LABOUR CONFERENCE

Otago Daily Times, Issue 24721, 25 September 1941, Page 8

LABOUR CONFERENCE

NEW YORK MEETING MR LANGSTONE TO ATTEND IMPORTANCE OF GATHERING (0.C.) WELLINGTON, Sept. 24. An announcement that the Minister of Lands, Mr F. Langstone, would be the Government’s representative at the International Labour Conference in New York next month instead of the Minister of Labour, Mr P._ C. Webb, was made by the Prime Minister, Mr P, Fraser, in the House of Representatives to-day. Mr Fraser, who spoke after a question on the conference had been asked by Mr W. J. Poison (Opposition, Stratford). emphasised the importance of the conference from the point of view of swinging into the Allied war effort the workers, not only of North America, but of Central and South America as well, and counteracting Axis propaganda in Latin-Am£rica,

The Democratic Cause

Mr Fraser said he wanted the House and the country to know the importance of the conference and the importance atached to it by the Govei’nments of the United Kingdom and the United States. He would not like anything said that would minimise its importance. He had discussed the conference with the Minister of Labour in Britain (Mr Ernest Bevin), the Foreign Secretary (Mr Anthony Eden), trade union leaders in Great Britain, the United States Ambassador in London, and also in Montreal. The Prime Minister spoke of the opportunity the conference would afford representatives of the Governments, the employers and the workers of Great Britain, the British Commonwealth, and the Allied countries which would also be represented to the best of their ability to bring the democratic viewpoint before the Central and South American Latin republics. The Axis Powers had been carrying on propaganda in some of these countries, and here was a unique opportunity for the representatives of the democracies to put forward their case. Mr F. W. Doidge (Opposition, Tauranga): How many will New Zealand have?

Mr Fraser: Not nearly as many as I would like to have. New Zealand Delegation

The Prime Minister added that the records of New Zealand representatives at former conferences had been uniformly good. Usually arrangements w r ere made well ahead, but this time they had to be speeded up. Instead of Mr Webb going—and the Prime Minister said he would have liked to see the Minister of Labour attend— Mr Langstone, who was still in the United States, attending to matters appertaining to the trade agreement, had consented to attend. New Zealand would thus be represented by Mr B. Sutherland, for the employers, Mr R. Eddy and Mr Langstone,.while there would probably be sent also, as was usual, an official of the Labour Department. Mr Poison had asked whether the State paid for the delegation, and if so, what steps were taken to see that the delegation was representative. Mr Webb had wished to make an immediate reply, but Mr Poison said he preferred the reply to go on the Order Paper and be discussed in due course.