N. Z. Must Hold Ors To Freedom, Holyoake Says

Northern Advocate, 6 November 1946, Page 2

N. Z. Must Hold Ors To Freedom, Holyoake Says

New Zealanders should rise up and say they were determined that the Government should not take any moie of their freedom, said Mi* K. J. Holyoake, M.P., last night. He was addressing electors at Onehunga in support of the National, Party candidate, Mr W. K. King. j Mr Holyoake drew a parallel be- j tween the policies of pre-war European dictators and New Zealand s pro-sent-day Socialists. i Then, as now, too many people stood on the sideline and watched j until it was nearly too late. 1 The National Party believed the' Government’s job was to make laws and rules but inside these limits the people should be free to live their own lives. Labour Party speakers would have it believed that there had never been social security in New Zealand until it came into power. They caused their hearers to imagine that Mr Coates and Mi* Forbes manufactured the slumo here and spread it all over the world, while when the Labour Party came into power, it produced prosperity and ex- j ported it everywhere. I Every Government since Seddon’s ; day had added to the number of state benefits. . i During the slump it v’as admitted that the Government had cut pen- i sions and salaries but so had every ; other world oovemment he knew of. j This included Labour Governments, j with the difference that in Australia j the labour Governments had cuts harder. ! The Coalition Government in New j 7 ,l-. < had* restored two-thirds of the ; pensions and the whole of the old- : age pensions within a balanced Bud- j bet before Labour got into power.

(Special) AUCKLAND. This Day.

Labour statements that the National Party, if it got into power, would cut social security pensions were cruel and dispicable. In the past two years the Minister of Finance (Mr Nash) could have reduced taxation by £20,000,000. j But he loved the power that spending the people's money gave him. ! Although Russia and the United States had emerged from the last , war greater than ever, a united and 'strong British Empire was still the greatest factor for peace in the world. :' Everything must be done to strengthen the bonds of Empire and every ' effort should be made to open the door to trade with England.