LABOUR’S RULE

Otago Daily Times, Issue 23529, 18 June 1938, Page 27

LABOUR’S RULE

MR OSBORNE’S RECITAL ALL PROMISES 1 FULFILLED ADDRESS AT BALCLUTHA Mr A. G. Osborne, M.P. for Manukau, who has been addressing meetings at various centres in South Otago during the past week, spoke to a large gathering, chiefly of Labour supporters, in the Masonic Hall, Balclutha, on Thursday night. Mr C. H. Taylor occupied the chair, and briefly introduced the speaker, who, he said, had come to expound the views of the Government and the work that the Government had accomplished.

Mr Osborne expressed pleasure at the large attendance, which, he said, showed that there was no need to worry about what had appeared in the daily press concerning those “ terrible men ” who represented the Labour Party in Parliament. He had found just as much political consciousness in the minds of the people of Southland, where the attendances at his meetings had been good, despite the opposition of the small group of people in Parliament who called themselves the National Party. Referring to the last election, the speaker said that if it had not been for people who in the past had supported the principles of the Liberal Party the Labour Party would not have scored the great success it had. There was no Government which had accomplished so much for New Zealand as the present Government had done, and it only remained for the national health -and social security proposals to be placed on the Statute' Book to prove that the Government had fulfilled every promise it had made at the last election. Yet they found the Leader of the Opposition (Mr Adam Hamilton) and his party saying that the Labour Government had not fulfilled the promises made in 1935. This was the same Mr Hamilton who over a period of years had supported the Reform Party, a party that had established a record of broken promises when in office. The Labour Government had a record 'of promises fulfilled greater than that of any other Government in New Zealand over a period, of 20 years. Mr Osborne proceeded to criticise Mr Hamilton severely for trying to create a “ fear psychology”—in other words, cause a feeling that New Zealand was going on to the financial rocks because of the policy of the Labour Government. With proofs of increased prosperity on every hand and the increased spending power of tne people, which was the true financial barometer, such gloomy prophecies could not be subtantiated. A striking instance of the people’s increased spending power was to be found in the increase in the totalisator turnover, which had jumped from £4,000,000 in 1934-35 to £6,220,000 in June, 1937, a period of 18 months. Wireless licences issued had gone up from 183,330 in 1935 to 280,407 in 1937, an increase of 100,000 in two years. Unemployment had been reduced and the numbers- of people employed in factories increased from 79,000 to 96,000. Post Office Savings Bank returns showed that £10,000,000 more had been banked in 1937 than in 1935. There had been 48,000 new motor registrations in two years. Not long ago the Leader of the Opposition was asking “Where’s the money coming from?” But now he was asking “ Where’s the money going?” Dealing with unemployment Mr Osborne said that there were now 30,000 fewer people unemployed than when Mr Hamilton’s party was in power. The National Party was calling itself a new party, but in reality it was “ the same old gang,” who wanted to force the people back to the “years of sorrow and hunger conditions, when the people had to line up in clothes drives and in soup kitchens.” But the party now included such discordant bedfellows as Mr Doidge, who had been one of the originators of the Democrat Party, and was now the National Party candidate for Tauranga. In a speech at Rotorua when standing as a Democrat Mr Doidge had said: “Parliament had been robbed of its rights and privileges in New Zealand. They were under Soviet rule, and Mr Coates was the head of the Soviet. And somewhere in the background was a Prime Minister (Mr G. W. Forbes), who played the part of a rubber-stamp. This Soviet ruled New Zealand.” (Laughter.) Yet now Mr Doidge was to be a fellow candidate with Mr Coates at the forthcoming election. In 1923 Mr Forbes had said: “ God help New Zealand if Mr Coates gets into power.” Yet these two became the political Siamese twins in 1931. Mr Osborne strenuously refuted the statement that Communists had anything to do with the Labour Party in New Zealand. Anyone joining the Labour Party had to sign a pledge of loyalty to the party, and there was no room for Communists in the party, which had denied them admission for the past 10 or 15 years. But on payment of-2s 6d they could get admission to the National Party and “no questions asked.”

The speaker emphasised that he had nothing against “ Jim ” Roy, the member for Clutha, or against National supporters as individuals, but he had nothing but contempt for the “ whispering campaign ” that was going on all over New Zealand, a campaign which was promoted by paid organisers. Mr Osborne denied statements that the Labour Government aimed to take away the land of the farmers, but instead, by the appointment of Mortgages Adjustment Commissions and the passing of the Rehabilitation Act. it had done more than any other Government to keep the people on the land. Its record of loans to the people to build houses for themselves, and to farmers, far exceeded that of other recent Governments. The Labour Party, he said, definitely stood for security of tenure. The speaker claimed -iat by the introduction of the, 40-hour week, to enable a better distribution of work, making the Arbitration Act again operative, providing employment for the youth of the country at better wages, where they had formerly been exploited, all-round increases in pensions, increasing the wages of and restoring the civil rights to civil servants. the Labour Party had established a' record of beneficial legislation. Mr Osborne dealt at length with the proposed health and social security proposals of the Government. and defended the guaranteed price for dairy produce as having given the farmer a sense of wellbeing and security that he had not possessed before. The system, he claimed, had eliminated slumps and booms in land values that had been

the cause of the ruin of so many farmers. The marketing system, Mr Osborne claimed, had effectually stopped the “market rigging’’ of Tooley street in connection with New Zealand dairy produce. Interest costs had been reduced by the Government until they were now 1J per cent, lower than in Australia. That was a matter that had elicited the sympathy of Mr Hamilton, whose only remedy for the reduction of “ internal costs ’’ was to reduce wages. That was how, the speaker said, Mr Hamilton was “ going to bridge the £ap,” between costs and prices. Mr Osborne asked if they wanted to go back to the Coalition Government and its depressing policy, or were they willing to help the Labour Government to develop its humanitarian legislation still further and increase the general prosperity and well being of the people. He concluded amid applause, after having spoken for two hours and twenty minutes. Several questions were asked, and on the motion of Messrs A. A. Campbell and Keogh, Mr Osborne was accorded a hearty vote of thanks, the motion also embodying confidence in the Labour Government. It was carried by acclamation.