NEW ZEALAND’S SECURITY

Camp News, Volume 3, Issue 113, 13 March 1942, Page 2

NEW ZEALAND’S SECURITY

Harder Work Required ADDRESS BY LEADER OF OPPOSITION

“New Zealand’s security and the safety of our people are in jeopardy, and it is no use blinking our eyes to that fact,” said the Leader of the Opposition, Mr. Holland, in an address last night. He said he was confident^ that whatever demands were made would be cheerfully met by the people, provided the burden was fairly and justly spread in accordance with the ability of the people to help. They should be ruthless in destroying inefficiency. In the ultimate outcome of ''the struggle he had not the slightest doubt, not because of past successes but because he was convinced no combination of Powers could defeat Britain, Russia, America and China combined.

“Either we win this war or we lose it, and losing it means the loss of everything that is dear to us,” said Mr. Holland. “This is no time for fine words. The people of New Zealand have now got to realize the true position, and, in my opinion, they have a right to demand, as they are demanding, to be told the simple truth. Our enemies will undoubtedly make an effort. to capture New Zealand unless they can be prevented from doing so. If an enemy were to come here, it would mean that he would occupy our homes, confiscate our foodstuffs, dictate our form of government, cancel our social services, flood our country with foreigners, control our markets, and destroy our freedom.” Harder Work Essential. Mr. Holland said it was obvious that if thousands of the country’s best men were to be taken out of production for service in the armed forces, then it was the plain duty of the rest of them to take their places and make up the leeway. If they were to avoid ' a terrific fall in their customary standard of living, plus increasing their war effort, those who had not been called up for the armed forces would have to work as they had never worked before. \'

“Unquestionably, it will mean people having to do work they have never dreamed of doing before. It means that people will be required to work in our factories and on ( our farms to ensure that goods and services essential to both the civilian population and the defence forces are fully maintained. It means that those who have gone into retirement, or semi-retirement, will have to take up work again, if they are physically able to do so. Townspeople will have to give our farmers a hand to get their crops harvested and their fields cultivated. Because of the sinking of our ships, we cannot import the things we have been accustomed to import, so sacrifice is essential in this, as in every other

field. Soldiers wear out clotlTing and boots at a phenomenal rate, so we civilians will have to make our clothes and footwear last longer so that the soldiers can have more.” Scope for Greater Effort. Mr. Holland said he was not unmindful of the immense amount of work that had already been done, but he had no hesitation in saying that there were thousands of people who could, and should, and would, like to do more than they were doing at present. There were enormous reserves of man and woman-power in New Zealand, as yet untouched, but the Government would have to give the people a lead by telling them where their services can best be utilized. It was a great essential to spread the burden as fairly and equitably as possible. He was alive, however, to the fact that absolute equality of sacrifice was impossible. It was difficult for the owner of a non-essential industry or business to feel that it was equality of sacrifice for his business to be closed down while some doubled or trebled their ■ turnover. . “The word .‘sacrifice’- has been very much used in war propaganda but I sometimes wonder if its proper meaning is fully understood,” said Mr. Holland. “Sacrifice does not mean working harder and longer, and being fully paid for it. Sacrifice does not mean living a normal everyday life. It means going without things we have been accustomed to regard as absolute necessities. It means work regardless of pay. It means long hours regardless of overtime. It means giving more of our incomes for war purposes. It means lending more and still more money, regardless' of interest. It means less leisure and more .work. “One way we civilians can help materially in the war effort is by increasing our own efficiency, by avoiding extravagance and the unnecessary use of commodities.” said Mr. Holland. “War is a wasteful business. It demands production. for the purposes of destruction. This fact in itself requires that increased efficiency should be practised wherever possible. Waste should be avoided in every field. Waste is always a crime — it is doubly so' in wartime. “Wherever inefficiency is found, it should be stamped out—whether it is in private industry, the public service, the armed forces, politics, or in the direction of the war.” continued Mr. Holland. “Nothing could be a greater danger to a maximum war -effort than the present widely held view that criticism of any phase of our war effort is tantamount to subversion. The greatest deterrents to inefficiency, waste and extravagance, are criticism and exposure. In New Zealand we have tended to stifle and suppress criticism, and to apply far too much secrecy to discussion of our war effort. None of us are without some measure of responsibility for this. If in this respect we have made mistakes, let us profit from them and not repeat the error.”