MINISTER OF PUBLIC WORKS

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume LXXIII, 30 June 1939, Page 8

MINISTER OF PUBLIC WORKS

DEFENDS IHS ATTITUDE IN LAST WAR A vigorous defence of the stand he ! had taken during the war years was ! made by the Minister of Public Works (the Hon R Semple) during the debate on the Imprest Supply Bill in the House of Representatives last night. For 21 years, he said, he had been defumed by "the Tory Press, scandal mongers. and character assassins.” and he wanted to have the opportunity of proving that he was not a coward or a bailor, nor had he ever done anything t( injure New' Zealand. "I took up a definite and specific stand during the years of the last war,” said the Minister, “and if the same set of circumstances developed in this j country to-morrow I would take up I precisely the same stand. I have no I apology to offer to hon. members of this ! House or to the country for my attitude I during that terrible tragedy.” It w'as

perfectly true that he had been punished, and that he served a term of imprisonment for making allegedly seditious utterances. At that time he was the miners’ agent and representative, and had won their confidence, which he still enjoyed to-day. When the wa» broke out the miners of New Zealand took up a definite stand, that if it was a fair thing to conscript human beings it was equally fair and just to conscript wealth. Their stand was against war profiteering of any kind, and he submitted to the House, as he had stated from a thousand platforms, that anybody who would take advantage of a nation's Doubles and make a fortune fiom its misery was the worst l> pe of criminal.

"I advocated that without fear, and I j knew that if I took the stand I was deI lerrrrined to take, backed up by the i miners, I was bound to break the law ! as it existed in those days,” said Mr 1 Semple. The miners he represented I were anything but disloyal. Deeds spoke louder than words, and when at the instance of the companies the men j ' were exempted from active service j there was an emphatic protest. More- ; over, the men left behind put up a 1 world’s record in coal production, because the country needed their help. Millions had been made by war pro- i fiteers in New' Zealand. Mr Semple de- ! ! c lared. If by advocating the policy he j had urged during the Dominion’s time I | of trial and tribulation he had committed a crime, then he confessed that he I was a criminal, but he thought it was i time that he stood up in the House and | vindicated his honour and integrity as i a New Zealand citizen. For years he i had had to fight against vilification and i slander for nothing more or less than j political reasons, and he was tired of it. He had never been a coward. He loved New Zealand and his patriotism W'as as sincere as that of anybody else. Answering "cheap sneers” at what he proposed Public Works men and equipment could do in time of national emergency. Mr Semple said he had pointed out that if it came to a question of home defence, every man able to do a | day’s work should do something for defence. He wanted every man to be ready if the call came, and the mechanisation the Department possessed would make a great contribution to defence if ( necessary. STOP-WORK MEETINGS AND LOCK-OUTS "I am not going to defend stoppages 1 or stop-work meetings on the part of 1 employers or workers that violate one principle of the arbitration system that they have agreed to.” declared the Minister of Labour (the Hon. P. C. Webb) with some emphasis. "I hold that if* the parties appeal to the arbitration system they should abide by it. If they do not want it they have the right to cancel the registration and use their own powers. If workers’ or an employers’ union imagines for one moment that they can enjoy the privilege* of the arbitration system and still hold lock-outs at the same time, they have another think coming to them, because it will not be allowed.” Opposition members: Hear. hear. Mr Webb: 1 am going to ask this house to cancel the registration of any organisation that is not prepared to ’comply with the conditions of the arbitration system. I will not give any emi plover the power to persuade about a ’ I dozen men to form a union and club in ; j the rest, either. I am going lo give ‘ | them the right to choose for themselves. If they want the Arbitration Court system they can have it. but if they want strikes and lock-outs they can have them outside the system they * subscribe to. > HOPELESS POSITION FINANCIALLY It was well known that the Govern- : ment was in a hopeless jam financially. ’ said Mr H. G. Dickie (National. Patea). I and the country would appreciate a 5 frank statement of the actual position > Last session the Opposition had point-

ed out what would happen if the Gov* ernment persisted in extravagant ex* penditure, and apparently the Government had now adopted the only meant left to it to save its face. The stept that had been taken were drastic and unpleasant, and the men chiefly respon* s.ble for the present financial position were the Ministers of Public Works, Labour, and Housing. Cost had never been considered in anything they had done. Mi Hamilton commented that £ll.* 000.000 for two months, as set out in th# Bill, seemed an abnormal amount. Mr Fraser said that the amount wai much the same as provided in the first Imprest Supply Bill last year. The Bill was passed at 12.20 a in* and the House adjourned until 10.30 o'clock this morning.