UPROAR IN ASSEMBLY

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LV, Issue 17095, 30 October 1929, Page 7

UPROAR IN ASSEMBLY

N.S.W. BASIC WAGE ENDOWMENT ACT TO GO ■ SYDNEY, October 29. The Premier, Mr. T. R. Bavin, announced in the Legislative Assembly today that the Government would not gazette the new basic wage of £3 12s 6d on the ground of the probable serious economic consequences likely to arise from so drastic a reduction m the living wage. The Government, at the' same time, felt that the court’s decision was perfectly logical, having regard to the fact that the basic" wage was intended to apply only to a man and his wife without children. . Mr. Bavin pointed out that the question of providing for children came within the scope of the Child. Endowment' Act, which the Government had decided it was impossible to continue in -its present form. This announcement caused an uproar among the Laborites, who caused a tremendous pandemonium. Mr. Bavin added: “We have come to the conclusion that it is useless, in all the circumstances, to continue the system of child endowment. We; propose, therefore, to abolish it and confer with the Commonwealth Government on the subject. We also propose to suspend the operation of the new basic wage and direct the Industrial Commission to fix tile basic wage-for a new unit consisting of a man and his wife, with the average number of children.’’