NATIONAL PARTY TAUNTED

Wairarapa Daily Times, 8 December 1937, Page 8

NATIONAL PARTY TAUNTED

EY MR ORMOND WILSON, M.P. IN MARTINBOEOUGH ADDRESS. “I think you will have noticed, that the National Party has realised the value of advertising technique/’ said Mr Ormond Wilson, M.P. for Rangitikei, in an address at Martinborougk last night. “Indeed, it is natural that' its members should, for they represent the business element in the community who are using it to further their businesses every day. And the National Party has one great advantage over business advertising; in commerce it is not possible directly to attack your competitors’ products—the National Party, you will have observed, does nothing else but attack. “Now it must be obvious to all New Zealand that the National Party has no policy, no plans and no ideas, to put before the country at next election. Therefore it substitutes criticism, and advertising, together no doubt, with plenty of funds to pay for the space given it in the Press. “The policy now being put into operation by the Labour Government,'’ continued Mr Wilson,- “was finally drawn up by the Labour Party at its conference at Easter, 1933. * Between that date and the election in November, 1935, Labour speakers addressed thousands of meetings in all parts of New Zealand, setting forth the proposals and policy of the party, and'explaining the steps" it would take if returned to power. Those are the steps it is taking now, and it is impossible for anyone who had taken an interest in political affairs before the last election to deny that the Labour Party has frankly and fully set out all its plans, “When we ask the-Nationalists whether they would repeal or continue the legislation enacted by the present Government, we get denials that they would repeal the 40-hour week, the pensions legislation, the guaranteed price and marketing schemes,’’ Mr Wilson said. “But when we ask what they would do, we get only a string of platitudes. At Palmerston North Mr Adam Hamilton was asked what his policy was. His reply is worth quoting: ‘We stand for New Zealanders taking a lively interest in the proper government of the country. The National Party is true to its name and doesn’t belong to any one section of the community. We stand even for the working people.’ That ‘even’ is priceless, but even it doesn’t make a policy.’’-