PERTINENT QUESTIONS

Waikato Independent, Volume XXXVII, Issue 3271, 25 February 1937, Page 5

PERTINENT QUESTIONS

POLITICAL POINTS ANSWERED MR MONCUR AT WALTON For well over an hour Walton farmers bombarded Mr A. F. Moncur, M.P. for Rotorua, with questions recently, during which the speaker received an excellent hearing and frequent applause. Some of the major points brought to light were as follows: No Hungry People How can a State housing scheme assist hungry people? Mr Moncur replied that he did not believe there were hungry people in New Zealand today. The amount of sustenance was about £3 6/- for a man with a family of five. Public Works Pay What about agricultural workers’ wages and conditions? Should they get equal wages to men on Public Works? Mr Moncur: Yes, definitely so. Farm workers’ wages were fixed after discussion with farmers. The amount fixed, however, was the minimum and not the maximum. There were farmers in the Walton district who paid more than the award rates. There were approximately 7 per cent more farm workers employed in the Walton district this year than last year. A subsidy scheme had been drawn up to encourage young men to take up farm work. Westfield Strike What was the reason for the Government over-riding the. Arbitration Court in the Westfield strike? Mr Moncur: They did not. Mr Ormond Wilson, ty.P. for Rangitikei, a sheep-farmer, had accompanied Mr Armstrong and had stated he •was ashamed of the conditions under which the men worked. What actually happened was that the men had previously been promised an extra 3d by the employers, but this had never been paid, paring a com ferenee between the employersJihd the employees, over which. tsie Minister had presided, the agreement had been reached. Some people, for their own ends, desired to see a repetition of the 1913 strike, and they had been disappointed. Instead, the strike had been settled by reasoning to the benefit of all. Who Pays? Who eventually pays the extra cost of the strike? Mr Moncur: I agree; it is paid by the industry; but there is no farmer worthy of the name who does not agree that fair wages should be paid. No Butter-box Shortage You made the statement that the Labour Government was not responsible for the shortage of butterboxes. You skipped over that very quickly! Mr Moncur said that the trouble had . been brewing before the Government came into power. Manufacturers had been squeezing 32 boxes out of timber suitable only for 26. He denied the statement that boxes could be imported cheaper from overseas. He knew there was only two days’ supply and that boxes had gone up from 1/1 to 1/7. No dairy company was short of actual requirements, nor would there be any dairy factory short of butter-boxes this season. He would guarantee that. This trouble had to come and the Government was facing it. He believed the price of l/6f would be reduced before the end of the season. There was a definite shortage of timber for butter-boxes, as it took a certain time for the timber to dry. •