LABOUR LEADER’S TOUR.

Manawatu Standard, Volume LII, Issue 51, 30 January 1932, Page 10

LABOUR LEADER’S TOUR.

MR H. E. HOLLAND’S VIEWS. Per Press Association. WESTPORT, Jan. 29. Mr H. E. Holland, Leader of the Opposition, concluded the ,Grey Valley portion, of his electorate tour and proceeds to Buller, where life has a lengthy programme of meetings before leaving for the opening of Parliament. He has delivered addresses at all farming and mining centres and has been accorded, votes of renewed confidence in every case. To-night at Rnnanga he devoted attention to the Royal Commission to make recommendations regarding economies to be effected by legislation during the forthcoming short session. He said that the Coalition had gone to the country in December asking for a blank cheque and promising that if. this w’as given, the Government would produce a policy that would redeem the situation in New Zealand. The majority of the people had. gone blindfolded to the polls and given the blank cheque asked for. The result was that notwithstanding the significant advance by the Labour Party, the Government had such a substantial majority that it was in a position to carry through the whole of whatever, programme it adopted. Conditions in relation to unemployment and poverty, were .fast becoming worse and the Government, instead of coming forward with its promised policy .of remedial legislation, was now busy setting up a Royal Commission to which body was to be delegated the task of framing a policy which the Government had apparently found itself incapable of formulating. It spoke volumes for the ineptitude of the Coalition that it should have convened a session of Parliament to deal with a policy that was as yet unprepared and which, when prepared, would be the work of an outside body and not of the Cabinet. Furthermore, the Government could only hope the commission would have the report in part ' ready for submission some time during the session. It could not guarantee when the details of the policy to be made for it would be available. It would be somewhat peculiar if the Ad-dress-in-Reply debate. was left to. eventuate withbut members having been made conversant with the. essential features of the economic proposals in which Mr Forbes and his fu-. sion colleagues were ultimately to be involved by the Royal Commission. The people had-every right to expect before tne session was called, that the general outline of the Government’s programme would have been agreed upon by Cabinet, and made available for both Parliamentarians "and- public.