could not be brought about, it intended to give 100 per cent, in New Zealand’s war effort. He gave details of the Government's proposals for the setting up of the War Council and said that it would represent the cumulative wisdom and experience of representative organisations in addition to representatives of the Government and Opposition. ' Each country had to adjust its own organisa-

tion to its own conditions. This P r °' posal was the Government’s effort to do that. MR LEE’S VIEW. Mr J- A. Lee said it seemed to him that Cabinet had been steering in the direction of an unofficial coalition and, lie could not imagine that the Government would be more efficient with a War Cabinet or a War Council. He entered a plea for reason where subversive acts were suspected and said there was a danger of a dogmatic attitude being adopted in such matters. Suppression was not leadership, Mr Lee declared. The war could not be won by silencing every member of' Parliament or by accusing citizens of crimes against patriotism if they expressed their own opinions, nor was defeatism wanted. The right spirit could only be secured, by everyone saying: “We will not be defeated.” Mr H. Atmore expressed the opinion that party spirit was rather dominant, and he hoped there would be no recrudescence of it. He considered that not all the brains in New Zealand were represented, in Parliament itself and that if there were members of the Opposition who were willing to work and contribute something they' should not be ignored. A man who would give confidence to the people more than anyone else was a man like Major-General Sir Andrew Russell in the War Cabinet. He urged the Government to see that all the expenditure for internal purposes was money issued against the productive capacity of the Dominion, AIR EXPENDITURE. The Minister of Defence (Hon. F. ' Jones), gave a comprehensive survey of the defence activities in air and on land in the ■ Dominion. Quoting the expenditure on air defence, he said that it had grown from £352,000 in 1936 to £2,825,000 in 1940, and during the five y'ears a total of £5,407,900 had been expended. During the present financial year close on £6,000,000 would be spent, so that bv March, 1941, the total would be about £11,465,000. Mr Jones also discussed what had been done to train and equip New Zealand’s Army’. New Zealand was playing a great part in the war and when its history was written New Zealand would .have nothing of which to bo ashamed. Mr A. F. Moncur, who moved the Address-in-Reply, briefly replied and the motion to send a loyal address tu the Governor-General was carried. BUDGET ON JUNE 27. At 10.15, .Mr Fraser, on the motion for the adjournment, said an Imprest Supply Bill would have to be_ passed before the end of the month. The Budget would be ready on June 27. He suggested that the House should adjourn until Wednesday, June 19, when the Imprest Supply Bill would be ready. This suggestion was approved, and the' House arose at 10.25 p.m. until 2.30 p.m. on Wednesday.