MINISTER'S REPLY

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXIII, Issue 22400, 22 April 1936, Page 15

MINISTER'S REPLY

NEEDS OF THE PEOPLE THE FIRST CONSIDERATION " NOT CONCERNED ABOUT COST " [BY TELEGRAPH —SPECIAL REPORTER] WELLINGTON, Tuesday "The first consideration of a Government that is worthy of the name "of a Government is to see that the people are properly housed, fed and clothed," said the Minister of Employment, Hon. H. T. Armstrong, in his reply to the second reading debate on the Employment Promotion Bill in the House of Representatives to-night. "I said this afternoon we are going to pay the maximum rates to the unemployed in the future. The sky is the limit if the money is 111 the fund. The people's needs are goirfg to be attended to." Mr. Armstrong said he was hoping the day it was not far distant when there would be no such thing as an unemployment tax, but an income tax to cover everything. "We will not collect so much from the poor. We will collect considerably more from others," he said.

The Minister of Public Works, Hon. R. Semple: They will do a bit of squealing then all right. Regulations Thrown Overboard "I have accomplished quite a lot for the relief workers without any legislation at all," said Mr. Armstrong, in referring to statements by the Opposition that "there was nothing new in the bill. 1 have thrown overboard about 500 regulations, and in some cases I have done things in defiance of the regulations. This legislation validates those things." Mr. Armstrong said that when he came into office there was turmoil among the relief workers, and the country was seething with discontent. Protests and stop work meetings were being held all over the Dominion. To-day, relief workers for the first time were being treated as human beings, they had a brighter outlook in life, and something to hope for. The country workers had to wait until the Labour Party came into office to be placed on the same footing as the city unemployed. j "I am not concerned about how much it is going to cost," said the Minister. " We have got to think of that sort of thing, of course, but the first consideration is the needs of the people. We can think about how it is going to be paid for afterward. While I am in charge of this department people are going to be fed in any case."

Assisting the Elderly

Referring to the provisian in the bill for assisting elderly people, the Minister said that under the existing legislation persons of 65 years or over were not eligible to contribute to the fund. The bill gave them the right to do so by permit from the Minister. If their income was less than £lO4 a year they would not have to contribute. "There are hundreds of old people over 65, who, because they have not been 25 vears in the couitfry, are not eligible for the old-age pension," he added. "They may now become contributors to the employment fund and participate in the benefits. "Recipients of the pension who havp dependants may apply for greater assistance and we will add to the pension enough to bring their receipts t.o the sum thev would have received had they not been receiving the pension. Not onlv do we propose to do these things, but since I came into office I have been doing them." Extra £BOO,OOO or £900,000 Mr. Armstrong said it was estimated that the provision for increases in the rates of pay for relief workers and ® en on sustenance would involve another £BOO,OOO or £900,000. He was assured that the money would be provided. An Opposition member: Will it come out of taxation? Mr. Armstrong: Wherever the money comes from the taxpayers will have to pay it in any case. The men comprising the Unemployment Board, Mr. Armstrong continued, were very efficient officers of the State. It was the svstem the Government objected to. The chief officers of the board were largely responsible for the framing of the legislation. The bill was read a second time without division..