UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXVI, Issue 20420, 23 November 1929, Page 13

UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE

BILL BEFORE COMMONS.

BURDEN OF EXPENDITURE.

CRITICISM BY OPPOSITION. By Telegraph—Press Association—Copyright. (Received November 22, 6.6 p.m.) British Wireless. RUGBY, Nov. 21. The Minister of Labour, Miss Margaret Bondfield, moved in the House of Commons to-day the second reading of the Unemployment Insurance Bill. She said the object of the measure was to remedy the outstanding defects of the present system. The most important change in the bill was the abolition of the condition placing on an applicant for unemployment pay the onus of'showing that ho was minutely seeking work, and, on the submission of a new claim, placing on the labour exchange the onus of showing, not only that employment of a kind suitable for the applicant was available, but that he could reasonably have been expected to know of it. Miss Bondfield contended that the old condition involved a psychological test, which it was administratively impossible to maintain with the least degree of equity. Particularly was this the case in depressed areas. Another important proposal of the bill was contained in a clause providing for the lowering of the minimum ago for insuranco. The Government had announced its intention of raising the schoolleaving ago to 15. That step would be taken not later than 1931. The bill proposed that when it was taken the minimum ago for insurance would be reduced from 16, as at present, to the schoolleaving ago. Hostile Amendment Moved. Major Elliot (Conservative) moved an amendment to reject the bill, on the grounds that an unfair burden would be cast on juvenile insured persons, that the tests would be vague and unsatisfactory and that a grave additional burden would be cast on tho Exchequer. He said the bill was based on the expectation that there would be 1,250,000 unemployed people for three years in spite of Mr. Thomas' efforts to create employment. Tho Government had grafted a noncontributory scheme on to a contributory scheme without facing the inevitable consequences of making a grant of £8,000,000 a year from the Exchequer, irrespective of the .State Insurance Fund. Mr. J. Maxton (Labour) caused several breezy scenes during his speech, particularly from Mr. Lloyd George, whom Mr. Maxton taunted with having suggested in the election campaign that £200,000,000 should be taken out of industry and put into road works. Mr. Maxton said that when Mr. Snowden offered 5j per cent, people came and slapped hundreds of millions on the Treasury counter. His supporters would rather invest £200,000,000 in human beings than in roads. Work was the only justification of citizenship, but as nobody could provide work, the unemployed should not be asked to shoulder the burden of the country's economic mistakes. Demoralisation with the Dole. Mr. Lloyd George, Leader of the Liberal Party, strongly criticised tho bill. He said il was difficult to say no to the proposal to givo 2s extra to the wives of unemployed men, but his principal misgivings were as to the tremendous expenditure involved under the bill as a whole —an expenditure which the country could not pay. Already since the general election a burden of £19,000,000 had been added to next year's Budget. With regard to the extension of unemployment pay to boys of 15, Mr. George said they ought to be putting all their efforts into seeing that young men of 17, 18, 19 and even beyond that age, had something to do. He appealed to the Government to make an effort to find work for the younger men instead of bringing in doles to increase their demoralisation. Works to Relieve Unemployment. Tho Crown law officers are preparing a bill designed to enable the local authorities to dispense with certain legal formalities in undertaking their employment plans. If tho measure becomes law these authorities will bo relieved of the necessity of promoting special Acts before certain works may be undertaken. The Lord Privy Seal, Mr. J. H. Thomas, makes this announcement in a statement to tho press. Ho says progress with employment schemes is being made in many directions. An expenditure of between £40,000,000 and £50,000,000 has been sanctioned. He again expressed his conviction that au expansion of tho export trade lies at the root of the mattter. In that connection Mr. Thomas is discussing various questions with the motor trade. Ho is conferring with a view to finding out by what means other than tho liorso-power tax tho same revenue can bo secured with more advantage to the motor industry. Soino of tho newspapers interpret this as ail indication of an intention to abolish tho horse-power tax, which encourages tho production of small-engined cars not suitable for export, and to replace it with increased petrol taxation.