RELIEF PROBLEMS

Southland Times, Issue 21605, 18 January 1932, Page 5

RELIEF PROBLEMS

DEPUTATIONS TO MR COATES. THE MINISTER’S REPLY. (Per United Tress Association.) Wellington, January 16. Two deputations, one from relief workers and a section of the General Labourer Union and the other from the Unemployed Workers’ Movement, waited on ihe Hon. J. G. Coates (Minister of Unemployment) and the Hon. J. A. Young (Minister of Health) with reference to the relief of conditions generally and in particular with regard to the curtailment of relief works. Mr Coates, in the course of his reply, said that the problems of to-day were the problems of everyone. It has been said that the money available for relief was insufficient to provide the necessaries of life. In the first place the Unemployment Board was returning to the workers every penny piece collected and he knew himself that the amount was insufficient to meet all cases of hardship. He said he hoped that within a day or two there would be no “stand down” week and he hoped to arrange for payment to be spread over the whole period. He thought the available funds held by many organizations for the purpose of relief were being pooled to give the greatest measure of relief. He asked for the co-operation of all in the solution of the problems being tackled.