BITTER DEBATE

Southland Times, Issue 21073, 3 May 1930, Page 7

BITTER DEBATE

FEDERAL PARLIAMENT RETURNED SOLDIERS AND UNIONISTS QUESTION OF PREFERENCE /United Press Assn.—By Telegraph—Copyright.) (Rec. 7.5 p.m.) Canberra, May. 2. There were impassioned speeches in the House of Representatives upon a motion for an adjournment, moved by Colonel Cameron, to protest against the abolition of preference in employment to returned soldiers. He said that at least 85,000 returned men would be affected, and insisted that the Government was bound to stand by returned men. It was nothing short of a scandal to make them play second fiddle to ordinary unionists who played no part in the war. The Prime Minister, Mr J. H. Scullin, denied that the Government had abolished preference to soldiers. The policy of the Government yeas preference to unionists, and no returned soldier could be denied preference if he joined a union. Unionism had made arbitration possible. Arbitration was the policy of the country, and preference to unionists was the policy of the Government. He understood that 80 per cent, of the returned men were unionists. Without unionism it would have been “God help the returned soldier.” People who shouted most for them had exploited and robbed them. Uproar followed, after which Mr W. M. Hughes, defending returned soldiers, said that the Government had done a wrong and very foolish thing. The motion was talked out. In the Senate a motion for an adjournment was moved by Sir William Glasgow, who warned the Government that returned soldiers had a very powerful organization, which would deal with it in the same way as they dealt with the enemy if justice were not done to Returned men in the matter of preference. Senator Daly', leader of the Government, declared that the Ministry had as much consideration for returned soldiers as the Opposition. The debate, which was extremely bitter, like that in the House of Representatives, ended with the withdrawal of Sir William Glasgow’s motion.