LABOR IN PARLIAMENT

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LX, Issue 18067, 19 April 1933, Page 11

LABOR IN PARLIAMENT

PAST YEAR’S ACTIVITIES CRITICISM or COALITION “Hansard of the past 12 months contains the records of fights on the floor of the House sustained by the Now Zealand Labor members, which have never been excelled by any Labor or Socialist Party in any part of the world,” stated the annual report of the Parliamentary Labor Party presented to the Labor Conference in Auckland by its Leader, Mr H. E. Holland, M.P. The report reviewed in full detail the legislation of the past 12 months, and the part played by the Labor Party in opposing Government measures. The question of unemployment was raised in the House from the Labor benches on almost every day during the two sessions. If every member had voted in the House as he, spoke on the hustings, there would havo been no old-age pensions reduction. Action on the part of the Labor Party resulted in having the miners’ widows’ pensions continued in the eases of widows who were without other sources of income. Some credit for his efforts in this direction was also due to Mr A. M. Samuel, Coalition member for Thames.

* ‘ The Coalition’s legislation of last year, as well as that of the present year as far as it has gone, has been remarkable for its faulty preparation,” said the report. “In the case of almost every important measure, numerous amendments were found to be necessary after the original bill had been introduced. When the National Expenditure Adjustment Bill was before the House some 20 amendments were brought down by GovernorGeneral’s Message before the final stages of the bill were reached.

OTTAWA AGREEMENT CRITICISED “The Ottawa agreement embodies an arrangement that seriously menaces the secondary industries of New Zealand. The .agreement provides, inter alia, that the protective duties which safeguard our local industries shall be reduced to a level that will place the United Kingdom manufacturers on an equal footing with the New Zealand manufacturers in the matter of the sale of goods within the Dominion.

“In October the Prime Minister moved to secure the approval of the House for the Ottawa agreement; and the Labor Party presented the following amendment: ‘Except insofar as the change tends to destroy the measure of protection accorded by the existing laws to commodities which can economically be produced in New Zealand, and always provided that necessaries which cannot be produced in New Zealand shall come in duty free.’ The amendment was defeated on a party vote. I 1 he Ottawa agreement. again came up for discussion when the Customs Bill was before the House. The Labor Party forced divisions against the different, clauses which struck at the industries of New Zealand. All Labor amendments were rejected mainly on party divisions. ■“““the coming contest

“The maimer in which the Radio Broadcasting Board permits the broadcasting of Government speeches, while denying the Opposition any facility whatever in this direction, constitutes one of the gravest scandals of departmental administration, which it is to be hoped will not be allowed to continue. In -committee of supply in November, when the Post and Telegraph estimates were under discussion, the Labor party moved an amendment challenging the action of the Radio Broadcasting Board in confining the use of the radio service to members of the Government and urging that the use of the •iir for broadcasting must be free to

and a smartly tailored steel grey coat with a grey fox fur collar. Her smart little black felt toque was trimmed with touches of grey felt, and a becoming eveveil.

both ■ sides of the House or to notie. This was defeated by ou a 'yarty vote bv 41 to 24.”

The feport concluded: *‘Tho foregoing report is a record of the legislation which has been put through since last- Easter; and it is not necessary to stress the rnenlice of it from a working-class viewpoint. Nor should it be necessary to add that the terrible experiences through which the people are now passing constitute the price that, must be paid for the failure of the Labor movement in the past to appreciate adequately the issues at stake. Wo are now paying for the apathy and treachery of the sections that opposed contributions to the party funds that advocated making ballotpapers informal and other similar stupidities. NEED FOR LOYALTY “ Shortly we may be called upon to take part in another contest for the political control of New Zealand, and in that case—in the light of the heavy price that we are now required to pay because of these tactics in the past — the protagonists of disunity within the Labor movement and the open enemies without should find no audience in either the unions or the party branches or in the wider field outside.. In the coming contest it must bo laid down that whoever opposes the Labor movement in its fight for political power will be regarded as having definitely ranged himself against the worker's and on the side of the wages and pensions reducers —in other words, on the side of the Tory dictatorship.” The report was adopted and the fol-low-in g resolution was carried: That this conference congratulates the Labor members in Parliament, and the member for Southern Maori on the splendid fight against the reactionary and uneconomic legislation introduced by the Forbes-Coates Government, auq records its appreciation of tlm efforts which have been made by the Labormembers in introducing legisation, and submitting proposals that would, if adopted, enable the Dominion to overcome the existing economic problem, and lead the Dominion to a position that, would guarantee to all who rentier useful service a full share of th(i income which could be made available from our natural resources. ’ ’