The Daily News FRIDAY, AUGUST 22, 1930. UNEMPLOYMENT RELIEF.

Taranaki Daily News, 22 August 1930, Page 8

The Daily News FRIDA Y, AUGUST 22, 1930. UNEMPLOYMENT RELIEF.

There can be no two. divergent opinions as to the serious nature of the unemployment problem,. so that when the question of an immediate discussion of the report of the Unemployment Committee was raised in the House of Representatives .on Wednesday there was some justification for the contention of the Leader of the Opposition, Mr. Coates, that the Prime Minister’s proposal to deal with the. report that evening seemed somewhat like rush tactics. The circumstances, however, are not normal in consequence of Mr. Forbes’ impending departure to represent the Dominion at the Imperial Conference in the Motherland, hence the special urgency for arriving at a decision on the main proposals of the Government. The House took the right course in agreeing to proceed with the discussion, for the sooner the united wisdom and common sense of the House is brought to bear upon this difficult question the better it will be for the Dominion as a whole. Mr. Forbes struck the right note in •claiming that it would be a poor compliment to the House if such a Bill as the Unemployment Bill could go through without improvement, and he felt quite sure that when the committee stage was reached improvements would be made. A national problem does not lend itself to party tactics, but calls foi* the best, most practical and effective co-operation of the representatives of the people and the exercise of whole-hearted administrative efforts worthy of the best traditions of a country that in many progressive measures has given an object lesson to the world. At the same time, if the Prime Minister has been correctly reported, it seems difficult to follow his argument that as the problem itself 'is an unsatisfactory one, the methods brought down to. deal with it must necessarily be of an unsatisfactory nature. Such au admission is by no means flattering to the Executive, but it may serve the purpose of -inspiring all parties in the House to give of their best in an earnest desire to meet and overcome an unfortunate national visitation. According to the Minister of Dabour, the Hon. S. G. Smith, the three.main .features of the Bill are a flat tax of thirty shillings on males over twenty years of age, the personnel of the board, and the payment of sustenance. Whether the flat tax — which is apparently to be universal so far as workers and employers are concerned—will prove satisfactory or not, it is, considers the Prime Minister, worthy of a trial. It is certainly on the modest side, and there is some force in the contention voiced by Mr. G. C. Munns that every section of the community should combine to assist in solving the problem. Possibly it may be thought that the provision for sustenance will be by far the most difficult and unsatisfactory part of the scheme to administer. • Mr. Forbes enunciated the principle that if work could not be found foi* the unemployed they could not be allowed to starve. That argument will not hold water. It is a matter of common knowledge that in numerous instances employment has been refused either because applicants declined the sort of task that was available or demanded higher pay. That class of shirker deserves no more consideration than the increasing class of mendicants who trade upon the credulity of the public, and especially of the 'women folk. The men who are only too thankful to be offered work of any kind and will do their best to earn what their labour is worth deserve the utmost consideration and should be kept employed or given sustenance, but lack of punitive measures to meet the tactics of the wasters must militate against the success of any scheme that purports to solve the main problem. For these and other cognate reasons the personnel of the board will need serious consideration. The Labour Party has now a golden opportunity ’of exhibiting its constructive ability in regard to a problem in the solution of which it should be specially interested. There are many points to be dealt with from more than one angle, hence the necessity for all parties to unite in a common effort to do justice all round, not being unmindful of the taxpayers’ already heavy burdens or of that section of the conynunity that at present escapes direct contributions for national welfare.