NATIONAL PARTY

Otago Daily Times, Issue 27092, 28 May 1949, Page 8

NATIONAL PARTY

POLICY PROPOSALS MR HOLLAND ADDRESSES CONFERENCE PA WELLINGTON, May 27. While stating that the National Party, if elected, would develop Rom gotai airport, the Leader of the Opposition, Mr Holland, warned delegates to the annual conference of the Wellington division of the party to-day that it would not be possible to do this without some inconvenience to people living in the area affected. He also stated that it was the party’s in-, tention to develop an international airport in the South Island and remove the present absurd position which compelled South Island air travellers to go all the way to Auckland in order to board a plane for Australia.

In the course of a review of some of the policy proposals of his party, Mr Holland referred to the provision that would be made for secret ballots in elections for union officials and on strike issues. Communism, he said, would be dealt with firmly.

He promised alterations in the present method of valuing farm properties which, he said, were unjust to farmers. The , idea of valuing land on a hypothetical value would be stopped, as would the practice of valuing farm properties on 1942 valines while everyone else was on 1949 values. Replacement costs would be taken into consideration in valuing farm properties. His observations in Australia had suggested that there was no justification for continuing the present Land Sales control over commercial buildings.

It was a reflection on the integrity of the primary producers, he said, that because a farmer might accidentally put a few extra pounds of wool in a bale he had lately been made liable to three months’ imprisonment or a very severe fine. When workers’ compensation insurance had been made a State monopoly; he and his colleagues had predicted that the service would not be as good. Those predictions were now being realised. When the National Party took office the right of private companies to compete for business would be restored.

Speaking of defence, Mr Holland said that when comparing his own position with that in which the Prime Minister had been placed by the Labour Party conference, he was proud to belong to the National Party. A certain amount of military training would be very good for many of New Zealand’s young people. The National Party intended to provide better facilities for aged people. Referring to taxation, he said there were many things to be done, but on taking office, the first thing his party would do would be to find out how things stood and to make a serious attempt' to effect a substantial reduction in Government expenditure. Everybody who was usefully employed would continue to be so employed. “This party has been built up by means of a healthy relationship between the parliamentary section and the party organisation,” concluded Mr Holland, “and we must try to mainain that effective understanding and liaison.”