GOVERNMENT CHALLENGED.

Timaru Herald, Volume CXXIII, 23 June 1926, Page 7

GOVERNMENT CHALLENGED.

Immigration and Unemployment Policy. MOTION BY LABOUR. LEADER.

By Telegraph—Press Association . WELLINGTON, June 22. Speaking in the House of Representatives tins alternoon on a. motion for the introdnetion of an Imprest Supply Bill, the Leader of the Opposition, Mr H..E. Holland (Bnller) said that although unemployment and immigration were not specifically dealt with in the Bill, the present was ail opportune tune to discuss these problems, and tie therefore moved :

“That, this House expresses its dissatisfaction with tile inadequate financial provisions made by the Government in meeting tile unemployed problem, particularly in view of the fact that the problem has been greatly intensified by the expenditure of public money in carrying out an indiscriminate immigration policy, which has resulted in bringing thousands of immigrants to the Dominion without a reasonable guarantee of employment or adecpiate provision for housing accommodation.”

Mr Holland mentioned that every man in New Zealand had a right to work, and from every point of view there should be no unemployed in this country, yet the fact remained that there was a large number of registered unemployed in the Dominion, and for every registered man ‘there was probably one unregistered man. Application to Hospital Boards for relief was not a. remedy. The remedy was to find work, and that work should be economically valuable to . the community. That there was plenty of ! such work was evident, hut this work was being Held up, work which could well absorb practically all the men at present out of work. He protested against the declaration by the Prime I Minister that tlifcse men should be paid 1 less than award rates. That was | opposed to a, fundamental principle of j the Labour Party. 'Why were these linen disemployed? They were told i there was no money, but if money I could be found for destructive purposes., why not for constructive purposes? Unquestionably one of the primary causes of unemployment was the immigration policy of the Government. 'That policy aimed at the introduction of ten thousand immigrants yearly. That meant that if tlioso immigrants were employed, someone else had to be displaced. He was confident that many of the immigrants who wont to i the High Commissioner's Office in I London were misled. They wore to believe that tliov conic! get houses and work. The Labour Party was not against immigration in itself. He thought the country could currv ten millions of people, but he insisted that there should be houses and work ior the people before they are brought out. It was absurd to pour people into the enuntrv when work was not being found I for them. If the Government could ! not find work for the people they I brought out, then they must provide j them with sustenance. ' 'I hat was no remedy, hut it was the logical outcome of the position. In his opinion, the immigration policy of the Government way only the forerunner of a wagej reducing campaign. | The amendment was seconded by Mr i M. J. Savage (Auckland East), who 1 dealt with the unemployment problem 1 as it affected Auckland. Dealing | with the broad aspect of the question, I he said one of the remedies for unenii ploymeut was the settlement of the I waste lands of the country, but everyone was finding what the English Com- | mission found, that the Government I lias no policy in this connection. If tlie Government had moved at all, they had been extremely slow in their movement. There were more unemployed in Auckland to-dav than when the Government first pretended to deal witli the problem. He wanted the Government to tell -the House why this was i The Hon. G. J. Anderson (Minister ! for Labour) said it was perhaps natural 1 that the Labour Party should expect 1 the Government to find. work,.for evei'v one in the country. That was a. plank of their socialistic platform, but that was going too far. As it was, the Public Works Department now employed ten thousand people, and altogether about fifty thousand were employed by the State”. That he considered sufficient to be safe, for he did not believe in a. policy of the State employing everyone in the country. Unemployment was caused by commercial depression. There was an economic cause for that depression. wiLli which the ; Government had nothing to do, but ' ibc Government was, nevertheless, doing a great deal to tide over the , trouble. Official figures of tlie number 1 of•'unemployed did not bear out tlie : Labour Party’s figures. Work was i being found for many in tlie back : districts, but they found that numbers j would not "o into the-back districts.

Their names were then struck off tho register, and were put on again next week, and so tlie numbers looked larger than they actually were. He did not wish to force anyone into the country, but if they would not go into tlie country, then they should not be on tlie register of unemployed. The Government was not wholly responsible for finding work. Local bodies and private individuals should do their share, and 'what was wanted was combined effort by all. It the men on relief works were paid full rates, there would be no incentive to look for other employment, and in no country was this done, not event in Queensland. Men employed on seasonable occupations' should not he ranked with the unemployed, and had it not been for political agitation, they would not have been so enrolled, and wlien these were eliminated, he found that tile numbers of genuine unemployed would be greatly reduced, and that the percentage of unemployed here was less than in almost any other country in the world.

