REPORT TO PARTY

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXVII, Issue 23615, 27 March 1940, Page 11

REPORT TO PARTY

GOVERNMENT'S EFFORTS // REVIEW BY MR. SAVAGE GAINS MADE FOR WORKERS [BY TELEGRAPII —PRESS ASSOCIATION] WELr.IKGTON. Tuesday "We are accused by some people, of being too cautious and going too slowly; .others say wo have gone too far and too fast." said the deputyPrime Minister, the Hon. P. Fraser, when he read' to' the annual conference of the .New Zealand Labour Party to-day the report of the Parliamentary Party. This report would have been presented by Mr. Savage had his health permitted. Iho statement, although read by Mr. Fraser, is that of Mr. Savage. "Speaking for the Cabinet, the members of which have been directly concerned with the' administration and haye had to grapple with many and complex problems as they arose, I say we have done the very best we could, and I not prepared to apologise for any of our actions," the report stated- "We have had to make the best of difficult situation. In my opinion to have behaved rashly and to have jeopardised our opportunity to make golid gains for the working people ■would have been nothing short of criminal. We could only take risks at the expense of the wage-earner and iiien and women, on the lowest income groups. I liev are always the first to sulfor in a time of crisis. Those were 1 the people we came in primarily to help, and so Ioiil: asl am Prime Minister I am not willing to do anything calculated to. put Thorn back in the position they foun/d themselves in from 1932 to 19.T5. Attacks Combated "By proceeding with due caution, and. I suggest, with remarkable speed, the lot of the wage-earner has been I bettered to an extent' never before ex- | perienced in this country, and I be-! jievc in most other countries in the ! world. It is inevitable a Labour Government should n'loet • with opposition from the vested interests it is pledged to curb. .In every country where a Parliamentary Labour Party has

gained control financial business interests have seen to it that public credit is weakened and the Labour Government attacked, and, if possible, ruined, by such means. New Zealand has been no exception to this rule, and ✓ during 1937 and 19.18 the unscrupulous use of money almost succeeded in wrecking the welfare of the people of the Dominion. It became necessary to institute exchange control in order to stop the flight of capital deliberately engineered by financial interests opposed to Labour's policy. '"This type . of opposition M-as, of course, not confined to New Zealand, but was, indeed, carried into the main financial market of the world, t am glad to say these actions have been successfully combated. After exchange control had been in operation for 12 months overseas funds rose from £6,800,000 to £15.000,000, and as a result of import restrictions the excess of exports over our imports trebled in the same period,'rising from £2,900,000 to £8,600.000. Three Points in Policy "Although the evils of poverty and unemployment have not yet, been eliminated, conditions are vastly better and the worst hardships have been abolished," the report continued. "Broadly speaking, we have^ tackled the problem in throe ways—first, bv raising the national income; secondly, by increasing the workers' share of that national income; and. thirdly, by ensuring that the worker shall be secure in his gains. "Since Labour took office the national incpnie hrs increased in a mo- striking manner. This is perhaps best borne out', by figures for production. In 19.35 the value of production was £97.000.000: in 1939 it had risen to £136.000.000. The average over the past three years has been steadily maintained at about £136,000.000. Between 1935 and 1939 the aggregate private income has increased from £105.000.000 to approximately £174,000,000, an increase of some 66 per cent. t . "Ail this has been due in part to the improvement in prices for our primary, produce. It has also been duo directly to the policy of the Labour -Government in increasing purchasing power and in passing various measures designed to -stimulate primary and /secondary production. In the field of primary production, we have taken steps to give farmers a stable income by means of guaranteed for various products, and subsidies. We have also reduced farmers' costs, notably by innalis of reductions in mortgage indebtedness to the extent of nearly £10,000,000. Growth of Manufacturing • "In the field of secondary industries we have undertaken steps which are probably of greater significance than any other measures taken in the history of manufacturing in this country. In order to redress the balance of our economy, we have undertaken to promote in an effective way tlio growth of manufacturing in Now Zealand. Tlio most outstanding measures in this regard have been the import restrictions, imposed in 1938. Statistics of manufacturing leave no doubt about tlio results of our policy. "To-day there - are 876 more factories than in 1935, an increase of 16 per cent. They produce goods worth £114,000,000, which is 44 per cent more in value than they produced four years ago. Employment is lound for over 23,000 more workers in our factories compared with 1935, factory wages increased from £13,000.000 to £22,000,000, a 68 per cent increase. The capital invested, as represented by the value of fixed assets, increased by £9.250.000. Of this, £3,750,000 occurred last year. , More Production Needed "In spite of those various increases, the national income, which is only another name for the total production of .goods and services, is still insufficient.- We need to" go on producing more goods and services if the consumption needs of the community are to be met in full and if the standard of living is not to fall. "The second ' important aspect has undoubtedly been the redistribution of national income in a more just and more equitable manner. In 1935 wages and salaries amounted to £66.000,000; in 1939 thev amounted to more than £110,000.000, an increase of more than £44,000,000. At the same time, pensions have increased and unemployment relief rates have been vastly improved; "Thirdly, there is the question of social security, i Perhaps I could best sum . up the benefits of Labour's administration bv comparing conditions of poverU in'l93s with the state of affairs existing to-day. In 1935 we had soup kitchens, old clothes drives, widespread malnutrition,, bad housing and hospital relief. "In 19-10 there are 150,000 people receiving £11,000,000 a s'ear in cash benefits under Labour's social security schemes. These benefits cover the aged, the widowed, invalids, orphans, those* with large families, unemployed, and war pensions. 1 would you that universal superannuation begins this coining financial year. In addition, there are maternity and hospital beuefits." The report was unanimously adopted.