WHERE LABOUR STANDS

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 749, 23 August 1929, Page 10

WHERE LABOUR STANDS

PREFERS TO BIDE ITS TIME OUSTING THE GOVERNMENT (The SI X'S Parliamentary Re porttr . PARLIAMENT BLDG., Friday At the end of his speech in the House of Representatives th' evening, Mr. H. E. Holland* Leader of the Labour Party q av : an indication as to how Labour would vote on the amendment of the Leader of the Opposition th. Rt. Hon. J. G. Coates. Labour was with the Government mainly because it did not aoree with the declaration against land taxation in the amendment. Although the party was against the primage duties, he said, it was not against the laud-taxation proposals ot the Government. It was againplacing Reform on the Treasuw benches once more and, taking even thing into consideration, he had con. to the conclusion to vote against th! amendment. Labour would decide P own course of action from time , time, and if the time came for form to follow it into the lobbv i, would be prepared to take over th. Government and give better legiX tion than Reform gave, and betuthan the Uniteds promised. Mr. Holland agreed that the prima-, duty would increase the cost of liyinV It would be doubled by the time it reached the consumer. It was an rn scientific tax in any case, but he would not object to it being placed or luxuries. He would not care he added, how- high it went on SO-guinea silk frocks or silk hats for that mater. It was most arrant nonsense for the Leader of the Opposition to call the proposals a single-tax, when there was income-tax and other taxes beside the land-tax. Mr. Coates had inti mated that he did not expect the Labour Party to vote with him, and it was clear that his motion was a gesture to the large landowner, and a worm on the hook to catch the small farmer if he could. There were onlv 750 farmers with unimproved value over £12,500. It was quite clear that it -was the wealthy man’s case the Reform Party was pleading, it was not taxation that was hitting the farmer today; it was the intere?bill. “The Labour Party ploughed and the Labour Party sowed, but the United Party reaped,” said Mr. Holland. “When the division bells ring tonight the outstanding ques. tion, is whether the Reform Party is to go back on the Treasury benches. 1 am ot the opinion that the people would hold it against the Labour Party were we to put Reform back. lam prepared to give my vote, and I think every other Labour member is prepared to give his vote, to displace the Government when Labour can take the Government’s place on the Treasury benches. For tho reasons I have given, we have come to the conclusion that we have to vote against the amendment.”