PARTIES AT WORK

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LXII, Issue 18757, 13 July 1935, Page 2

PARTIES AT WORK

POLITICAL FIELD COMING election .'V. ; GOVERNMENT PTiANS . '.At the end of the present year Unpeople of New Zealand will be faced with the task of electing a new Parliament. Much may happen, politically .•did otherwise, before Dceehiber next, blit present are that there will Ire no lack of candidates and very few straight-out contests. .'A start has been made in organising tlt< various electorates, and in some rases committees have been set up to, assist candidates. Members who .arc! seeking re-election have been parti'eu-, Itfrlv active, for they realise that, with; >uch a late start being made with thrj final session of the present Parliament, the time at their- disposal for'majuh'gj contacts with electors will be brief. Especially does this apply in scattered "eo-nii try elec to rat es. -The general opinion of members of Parliament appears to be that no more than three weeks will be allowed for campaign 'proper after Parliament has been prorogued, and roprosenui-j lives of country constituencies are fofe-j seeing difficulty in visiting every corner of their- electorates in that time. One jnftmber stated in Wellington recently that he was facing .the .pepspeer of addressing three meetings a day for- three weekk. ■ lf)RT T .E l\t the 11(31 general election the issue facing the electors.was a fairly clear-cut -one. It was a ease, of returning the Coalition Party to office on a blank-cheque policy nr entrusting the fuiure of. the Dominion to the Labor Party on a policy of rosy promises. There was no third party to confuse the issue, and in 39 out of the 76 European seats there were straight-out j tights. If the Democratic Party carries out

fts expressed intention of contesting practically every seat at this year’s election, it seems certain that in the majority of constituencies electors will ■have at least three candidates from ■which to? choose, with the possibility of Independents stepping in to make the issuO even more confusing. Up to •the present only one or two Democratic candidates have been announced, but it is known that the organisation has ■been working steadily throughout Xew Zealand, and the national organiser, Mr A. E. Davy, has intimated that next mon’tli will probably see the announcement of a long list of candidates. CAMPAIGN PLANS Before the . leaders of the Government —the Prime Minister, the >Jt. Hon, G. W. Forbes,-.and the Minister of Finance, the Rt. Hon. .1, G. Coates — left for London, plans for conducting the campaign at the general election were the subject of preliminary 'discussion,; .apd since then considerable progress has been made. The National Party, bringing together for the purposes of the election the United'and Reform elements in the Coalition, has been formed, and Mr. D. Ardell has M tv ArdcU and representative of both pa'rtrcs." have been active ’iff variousparts of the ■country, and a, number, o i Candidates to carry the Governtnent LaWrft'f..have already been announced. As-has already boon stated, the .Government went, to the country in 10.11 oil a blank - , cheque policy, but it is generally realised by Government members that such a policy will not be sufficient to carry the day this year. Not'"only will Government candidates have to justify the manner in which the cheque has been filled in, but they will have to hojd out some promise for the future. Government ffl'oiivbfcrs admit quite frankly that the task they are facing in asking for the ’ continued support of the electors is not an easy one. Low prices and the prospect of quotas and levies have hot made the farmer an easy man to deal with, and in some districts it is obvious that, there has been a move towards those who are advocating certain types of currency reform as a way out of the producers ’ difficulties. Labor’s guaranteed.. twice policy is also attracting the interest "ot small dairv fanners who see in it possibili-

Mill! > itiiinv i.-* ii uv .*'vv **» ties of some relief from their financial 'burdens. Government members recognise that it is up to them to eontest Labor’s ease on the guaranteed price question, but they are finding that the farmer is not the easiest man it* the world to convince. •‘COMBATING PROP AG.ANITA The policy on which the Government will go to the country at the, end bi' the" year is a question that must be left very largely to the two leaders, and the*rank and* file of theypirrty is concerning itself at the monibnt in combating the propagandist activities of the Opposition, currency reformers, and -others. It is significant that last week the acting-Prime Minister of. Finance, the •Hon. A. Hamilton, went to Oamaru to give an account of the Government’s stewardship, and it would not 'be surprising if other Cabinet Ministers followed suit in other parts of the Dominion. The feeling of Government members is that once the session opens ihcrc will be little opportunity for Ministers to got about the country, and with the'prospect of a short efqetion campaign they are afraid that the .Govern mom ’s case may suffer. It. Acorns pretty certain that the next few weeks will see increased political activity in New. Zealand. V LABOR’S ORGANISATION Labor at the moment Is concentrating very largely on the Lvttolton sent, arid its candidate, Mr T. H. MifCOmbk, is receiving the aciive support of not only the Leader of the Opposition, Mr M. iJ. Savage, but of an army of Labor members as well. The Opposition realises the importance of . retaining the Lyttelton seat, not only in order to maintain its numerical strength in the House, but on account of the moral effect a Labor victory might have on the country in ejection year. But Labor is not altogether neglecting the rest of New Zealand. Indeed, ever since 1931 members of the party have been engaged in organising work, ami • there is no doubt that they are impressed with the support they have received. The policy on which Labor will woo the electors at tire end of the year has been dearly defined by Mr Savage and other Speakers on numerous occasions. With the jrrospect of retaining the majority of city seats now held by it, and the possibility of gaining others, Labor is looking to the country electorates, and a feature or policy statements made by Mr

Sdvage oyer tho last two years has been the means by which tlie Opposition 'hopes to help the farmer in the event of its becoming the Government, ivrr .Savage declares that Labor has a ‘ ‘glorious chance ’’ of becoming the next Government. Whether lie will bo doomed tb disappointment, ns his predecessor so often was, remains to be ‘ seen. tite COUNTRY PARTY And ivhat of the Country Party? " lie its, p.i rt, iij the coming contest? Up to the (present the activities of this Organisation have been confined to the Auckland district, and this will probably be the case again this year. 'flic partv has a solitarv representative in Parlitjfnient in Captain If. M. Rnslnvorth, , and every iflort will be made this year to give him support. Candidates, have til road v been announced for the Kaipara, Waikato, Taunuign, and Roborun seats, and there will probably luv others to follow. v •Suggestions have Unm made in political circles that thorp is a possibility of, » working arrangement being arrived at between the Labor Parly and the Country Party in certain electorates in order to avoid jt splitting of the niili-Cioveriimeut vote, but so far there have boon no outward indications of this. In 'l’auranga and Rotorua, for iiistnnce, Labor..and Countrv Partv candidates have, already been an noiinced. One, suggestion made, however. is that in the ease of Raglan the task of opposing the sitting (lovcrnmbnt member will be Juft to Labor, arid that in the Waikato seat the Country Party aspirant will be given a clear run so far its Labor is.concerned. But with the Democrats declining to show their hand it is difficult at the moment 1 to; see what will happen in these electorates.