LABOUR CANDIDATES

Otago Daily Times, Issue 22563, 6 May 1935, Page 27

LABOUR CANDIDATES

ADDRESSES AT ANDERSON'S BAY There was an attendance of 14 persons at the meeting held at the Canwron Hall, Anderson's Bay, on Saturday evening whan Messrs R. Harrison, F. Jones, M.P., and Dr D. G. M'Millan gave addresses. Mrs F. M. Don occupied the chair. Mr Harrison spoke first and denounced the apathy shown by the people in the past in regard to public affairs. This, he said, was -the cause of many of today's troubles. He said that one of the arguments used against the Labour Party's candidates was that they would use indiscriminately the city's reserves and ren&val funds, but he assured the audience that they would use the people's money in the best interests of the people. He went on to criticise the conditions under which men were working on the Deep Creek water supply scheme, and stated that there was an urgent need for steps to be taken in a new direction if the municipal affairs of Dunedin were to be conducted on sound and just lines. "*

Mr Jones confined his address to the concerns of the Otago Hospital Board. He said that the present system of treating outpatients was most unsatisfactory, and he advocated that more provision should be made for qualified medical treatment and that free medicine should be given for those who had to avail themselves of treatment in this department of the institution. After referring briefly to the proposed new maternity hospital and the erection of the new administrative block, Mr Jones went on to launch an attack on the past management of the Hospital Board's affairs, particularly in reference to the question of missing stores, and the failure of the press to report his comments on these matters, at the board meetings. After discussing the board's extravagance of administration he described the conditions which he said were obtaining in the old people's homes, and expressed the opinion that a full inquiry should be instituted into the whole matter. Dr M'Millan spoke briefly of Labour's plan for the relief of distress existing in the city at the present time. He said that at last the man in the street'was beginning to show-an interest in,politics and to realise that they had a vital bearing on his own welfare. He dealt principally with the housing problem and outlined a scheme which he wished to see put into operation with'as little delay as possible. This involved the building of suitable houses for workers and letting them at 10s per week, which, he stated, was beyond the powers of private enterprise. The City Council was considering making Littlebourne House a home for books, but books could not appreciate the beautiful surroundings of the property, which should be at once converted into a convalescent home for Dunedin's mothers. The extension of the city's afforestation scheme and water supply were also touched on by the speaker, who concluded with a reference to the desirability of setting up a municipal bank and using it to deal with the problem of unemployment. At the conclusion of the addresses several questions were answered, and the speakers were accorded a vote of thanks.