Mr AY. A. Veiteh (Wanganui) said it was an easy matter for the Minister to discuss unemployment, but it was not so easy, for a man with a family, no job, and’the landlord sitting on the doorstep. He denied that the unemployed agitation was a. political agitation. It was a real agitation, and a real problem. In his district alone, the number of unemployed was over two hundred, and comprised as fine a stamp of man as ever stood in New Zealand. He agreed that local bodies should take their share of responsibility in finding work, but local bodies had been hampered by legislation, and for one he would welcome the Government’s proposal to relieve local bodies from their present disability. He agreed with the Leader of the Opposition that there was room for ten million people in the Dominion if the necessary secondary industries were established to give them employment. He appealed to the Government to give every encouragement to secondary industries, as there was a definite need for the Government doing something to meet the unemployment problem. Mr D. G. Sullivan (Avon) said tho Ministerial explanation of tlie. cause of unemployment was puerile. Unemployment was rampant, and the Government must take full responsibility. He did not favour putting too much responsibility on local bodies, because that meant' that a. limited number of ratepayers had to bear the burden. The diitv of finding work belonged to the Government, and because thev had filled to recognise that responsibility, lfien, women, and children in Christchurch were that night in need of food.

Mr J. Horn (AVakatipu) urged, ns a remedy for unemployment, the development of secondary industries. AA'hat was necessary was more complete and modern machinery to enable factories to turn out more and a greater variety of work. lie urged tlie Government 1 1 adopt a policy which would encourage manufacturing in New Zealand.

The debate was proceeding when tho House adjourned at 5.30 p.m. AA r hen the House resumed at 7.30, the debate was continued bv Mr H. T. Armstrong (Christchurch East), who said unemployment in the cities and towns of the Dominion was due to slackness of work in the country. This was a country of seasonable employment, and provision would have, to be made every year. This year it was more serious than in former years, and if the present Government was allowed' to continue its policy for a little longer, unemployment would become'os serious as in some of the older countries. Tho unemployment problem would never be solved until we solved the land problem. New Zealand Mould never carry the population’ it could carry while it remained a big sheep run. The Hon. A. D. McLeod (Minister of Lands) said the country depended to a great extent upon primary products, and must .suffer from market fluctuations. In view of these it was imperative that our people, not one section only, but all our people, should exercise some degree of thrift. This spirit and tlie practice, of saving had unfortunately almost disappeared, and much of our unemployment problems were due to that fact. Many of our single men who followed seasonal employment did not put away any of their wages for a bad winter, and were consequently up against- it. He still said the unemployed agitation was of a political character. He could produce advertisements calling on men to meetand demand their rights—no suggestion that a solution of the problems should be found, but that the road of the Government should be made- more difficult. It bad been said that land settlement would solve the unemployment' problem. Ho did not think so, because unless men understood the business of working waste lands, they were taking a terrible risk. AA r e would liavo to write olf ten per cent, of the - money spent on soldier settlements, but if we arc going to put men on pumice and other lands, a much larger percentage of loss would have to be borne by the general taxpayer. . He warned people against the delusion that a fortune was to he made off the land. AYith the present fluctuations of markets it was much easier to make a living in towns. Air G. AA r . Forbes (Hurunui) said that sympathy with the unemployed was not a monopoly of any party. All were sympathetic, but the causes were to sonic extent beyond the control of every party. Prices of primary products had fallen seriously, and that must be reflected in the towns. AA'hat v. as wanted to help the uneinnloyed over the crisis was to find work on a systematic scale, and the whole scheme of employment should be carried out in a whole-hearted way. With

