PRINCIPLE THE ISSUE

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LXV, Issue 19743, 23 September 1938, Page 12

PRINCIPLE THE ISSUE

ELECTIONS IN N.Z. MR. NASH AT DANNEVIRKE LABOUR POLICY REVIEWED (Per Press Association.) DANNEVIRKE, this day. Speaking to an audience of about 700 people at Dannevirke Town Hall last evening, the Minister of Finance, the Hon. W. Nash, said the real question in the election was one of principle. He asked the people to measure up what had been done in the last three years alongside that done in prior years, particularly the 1931-35 period, and then ask which conditions they preferred. No Government had done more in carrying out its manifesto promises in its first Parliament than the Labour Party had, he declared. No Minister in charge of the Education portfolio had been more competent than the Hon. Peter Fraser, who had proposed the complete rebuilding of the training colleges in Dunedin and Wellington so that sufficient teachers might be trained to enable the size of classes to be reduced, the maximum, aimed at being 30 pupils to each teacher. There was no way of maintaining the peace of the world except through the League of Nations and collective security to which the Dominion subscribed. New Zealand must take her part in the British commonwealth to maintain its strength and do its share in its protection. New Zealand could not live if the British Commonwealth of Nations died. They should give credit to the Prime Minister of the British nation for doing everything possible from his point of view in an effort to avoid war, even if the price paid might seem to be great. Housing Defended

Referring to State housing, Mr. Nash combated the contention that cheaper houses could be built. He said that if the Government built houses of a cheaper type they could accelerate the programme 50 per cent., but he did not think they ought to. They should continue to build the type of houses that were now being built.

Regarding social security, Mr. Nash said there would be no payment without benefit and no benefit without payment. Boys and girls of the age of 16 and over only started paying when they began "earning money, and then they became at once entitled to the benefits. He did not think it possible to find a more comprehensive measure in the world. The benefits were not as much as he would have liked to make them, but were on a more generous scale than those operating anywhere in the world and would be copied by other countries. They would have universal superannuation in 1968 without any means test, applying to everybody aged 65 years.

Discussing State advances, - he said there was no limit to the sum that could be advanced provided the applicant was credit-worthy and had the ability to pay. The Government proposed to extend the provision to the limit for rural housing at the lowest rate of interest.

Secondary industrial ' production was vital to the future of the Dominion. It was impossible under the existing system for the sons and daughters of farmers to remain continuously on the land, and the only way to ensure keeping people in New Zealand was by developing secondary industries. Nine Out of 10 Satisfied

Mr. Nash contended that no system had ever given the dairyfarmer better results than guaranteed prices. They had the best marketing system existing in the Unite.! Kingdom or anywhere else for dairy produce. The price for the current year should work out at 16 l-3d. If they wanted to wreck the system, then they could put the price so high that there would be continuous deficits. He believed that nine out of 10 dairyfarmers were satisfied with to-day's price.

• Referring to the National Party's programme, he said that what was good in it had been borrowed from the Labour programme. He asked the people to compare the National and the Labour programmes, and when they had done that, Labour could be judged by the results. A vote of thanks and confidence in the Government was carried by acclamation and without dissent. Cheers were given for the Labour Government on the call of the Minister.