BETTER SYSTEM ADVOCATED

Southland Times, Issue 23378, 9 December 1937, Page 6

BETTER SYSTEM ADVOCATED

Parties Advised To Get Together DUTY OF GOVERNMENT ADMITTED (From Our Parliamentary Reporter) WELLINGTON, December 8. “The Government realized that it has some responsibility in this matter and it does not intend to run away from that responsibility,” said the Prime Minister (the Rt. Hon. M. J. Savage) speaking in the House of Representatives today during the debate on the Auckland waterfront hold-up. The Prime Minister said it was for the interested parties to get together and devise a system which would prevent such disturbances. “It is merely a question whether there is sufficient intelligence among the watersiders and the members of Parliament to enable them to devise better means of doing the job,” said Mr Savage. “The Government is not sleeping on the job.” Mr W. J. Polson (Nat., Stratford): We have wakened you up then. Mr Savage: The Government did not need waking up. It was awake before. However, the time might come very soon when the honourable gentleman will need waking up. Mr Polson: I do not know what the Prime Minister means by that, but if it is a threat I am willing to meet him at any time. , “The situation which developed at Auckland has shown us that there has to be a better method of doing the job, Mr Savage said. “To blame the shipping companies or the watersiders is not to solve the problem. I do not care whose fault it was. We have to clean the matter up. There should be intelligence enough among those interested to see that the job is done better in future. We realize that we have some responsibility and we are not going to run away, but I certainly feel that this afternoon’s business in the House has been mainly for political reasons.