rc'sriird to immigration, lie believed wo bad a duty to the Empire to help to solve its problem of distribution of its populace. At the name time, the ONcessive introduction of people must, in times of depression, affect oun own labour market, therefore lie advised caution in this direction. As to the amendment moved by the Leader of the Opposition, lie did not think it would help unemployment, and lie did not think any good purpose would be served by approaching the problem ii a hostile party spirit. What they should do was to let the Government know what the mind of the .House was, and let the Government know that the House was behind them in taking all necessary steps to cope with the difficulty. He understood that it was ii tended to give the. Highways Hoard power to spend a larger sum, and this should be done, for there was much necessary work to be done in making main roads shorter and safer, and on which unemployed could he set to woik '"The Hon. W. Nosvortliy defended the administration ol the hnmigration Department. There was neither deceplion nor been a few failures among the many people brought out, and it would be strange ii' it wore- not so but these people had always been looked alter by the Government and helped to got on tlmir feet. The migrants coming to New Zealand were amongst the finest going to anv Dritish possession, and wo should he glad to roeeive them. Hie Government had nothing to regret as to either the numbers or quality ol the migrants introduced, and so lar as he was concerned, he was going on steadily with the work. Mr H. G. R. Mason (Men) eon<li limed the Government innnigiation policy. The. Labour amendment was not so much a matter of party politics as it was a ease of urgent necessity. The indifference of the Government had forced the. matter into a party issue. Let the Government show' an intelligent ami sympathetic interest in unemployment,' and the party element- would .I bn open r. , , , . Mr TT. Atmore (Nelson) favoured immigration, provided wise discrimination was shown in the selection of immigrants.

Sir Joseph AYard (Invercargill) said there had been unemployed in Now Zealand every year since ho entered Parliament, and it was impossible to avoid that problem, because men could not bo employed so profitably in tho winter months as in summer months. Personally lie favoured work being given to every man legitimately out of work, but if unemployment was going to be made a question, of no confidence in the Government, then it would have to ho done every year foil many years to come. In view of the odium which the Reform Party had in the past heaped on the Liberals because of their advanced land policy, Jie was glad to be there to hear the Minister of Lands say he would enforce the compulsory clauses of the Land Act, to acquire land for settlement. Ho regretted the introduction., of party politics into the matter of unemployment, because the Labour Party extended far beyond the gentlemen who sat as Labour members in Parliament, and there was evident sympathy with the unemployed. He had the greatest admiration for the Minister of Lands, and he urged him to take the bull by the horns and reduce the value of highpriced lands which no one could profitably occupy. AA'e must also readjust our Customs tariff, and encourage our secondary industries as tlie people of Australia, were doing. Provided ■ reproductive works were found, lie would assist the Government to do anything necessary to provide for the. unemployed. The Prime Minister (Hon. J. G. Coates) said he desired to thank members of local bodies and private employers for the assistance given in providing for unemployment. He regretted tho introduction of the political element into tho debate, because all the Government was concerned about was whether men required work, and to find it for them. It was agreed some time ago that all men were to be registered by the Labour Department, and these official figures showed that there were 837 men unemployed in the Dominion, and many of the stories of extreme. distress were often found to be without foundation. The shipping strike seriously interfered with the Government’s immigration policy, because people who should have arrived here months ago wore only arriving now, but the Government had made contracts with them, and tho“<> contracts would be carried out. All' it meant was that we had to set out a programme several months ahead, and he was confident they would puff through. Some might not be pleased with what was being done, but the Departments Itad their instructions as to what to- do. and he believed they were doing it. lie denied that the Government was responsible for misleading statements in England relative to migration. On that point, Sir James Allen was most careful, and proof of the excellent type ut migrant coining out was tlie fact that less than live per cent, had failed to redeem then obligations to tlie Government. Mr P. Ei •ascr ("Wellington Central) asked if tlie Government were agreed that unemployment was recurring incident, why was no permanent provision made to meet it? AA liv dm they have a rush programme put forward. ~r , , •, Mr AA r J. Jordan (Manukau) said the Labour Party had deliberately moved a motion of no confidence in the Government because they believed the Government was not doing its dutj towards the unemployed. , Mr E. J. Howard (Christchurch South) denied that men employed m seasonal occupations received higher wages than those engaged in permanent employment. The Bonk of Ar,aids Proved the contrary, and .therefore they had little opportunity of exorcising thrift, as they had been urged to d °At 12.10 n.m. the debate terminated when a division on Air Holland s amendment was taken. The voting For the amendment ... ... 13 Against the amendment ... oo