THE NEW ZEALAND PARLIAMENT

Otago Daily Times, Issue 17504, 21 December 1918, Page 5

THE NEW ZEALAND PARLIAMENT

recent session reviewed.

BY MR G E. STATHAM, M.P.

Mr C. E. Statham, M.P., who returned to Dunedin this week after attending the recent sossion, was interviewed by a Daily Times representative yesterday respecting the work of tho session. He said at the outset that for th» lust four years the dominant problem before tlio Now Zealand Parliament was that of how tho dominion might best assist the Empiro in the winning of the war. Happily during the past short session this great problem eeasedl to exist, but many intricate and important problems had consequently asserted themselves with increased insistence. While we realised that the dominion should avail itself of tho invitation of tho Imperial Government to be represented at the great Peaco Conference, tho policy of rushing through important and closing down the House before the Prime Minister and Minister of Finance left on their mission, was one that might well be condemned by most rightthinking in the dominion. Tho problems affecting the welfare of tho soldiers and their dependents; the vigorous development of all the resources of the coun fry so as to bring. it to tho highest possible _ state of productiveness and so enable it the more readily to meet the enormous financial obligations imposed upon it by the war; the steps necessary to increase the efficiency of tho community to B™, these ends; the health and! well-being of the people; the making of a determined (though lamentably belated) effort tograpplo with tho problem _of tho increased cost of living, and especially to deal drastically with exploitation and profiteering;—all theso matters called for more than hasty and consequently ill-considered legislation at the hands of tho peoplo's representatives. There never was a time when the problems of the hour called for more thoughtful and earnest consideration and discussion by all shades ot political opinion in the House of Representatives, or when Parliament and people needed- a stronger lead in a sound, live, tearless, progressive policy. A somewhat tardy recognition of the services of our gallant soldiers had been made, bat no real opportunity had been given to tho House to discuss tho details. The whole scheme of Repatriation under the Repatriation Act iust passed into law was in some measure Jeopardised by .being placed! under the divided authority of 4 Repatriation Board consisting of four Ministers of the Urown, instead of being placed under the oonjiol of one whoso whole efforts might • T0 .i ? een given to the administration of this all-important work. The newly appointed Director of Repatriation {Mr Sam®°n)> who by the way was an old Dunedin boy, had done {*ood work as an officer in charge of the Discharged Soldiers' Department, but- he might find his work in his now sphere seriously hampered by the divided authority of a Board of Ministers, some of whom would' frequently be away from Wellington in the course of their other heavy Ministerial duties. The success of the scheme depended largely upon the personal and sympathetic dealing with each individual case, and ono of tho greatest problems of all was to help those young soldiers who were qualifying for some special trade or profession, to make up for the loss ol those qualifying years spent abroad in the semes of their country. He was glad to .say that at last the claims of tho various, branches of the public service to hotter conditions and more adequate remuneration had received some consideration at the hands of the Government, and he hoped as. a result all brandies of the servicowauld ere long enjoy such improvedl conditions as would not only make for inC £l l °^ lenCy c "i 50 for comfort and well-being of all the State employees and their families. The Public Health Amendment Act, hurriedly passed in the !L£r UrS e ; & °, 5310n ' was an attempt to rectify some of the weaknesses in our !Sd S 1° A im P° rta nt matter, and to protect the people of the dominion as. far. as possible from a recurrence of epidemics such as that of which we S and bitter experience, lhere was still much room for further improyement and further reform in our public ]— t he rexed 'PJesboS of toe cost of living, ho regretted that the National Government had not, except in ST 10 ™ m ° r seen ite way to adopt the recommendations of the Cost of Living Committee of the 1917 session, especially with regard to the appointment of a food controller with ample powers to deal promptly andl effectively with all phases of tho question .as they arose from time to fame, and particularly with exploitation. He repeated that what the country needed tonlay was a sound, vigorous, progressive policy, atlculated to increase the efficiency and • productiveness of the dominion, and to ensure the comfort., well-being, and happiness of every section of the community.