IN THE HOUSE.

Star (Christchurch), Volume LXVI, Issue 20363, 21 July 1934, Page 31 (Supplement)

IN THE HOUSE.

Notes and Comments From Parliament. UNEMPLOYMENT DEBATE. (“Star ” Parliamentary Reporter.) WELLINGTON, July 20. A full dress debate on unemployment occupied the time of the House to-day, the basis being Mr Sullivan’s motion to introduce a Bill the Unemployment Board and providing for sustenance payments in place of relief work. From a more or less local debate, affecting Christchurch, it widened in scope until the whole of the Dominion was touched on, and practically all complaints regarding the administration of the Unemployment Board were ventilated. The debate was not finished when the House rose for the week-end adjournment. Labour speakers outnumbered those from the Government benches, the only Coalitionists participating being the Hon A. Hamilton, the Hon E. A. Ransom, Mr Smith and Mr Kyle, the last-named beng just as vigorous in his attack of the Unemployment Board as any Labour member. Mr Hamilton was on the defensive during the whole of his speech, but although he is in illhealth he spoke in a vigorous manner, promising to investigate complaints made, and defending the buildings subsidy and 4B schemes. Facilities were given by the Government for the debate, and Labour members adopted a very different attitude from that in the Address-in-Reply debate, when they instituted a boycott. They now made up most of the time they lost on that occasion. Plight of the Workless. The condition of the unemployed, in view of the productivity of the Dominion, was described as shameful by Mrs M’Combs (Lyttelton) in the House this afternoon during the discussion on the motion to introduce the Unemployment Amendment Bill, which is being sponsored by Mr Sullivan. Mrs M’Combs said that so small were the payments to relief workers that they were driven to extremes to make their money cover the absolute necessaries of life. Some of them were not even able to accomplish that. She wished members of Cabinet would picture for themselves the homes of those who had been forced out of work and who w’ere living under pitiful conditions. It had been stated that unless the unemployment problem were solved there would be a breakdown of civilisation, and there was no doubt that the world was heading in that direction. Last year they' had had gifts of food from the Cook Islands.

Mr Smith (New Plymouth) : What is wrong with that?

Mrs M’Combs: There is nothing wrong with the Cook Islanders. They are more civilised than we are. She added that it was shameful that a country like New Zealand, which had more butter, mutton, lamb and other produce than it could dispose of could not feed its own people. The Cook Islanders were so filled with pity for the people of a civilised country that they had sent something along to help the people of the Dominion. New Zealand, with all her machinery, with all her advantages of production, was driven to accept gifts from a people who had fewer advantages and who were less tutored than the people of the Dominion. The Prime Minister had stated that the Labour Party had accused the Government of heartlessness, but a stronger word would be a more apt one. Should Be Abolished. Agreement that the Unemployment Board should be abolished in order that the problem of finding work might be left to those who knew the local position was advocated in the House to-day by Mr Kyle (Riccarton), who said the only outstanding member of the board was the deputy-chairman, Mr Bromley. There were too many ramifications in the present system, and when any new work was proposed the matter had to pass through too many hands. There was no doubt a lot of indignation had been expressed in Christchurch over the treatment which had been meted out to B class men, «nd there was no doubt better provision should be made for them.