THE LABOUR LEADER
PROBLEM OF UNEMPLOYMENT GOVERNMENT CRITICISED BROADCASTING- FACILITIES DENIED (Per United Press Association.) CHRISTCHURCH, July 4. Speaking in the Civic Theatre to-night, the Leader of the Opposition (Mr H. E. Holland) made the statement that in a period of less than 18 months New Zealand, under the Coalition Government, had established a world’s record in the matter of percentage iucx-ease of unemployed. The official figures put out by the Unemployment Board, he said, were gravely misleading. These showed the number of registered unemployed as 54,342, but tins was apart from 13,074 men who were employed on relief works other than the No. 5 scheme. He had it from Mr Coates that nearly 70,000 adult males were either wholly or partly dependent on the unemployment funds, and they had to remember that this statement did not include either youths under 20 years of age or unemployed women. If these were taken into consideration, it would be found that New Zealand had quite 100,000 unemployed. Even on the figures published by the Unemployment Board, proceeded Mr Holland, the increase in the numbers of adult male unemployed was 715 per cent. . for the period between January, 1931, and July, 1932, but on Mr Coates’s figures the increase was 887 per cent, for the same period. France was the only other country that came near New Zealand in the percentage increase in the number of unemployed' during the last year and a-half.
Mr Holland urged that steps should be taken to furnish statistics as to the number of women and youths out of employment. He also advocated the abolition of the present Unemployment Board and the placing of direct responsibility on the Minister of Employment. He attributed the many millions of unemployed throughout the world to post-war conditions, reparations, and war debts, and the rapidly increasing efficiency of labourdisplacing machinery. The whole situation, he said, reflected the comprehensive breakdown of nineteenth-century capitalism, which had outlived its period. So far as New Zealand was concerned, the Government had qtterly failed to face up to the problem. . Proceeding, Mr Holland told his audience that last week he had telegraphed to the Postmaster-general (Mr A. Hamilton) asking that he. as Leader of the Opposition, should be accorded the same facilities as were given to Mr Coates to broadcast a statement in relation to the Ottawa Conference. Mr Hamilton had replied on Thursday that the matter was outside his jurisdiction and that Mr Holland’s telegram had been sent on to the Radio Broadcasting Board for its decision. Having received no communication from the board he telegraphed both to Mr Hamilton and to the board on Saturday, but had not been vouchsafed a reply by either. He insisted that the Y stations could not be permitted to be used by one party in politics. Either the Opposition must have the same right as the Government to broadcast its statements on questions of front-rank importance or no political statements must go over the air.
A resolution was passed expressing confidence in Mr Holland as Leader of the Labour Party, affirming that the Government’s reactionary policy was the cause of the present unemployment and distress, and pledging those present to support Labour’s petition calling upon the Government either to reverse its policy or resign. ...
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Otago Daily Times, Issue 21688, 5 July 1932, Page 7
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545THE LABOUR LEADER Otago Daily Times, Issue 21688, 5 July 1932, Page 7
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