WOMEN’S COUNCIL.

Star (Christchurch), Volume LXVI, Issue 20285, 20 April 1934, Page 9

WOMEN’S COUNCIL.

Remits Cover Wide Field of Subjects. THE UNEMPLOYMENT LEVY. The business session of the annual conference of delegates to the National Council of Women was continued yesterday, when the president Miss B. E. Carnachan, was in the chair. The following remit was moved by Miss M. England (Wellington) : —‘‘The National Council of Women of New Zealand urges that any Unemployment Bill shall include ail wage earners, irrespective of sex, benefits and responsibilities.” Miss England said the point was that all women paid the unemployment tax but not the levy, and therefore they had no right to apply for relief employment. She had been told that the Unemployment Board assumed that the Act applied only to men, and the women felt that was not fair. They considered that women would rather pay the whole or part of the levy and have the right to apply for relief work. They wanted eoualitv with men. The remit was adopted. Another Wellington remit moved by Miss England was;—‘‘The National Council of Women of New Zealand urges that no one class of women wage earner should be exempt from payment of wages tax.” This remit, said Miss England, applied to certain women who were exempt from payment. Outside domestic servants most women workers had responsibilities of some kind, and it was hard on those young women who had to assist in the home. Miss Havelaar (Christchurch) said that domestic servants had no worries about lodging, lighting, and firing as girls did who worked in offices. It was right that they should pay the tax. The remit was adopted. Motion Picture Films. After some discussion the following remits were passed on the subject of film censorship, the first three being from Auckland and the fotirth from Wellington : —“The National Council of Women of New Zealand urges that the censorship should be exercised in the direction of serving the best interests of the community rather than pandering to the lower tastes of a section of the community.” “That the National Council of Women of New Zealand urges that in order to make the censorship of films more satisfactory, the Board of Appeal should be reconstituted as an independent judicial body to be presided over by a stipendiary magistrate, assisted by two associates, one of whom should be an educationist of experience and the other a nominee of the Chief Justice.” .The National Council of Women of New Zealand urges that, inasmuch as parents sometimes find it difficult to judge the nature of a film from the advertisements and posters, the censor be instructed to see that all posters are truly indicative of the character of the film to which thev relate and that the cinema proprietors be similarly responsible to the censor in the matter of advertisements.” “That the National Council of Women of New Zealand views with alarm the increasing number of unsuitable films for children and urges further vigorous censorship of same.”