ADDRESS-IN-REPLY DEBATE

Manawatu Times, Volume 64, Issue 175, 27 July 1939, Page 8

ADDRESS-IN-REPLY DEBATE

Defence of Labour’s Defence Policy

MENACE or STAPLE FIBRE Per Pres* Association. WELLINGTON, July 26. Continuing tho Address-in-Repfy debate in the House to-day, Rev. A. H. Nordmeyer (Oamaru) denied the contention by the Leader of the Opposition that New Zealand was on the verge of bankruptcy. He also stated that the Minister of Finance had denied that the .system of exchange control was a breach of the Ottawa agreement. If real benefit was to be derived from the Government's policy there should be a clearly defined plan of industrial development. Predictions that New' Zealand would encounter difficulty in its financial negotiations in London had been fulfilled, he raid, but there was good reason for those difficulties because both England and Australia were drawing near to a general election. In view of that, the financier was compelled to do all he could to embarrass New Zealand and improve his own chances at the coming elections. Lf thq London financiers attempted to impose on New Zealand terms which the Government believed to be inimical to the people he said bo personally hoped the Government would say: “Rather than accept your terms, we will take steps, however drastic they may be, to pay off the whole loan of seventeen millions.* * He further contended that if an emergency situation were created by British financiers attempting to embarrass the New Zealand Government New Zealand would be justified in mobilising • its overseas funds in tho same way as Britain itself did during tho Great War. Cost of State Houses Air. W. J. Broadfoot (Waitomo) contended that the Minister of Housing had never stated to the House the price of one of tho houses being built by his Department, and he also requested information as to the contracts given to Australian and English artisans brought to New Zealhnd for housing construction. He also criticised the Government's defence policy so far as aviation was concerned, stressing the need for up-to-date 'planes. Dealing with finance, he asked why the Minister of Finance had visited Washington on his way to London. No report on the matter had been made by the Prime Minister or any other member of Cabinet. He had been told from overseas sources, he said, that Mr. Nash had visited Washington to discuss some sort of reciprocal agreement with America in the hope of getting a little money from the United states. Mr. Nash’s reception in London, he said, had been a little frosty s.nd he had been asked some awkward questions as to why New Zealand was in its present financial position. Mr. Nash had visited Dublin, continued Mr. Broadfoot, and it ill became him to make the statement attributed to him that New Zealand would not enter into any commitment to send a military force overseas in the event of war. If there were a war, said Mr. Broadfoot, our destiny would be decided here. Surely it was up to this country, which enjoyed the protection of Britain for a century, to take its share in Empire defence, wherever it might be necessary. He was satisfied that the expression of opinion by Mr. Nash did . qot voica the view of New Zealanders as a whole. The rank and file would assume their responsibilities as they had done in 1914. New Zealand actually had no independence at all, he continued, and all the talk about the Dominion being jealous of her sovereignty was mere moonshine. No matter what happened, she still had to look to Britain and the Mother Country would not let her.down, even if she had made mistakes. Maori Girls for Nursing Mr. H. T. Katana (Western Maori) •poke of the improvements which the present Government had made with regard to Maori housing conditions and health. With regard to the latter, he said the Maoris were realising' the necessity for co-operation with doctors and nurses and he would like to see more Maori girls taking up nursing as a profession. Alaori district nurses would be particularly popular, he said, among Maori women and children. He also paid tribute to the Alinister erf Education and his Department for what had been done for the Maoris as far as education was concerned and complimented the Government on its decision to broadcast the proceedings of Parliament.

Mr. S. G. Holland (Christchurch North) criticised the Government for wasting time in the present debate. Apparently it was not prepared to go on with its legislative programme in the absence of the Minister of Finance in London. Mr. Holland said that the previous evening the member for Oamaru (Rev. A. H. Nordmeyer) bad made a biting attack on tho British Government’s foreign policy. It was time this sort of talk ceased, he said, and we all got together and presented a united tront with the Empire. Instead of that we had the member for Oamaru trying to tell England how to run her affairs. 44 And look what a mess the members of liis party have made of New Zealand,” he added. To-day, continued Air. Holland, New Zealand was faced with a major crisis. As a borrowing nation we had to give cognisance to the views of our creditors. We nad spent beyond our income, had used up all our reserves and the Government was actually trying to horrow money in London to replace funds which had dirappeared. To-day we were living in a fools' paradise. People had followed the Government’s advice of spending while the money lasted and these expensive hobbies were going to take some correcting. Wo should try to live within our income. We should have fortitude to face up to the realities. We should have courage to do tho proper thing and not the popular thing. And above all we needed a complete change in the attitude of the Government, especially the members of Cabinet, towards capital. If we did that it would be a valuable gesture towards the recovery of the country. Mr. Holland proceeded to detail the

growing competition of staple fibre with wool in Continental countries and produced for members’ inspection a pair of trousers mado from staple fibre in Germany and exported to England, then sent on to New Zealand. This competition was going to have a % ery serious affect on our woolgrowers unless they received adequate protection, he said. Defence of Defence Policy The Alinister of Industries and Commerce (Hon. D. G. Sullivan) said that it was inevitable in the present state of international affairs that a goodly portion of tho Governor-General’s speech should be devoted to matters of defence, and also that the matter should have been freely discussed during the present debate in tho House. Personally, he thought that the Alinister of Defence’s speech during tho debate on what the Government had achieved was an outstanding one, and he had considered that it would have re assured the House and the country that the Government was doing everything it could to put the country into an effective state of defence. He had been disappointed to hear further criticism on the subject ffom the Opposition. He wondered if instructions which had been given to the National candidates at the last election to “oppose, oppose, oppose,” also applied to members of tho Opposition in relation to defence in tho House.

The spearhead of the Opposition attack on the Government, he said, was that it had failed to introduce compulsory military service. Just after the international crisis in September, tho National Party had issued its defence programme, and in that programme had pledged itself to the voluntary system. Had the National Party secured a victory at the polls, it would have been compelled by its pledge given in September to have carried on with the voluntary system. Air. Hargest: That was published long before the crisis occurred. Air. Sullivan: It was published on September 20, 1938. The honourable member and his party went to the polls and it was unaltered. Mr. Hargest: The crisis was on September 26. Air. Sullivan: But the National Party went to the polls on it and there was ample time lor it to be rectified. The Alinister proceeded to deal with the question of supplies in wartime, stating that this had received careful consideration by the Government. In the event of an outbreak of hostilities, New Zealand would experience great difficulty in securing essential commodities not only because sea traffic might suffer interruption, but also because factories in other Empire countries would be fully occupied in providing for the requirements of their own lands. It, therefore, became the inherent duty of the Government to make every preparation it could to get essential requirements into the country on the one hand and on the other to get our own manufacturing concerns into a position to supply these requirements if the need arose.

Dealing with the import restrictions, Mr. Sullivan said he did not think it could be said that there was anything very drastic about these and a number of countries in the world were carrying out the same policy. He denied the suggestion that the restriction had anything to do with tho restrictions placed on our primary products imposed into Britain. The restrictions at Home were regarded by all political parties as an economic measure and a safeguard against military aggressibu. lie hoped it would not be said that tho introduction of the restrictibns here had any relation to tho restriction of United Kingdom imports from New Zealand. The present Government, ho continued, was fully aware of its obligations to Britain and he referred to the friendly relations which had always existed between Great Britain and this country, stating that New Zealand had always done everything she could to meet those obligations. As far as the development of New Zealand secondary industries was concerned, ho said, these could be increased under tho agremeut between Britain and the Dominion, and New Zealand at the same time would endeavour to do everything she could to increase the percentage of imported Goods from the United Kingdom.