Poverty Bay Herald. PUBLISHED EVERY EVENING GISBORNE, MONDAY, FEB. 26, 1934. LABOR PARTY POLICY

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LXI, Issue 18332, 26 February 1934, Page 6

Poverty Bay Herald. PUBLISHED EVERY EVENING GISBORNE, MONDAY, FEB. 26, 1934. LABOR PARTY POLICY

In an address at Christchurch last week the new Leader of the Opposition outlined the policy of the Labor Party, summarising the programme into eight, main objectives. These proposals are entitled to tho fullest consideration by all sections of the community, irrespective of any particular political leanings, but it is essential, as with all utterances of a similar nature, that they should be subjected to a careful analysis'.its unproved theories, and not tried remedies for the existing economic problems. It is a fortunate fact that tho people of the Dominion in recent years have displayed a more keen and more intelligent interest in political questions, and are thus far better able to judge of the practicability of any schemes that might be put forward. Tho policy as advanced by Mr. Savage sounds attractive, certainly, but has anyone yet advanced a political platform that did not have this much to commend it? Nowadays tho public requires something more concrete than a mere statement of ideals and ideas, and the tendency is to look for “the nigger in the wood-pile,” rather than to accept any programme at its face value. Mr. Savage knows this, for there are no keener students of politics than his own followers, and for this reason he must realise the necessity of fully explaining his schemes. In a general outline of the party’s policy, Mr. Savage could not. be expected to go into the details of every item, but the explanations must come sooner or later, and in the meantime the public would do well to study the various 'proposals dispassionately —neither to accept them nor reject them simply because they hre advanced by the Labor Party. Of tho eight main objectives, the first four are the material ones, because upon their successful application depends the provision of the finance which is essential to the adoption of the social reforms contained in the remainder. The first plank is the establishment of a monetary system based on goods and services, and as a result of which the monetary equivalent of goods and services is to be made available to the people. Without going into details it might reasonably bo asked in what way the present system fails to meet these requirements, and il that question is answered it then becomes necessary, not only to demand reforms, but to explain exactly how they are to be brought about and administered, bearing in mind the fact that despite the many inquiries of recent years the best brains in the world have been unable to recommend any alternative to tho present system. The second and fourth points of Mr. Savage’s platform appear to require to be considered together. The second seeks to provide living standards in accordance with tho people’s power to produce, and to safeguard these standards against the influences of external competition; while the fourth proposes the establishment of guaranteed prices over the whole field of production. Tho desirability of the objectives cannot bo questioned, but it is not easy, in the first place, to see how it would be possible to fix living standards on the basis of ability to produce. Surely the essential factor is to be able to dispose profitably of whatever is produced. Similarly, the ability to guarantee prices for any commodity

must be controlled by tho ability to dispose of it. Take for example tho Dominion’s three main products, wool, meat, and butter, Ihe- great, bulk of which are exported and sold in competition with other countries. How would it bd possible for the New Zealand .Government to guarantee gny definite return to the producers unless it was itself assured of a market at a fixed price? Mr. Savage admits the necessity of securing safeguards against the evils of external competition, but something more is required to show how New Zealand dairyfanners could be protected against dumping by Russia, or how a certain price could be insisted upon for New Zealand wool if Australia or the Argentine was .willing to sell at a lower figure. The alternative to international agreement, than which nothing seems more unlikely, would be for the workers in other industries to make good any deficiency between the guaranteed price and the actual returns, and a suggestion would not be generally welcomed. It might bo argued, of course, that the standards of the workers themselves are to be protected, but here again the absence of detail makes it impossible to understand how such a scheme is practicable. The unfortunate fact appears to be that the whole economic and financial position of the Dominion rs governed by world conditions, and unless it can be shown either that, this is not the case, or that some action can be taken to eliminate external influences, it, seems to be futile to propound remedies that cannot possibly bo applied. The third proposal in the party’s programme is tho planned production of industry, taking into consideration the national resources of the country, the external .obligations, and the ability to enter into trade agreements with other countries. That there is scope for systematic industrial development is not to be denied, but in the light of past experience it can hardly be accepted without question that the State can accomplish more than private enterprise. National resources must, of course, bo a major consideration in any such plans, and the negotiation of agreements with other countries would not be a new departure. The whole question really comes back to the point that the economic welfare of the country cannot be controlled by political action; on the contrary —and this seems to be tho lesson of history it can be Inost adversely affected by it. Many of the problems of the present day have been created by the unduly elaborate programmes of previous Governments, by their failure to keep within their legitimate spheres, and tho thing that requires most to be learned by all parties is the need for confining their activities to channels where they can bo really effective.