LABOR STONEWALL

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LV, Issue 17522, 21 March 1931, Page 5

LABOR STONEWALL

FINANCE BILL DEBATE ALL-NIGHT, SITTING SECOND READING CARRIED (Parliamentary Reporter.) WELLINGTON, this day. After sitting until nearly daylight this morning’ the.' House of Representatives passed the second reading of the Finance Bill. Labor opposition was continued from the time the Prime Minister moved for urgency for the measure until the final division at 4.45 o’clock this morning, two amendments being discussed at length. . , ..... flie labor Party received a lime support from other sides ol the. House. Mi- G C Black, the Cnited member lor Motneka, opposed Hie Government, on Urn division .on the motion to accord urgency to the bill, and was forthwith expelled from the party, took up n seat on the Independent honchos, and thereafter voted with the Labor Partv. In the same, division Mr. A. Harris, Reform member for Wnitematn. H'e Cmintri Partv representative. Mr. H. AL Kusliwortli. and three Independents also voted against the Government. In the early hours of the morning dinicnlty was experienced in maintaining a quorum, and the bells had to be l ting several times. On the second reading division there were only 67 members present in the House, the motion being carried by 47 votes to 20. LABOR MINISTER'S 'SPEECH The outstanding speech of the sitting was that of the Minister of Labor, the Hon. S. 0. Siniih. who was subjected to frequent interiuotion from the Labor benches, but received an ovation from Government members on resuming his seat. Recalling that he had himself been a civil servant for many years, be pointed out that he was fully conversant with the conditions of their employment, and would not be supporting a reduction of salaries were be not convinced that there was no oilier alternative in the existing conditions. The Minister added that- lie took a full share of tile responsibility for the Government’s proposals, and said he was confident that.ultimately they would be for the good of the workers themselves. In regard to the new power to be given to the Arbitration Court, be drew attention to the fact that most of the awards had been made during times of prosperity. The objection that an alteration of them would be tantamount to a breach of contract could not lie sustained, particularly in view of the fact that in 1918 a general increase in wage rates had been made without opposition. REAL PRODUCERS HANDICAPPED Mr. F. Waite, the Reform member for Glut ha. in a thoughtful address from the point of view of the farming community, pointed out that the Dominion’s production had not been increased in nro|xortion to the increase in population. There were too many people engaged in non-productive industries, and these had to tie borne by the real producers, who were gravely handicapped by high costs and excessive taxation. The debate was again conspicuous for the absence of suggestions for meeting the financial difficulties in a different manner to that proposed by the Government. Several speakers supported (lie suggestion that there should be an increase in beer and spirit, duties, while Mr. J. S’. Fletcher thought a saving of C 1,000.000 per annum could be effected by greater efficiency in capital works carried out by the Public Works Department. Another proposal mndo by the same speaker was that the Government should secure a monopoly of oil importations, the opinion being expressed that this would yield a very substantial revenue.