WORK IN PARLIAMENT

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXX, Issue 21469, 18 April 1933, Page 11

WORK IN PARLIAMENT

PAST YEAR'S ACTIVITIES CRITICISM OF COALITION SUPPORT FOR PARTY URGED " 'Hansard' of the past 12 months contains the records of fights on the floor of the House sustained by the New Zealand Labour members, which have never been excelled by any Labour or Socialist Party in any part of the world," stated the annual report of the Parliamentary Labour Party presented to the Labour Conference by its Leader, Mr. H. E. Holland, M.P., yesterday. The report reviewed in full detail the legislation of the past 12 months, and the part played by the Labour Party in opposing Government measures. The question of unemployment was raised in the House from the Labour benches on almost every day during the two sessions. If every member had voted in the House as he spoke on the hustings, there would have been no oldage pensions reduction. Action ort the part of the Labour Party resulted in having the miners' widows' pensions continued in the cases of widows who were without other sources of income. Some credit for his efforts in this direction was also due to Mr. A. M. Samuel, Coalition member for Thames. "The Coalition's legislation of last year, as well as that of the present year as far as it has gone, has been remarkable for its faulty preparation," said the report. "In the case of almost every important measure, numerous amendments were found to be necessary after the original bill had been introduced. When the National Expenditure Adjustment Bill was before the House some 20 amendments were brought down by Governor-General's Message before the final stages of the bill were reached. Ottawa Agreement Criticised "The Ottawa agreement embodies an arrangement that seriously menaces the secondary industries of New Zealand. The agreement provides, inter alia, that the protective duties which safeguard our local industries shall be reduced to a level that will place the United Kingdom manufacturers on an equal footing with the New Zealand manufacturers in the matter of the sale of goods within the Dominion. "In October the Prime Minister moved to secure the approval of the House for the Ottawa agreement; and the Labour Party presented the following amendment: 'Except in so far as the change tends to destroy the measure of protection accorded by the existing laws to commodities which can economically be produced in New Zealand, and always provided that necessaries which cannot be produced in New Zealand shall come in duty free.' The amendment was defeated on a party vote. The Ottawa agreement again came up for discussion when the Customs Bill was before the House. The Labour Party forced divisions against the different clauses which struck at the industries of New Zealand. All Labour amendments were rejected mainly on party divisions. The Coming Contest "The manner in which the Radio Broadcasting Board permits the broadcasting of Government speeches, while denying the Opposition any facility whatever in this direction, constitutes one of the greatest scandals of departmental administration, which it is to be hoped will not be allowed to continue. In committee of supply in November, when the Post and Telegraph Estimates were under discussion, the Labour Party moved an amendment challenging the action of the Radio Broadcasting Board in confining the use of the radio service to members of the Government and urging that the use of the air for broadcasting must be free to both sides of the House or to none. This was defeated on a party vote by 41 to 24." The report concluded: "The foregoing report is a record of the legislation which has been put through since last Easter; and it is not necessary to stress the menace of it from a working-class viewpoint. Nor should it be necessary to add that the terrible experiences through which the people are now passing constitute the price that must be paid for the failure of the Labour movement in the past to appreciate adequately the issues at stake. We are now paying for the apathy and treachery of the sections that opposed contributions to the party funds and that advocated making ballot-papers informal and other similar stupidities. Need For Loyalty "Shortly we may be called upon to take part in another contest for the political control of New Zealand, and in that case—in the light of the heavy price that we are now required to pay because of these tactics in the past—the protagonists of disunity within the Labour movement and the open enemies without should find no audience in either the unions or the party branches or in the wider field outside. In the coming contest it must be laid down that whoever opposes the Labour movement in its fight for political power will be regarded as having definitely ranged himself against the workers and on the side of the wages and pensions reducers —in other words, on the side of the Tory dictatorship." « The report was adopted and the following resolution was carried: —"That this conference congratulates the Labour members in Parliament, and the member for Southern Maori on the splendid fight against the reactionary and uneconomic legislation introduced by the Forbes-Coates Government, and records its appreciation of the efforts which have been made by the Labour members in introducing legislation, and submitting proposals that would, if adopted, enable the Dominion to overcome the existing economic problem, and lead the Dominion to a position that would guarantee to all who render useful service a full share of the income which could be made available from our natural resources."