WAIKATO CAMPAIGN

Te Awamutu Courier, Volume 79, Issue 7138, 28 November 1949, Page 4

WAIKATO CAMPAIGN

FRIENDLY CONTEST VARIOUS SPEECHES SUMMARISED Mr G. F. Sim, M.P., will conclude his campaign at Cambridge on Tuesday night and it will be the fortysecond meeting that he has addressed. Mr Sim opened that lengthy list of meetings at Te Papapa when he dealt with several aspects of the National Party’s policy and stressed the fundamental differences between the two parties. He spoke of the crushing effects ;of t axatiop and he contradicted the Government’s claim that they had secured most of the country’s revenue by taxation from the higher income group. He also dealt trenchantly with the question of the High cost of running the country, and quoted very convincingly official figures in support of his contentions. Full advantage was taken by Mr Sim at question time to further show how the Government had not fulfilled many of its promises and he also explained in detail, some of the planks in the National Party’s platlorm. At Pirongia, Mr Sim spoke in support of the free enterprise system and he made out a strong ease for that integral plank of the National Party’s policy. He also devoted some time in dealing with the dangers of inflation which he termed to be the greatest wage slasher that New Zealand had ever seen. He also strongly criticised and condemned the Minister of Finance’s use of the powers of the Reserve Bank, which he said was an aid to the Government’s inflationary policy. Here again question time enabled Mr Sim to emphasise other features of the National Party’s policy. At Kihikihi, Mr Sim implemented previous campaign speeches by condemning the present Government’s tendency to legislate by Order in Council, and he stated the case for a more widely considered opinion by the people and organisations concerned before the legislation was introduced into the House of Representatives. Mr Sim said that the white paper method would be introduced by the National Party. He also Stated the party’s views on the question of the re-introduction of capital punishment and he made it crystal clear where he personally stood in regard to that matter. Mr Sim said that he was in favour of its re-intro-duction.

Mr Sim, at all his meetings, dealt with the above and other matters in a most convincing manner. Taken on the whole. Mi - Sim has addressed well attended meetings and the questions, by their- wide variety and searching nature, indicate that the people to-day are fully alive to the importance of the political situation and the answer to be given by the electorate of New Zealand as a whole on Wednesday. Mr Sim has brought to the conduct of his present campaign an active mind and a good grasp of political, and economic affairs that has been strengthened by his six years in Parliament. In that period he has developed into an effective speaker who drives home his arguments with considerable force.

Wednesday’s decision, so far as the Waikato electorate is concerned, is assured and no Ine has to be a political prophet to say that Mr Sim will again be given the opportunity of further serving his country in the House of Representatives and thus widening his political experience, provided of course that every elector exercises his or her democratic right of the franchise. Labour’s Philosophy Worthily Upheld

The Waikato branch of the Labour Representation Council had some difficulty in securing the candidate to contest the seat in the interests of the Labour Party, with the result that Mr J. R. Burfitt entered into the campaign somewhat later than was intended-

Mr Burfitt, who will address the electors of Te Awamutu on the night prior to. the poll, has spoken to fairly well attended meetings at 35 points of the electorate.

He opened his campaign at Kihikihi, when he spoke in support of Jris party’s policy as enunciated by his leader, Mr Fraser, and he developed at length, the theme that New Zealand should support, foster, and encourage secondary industries along with primary industry so that the Dominion could successfully cushion any recession that might occur. Mr Burfitt stressed the importance of the Labour Party’s programme, which had been in operation for the past 14 years, and should be allowed to operate along the same lines. He believed that the Labour’ Party’s method would result in freedom having a wider meaning to the people than can be achieved by the methods propounded by the National Party.

Mr Burfitt stated that a wide interest to the farmers throughout the electorate had been the guaranteed price and he had answered quite a number of questions on the subject. He stated that there was a general belief among farmers, that should there be a reduction of 7 J per cent, which was allowed under the long term price agreements with Britain, a similar reduction would automatically follow in the guaranteed price. He explained that in his opinion, that did not necessarily follow. He said that the Dominion’s internal price level was a domestic matter ani( it followed that the guaranteed price could be maintained so long as there was sufficient production and services available.

At many of his meetings, Mr Burfitt had been questioned as to stabilisation, and questioners wanted to know if it could be maintained. In answering, the candidate stressed the necessity of maintaining the overall incomes in reasonable balance to give the people the standard of living whidh their efforts in production warranted.

Another question put to Mr Burfitt on several occasions was why could not the farmers be given a 40-hour week. In his reply he pointed out that the farmers were in business on their own account, and they, like any business people who worked for themselves, reaped the benefit of the hours put in and they had a measure of freedom that people on the 40hour week did not have.

Mr Burfitt said that all his meetings had been very pleasurable, and at none had he met with hostility. He had been impressed and he appreciated the fact that no personalities

had been introduced into the campaign and he further appreciated the friendliness of the people generally. Mr Burfitt entered the campaign as a beginner in the political arena, but with some knowledge of local body politics which he had gained in Auckland. He has proved a capable and clear thinking exponent of the political phifosophy of the Labour Party and his pleasant, easy manner of speaking has gained him the respect of electors. He is a keen student of monetary questions and has written articles and addressed meetings on that complex subject, Which, however, has not been featured in the campaign. While it is generally believed that he hr«s a forlorn task in attempting to win the Waikato electorate for the Labour Party, Mr Burfitt has carried his party’s banner with distinction and credit, hot only to himself, but to those who were responsible for his candidature.