LABOUR IN OFFICE

Otago Daily Times, Issue 25338, 23 September 1943, Page 4

LABOUR IN OFFICE

PROMISE AND PERFORMANCE A * CANDIDATE’S COMPARISON “ When it displays so little confidence in its policy for the future that it basis its campaign on the mistakes of,, the Coalition Government, the Labour Party shows weakness,” said Mr L. J. Ireland, National candidate for Dunedin Central, in an address at Mornington last night. Mr Ireland drew the attention of his audience to a Labour election advertisement depicting what purported to be scenes in the days of the depression. “Did any of our present Labour leaders appear with their sugar bags in the queues at that time? ” he asked. “ Did they do anything to help? I suggest that they have no record worthy of being recalled. Otherwise they would have dragged it out and paraded it before you.” Policy Unfulfilled What had Labour promised. in 1935, and whdt had it achieved? the candidate asked. It had promised to relieve unemployment, but in 1938-39 it spent £7,500,000 in coping with that problem. It had promised to reduce the overseas debt, and it now claimed to have succeeded to the extent of £11,000,000, but by the time the war had opened it had also dissipated the country’s overseas assets to the extent of £36,000,000. It had offered the guaranteed price as an alternative to the high exchange rate and the sales tax. The exchange rate remained unchanged, and the Government had increased the sales tax, which, in its incidence, punished a man the more as his family increased.

Labour had also promised to reduce taxation, Mr Ireland added. The actual position was that taxation per head per week had increased from 6s Id in 1935 to 9s in 1938 and 11s Id in 1942. Housing Record

Labour had promised slum clearance by building houses to be rented at from 12s 6d to 16s 6d a week. It had proposed to build 5000 houses at a cost of £3,000,000, or £6OO apiece. It had now been revealed that Labour had built 15,000 houses at a cost of £23,000,000, or £1533 apiece. In the period 1936-40 30,900 houses had been built by the State and private enterprise. In 1926-30 30,600 had been built by private enterprise alone. This showed that Labour had simply transferred the task of building homes from private enterprise to the State. In so doing it had increased the price of a four-roomed house from £552 in 1935-36 to £B9O in 1938-39, an increase of 65 per cent. Under Labour the cost of living had increased to such an extent that, on the official figures, £6 was now required to obtain what £4 would buy in 1935. In that year Labour had also promised to abolish the Upper House. “It.remains,” the candidate concluded, “as a rest home for political friends and disappointed candidates.”