A CONTRAST

Timaru Herald, Volume CLVIII, Issue 23257, 19 July 1945, Page 6

A CONTRAST

Leadership In Britain And Dominion (Special) WELLINGTON, July 18. “There is evidence of a lack of leadership that is very regrettable. Ministers of the Crown have largely become invisible, and there is a reluctance on their part to take the public into their confidence,” said the Dominion president of the New Zealand Farmers' Union (Mr W. W. Mulholland) at the annual conference of the Union to-day. "This is in strong contrast with I the leadership of Mr Churchill for I instance. One is tempted to ask — is it that they are not master in their i own house? Dare they not make policy I statements until some other authority I has been consulted? “This apparent lack of decision and failure to take the country into their confidence is illustrated by the position that has arisen In regard to the country quota. Certain back-benchers of the Government Party have made positive statements of policy, and have caused a tremendous amount of uneasiness throughout the country. “They are responsible for a feeling that the taking of the census this year is deliberate!}' intended to prepare for this legislation, and there is a large amount of discontent with some indication of action to interfere with the accuracy of the census. Cabinet could allay this uneasiness immediately by a straight-out statement of intention Mere hiding behind statements such as it has not been considered’ adds to the general uneasiness and does not allay it “The Bank of New Zealand episode is a further instance of the failure of Government leadership. Government policy has been opposed o taking over private shares in the Bank of New Zealand, but at the party's conference I Ministers were told that they must swallow' their words, which presumably had reflected their opinions, and that they must do what they were told. They meekly obeyed. Little wonder that nations, leadership is so feeble. “It is difficult to see how the injection of some £10,000,00 into our money system, which seems inevitable in the purchase of the Bank of New Zealand shares, can be consistent with stabilisation. This is very evident when one takes into account the inflation at present.'