Political
All Acts and changes made by the Government after the riots were created in the result of fear and prevention. The Government wanted to deter further outbreaks of riots by enforcing safety Acts. They also wanted to minimise future public outbreaks by making Acts that would benefit the unemployed and those living in poverty to dull anger and make a change to prosper New Zealand society. As long as the Government continued to improve their policies, the threat of future riots lessened.
The Coalition Government created an Act that would give police increased power over public riots and increase their negative attention from society.
Labour Criticism - Evening Post, Volume CXIII, Issue 117, 19 May 1932, Page 13George Hutchinson threatened to invoke the Riot Act if any more protests were to ensue. The Riot Act would have given the police the ability to fire on a crowd that would refuse to disperse. However the Riot Act was never put into function but it was a powerful threat to the public. Local Bodies decided to respond to the rioting by employing a larger number of special constables to avert further outbreaks. However the Government had decided not to give the secondary 10% wage cut to the police that they were planning to do. Meetings and street processions were also banned and any large gathering of people was now forbidden. The banning of public gatherings was created from the fear that a riot would proceed from a large audience that has gathered. Due to the outbreaks of riots and protests, the Coalition Government created the Public Safety and Conservation Act, it came into power a week after the Auckland riots. The passing of this Act allowed the police officers draconian abilities to detain people. It also gave the Government the power to make any regulations or call a state of emergency to prohibit acts seen as threatening public safety. If the state of emergency was called the Government has the power to issue any type of declaration on a topic to be considered essential to maintaining the public safety and the life of the community. This Act gave the government a dictatorial power and in doing so then gave them the ability to act on any further rioting as they deem fit. The Government deemed the Act of great importance and it passed three stages in one day to come into power. The reason for passing this Act was because of economic grief, unemployment and communist activity. The police were now allowed to Flog (to whip someone) in prisons increasing the cruelty unfairly imposed on the prisoners. There was also no right for the workers to strike to make the public question this outrageous piece of legislation. This Act was seriously questioned by Civil liberty groups saying that it was extremely undemocratic.
The Coalition Government created the Finance Act and other economic changes to benefit the New Zealand economy in response to the unemployeds demands for better conditions.
In 1932 the Finance Act was passed which would dismiss public servants who were deemed to be untrustworthy. Many people in society also criticized this Act. The Government created a stand down week for the Scheme 5 workers. Payments made to the unemployed under the Scheme were only slightly better. During May 1392 Scheme 5 was completely abolished. However there was still a rise in unemployment. Gordon Coates attended the Dominion’s Economic Conference in Ottawa, Canada. In which he decided that Britain should give preference to New Zealand products in which gives New Zealand unrestricted access to the British marketplace. Coates was also able to establish a Reserve Bank which then help New Zealand to control the supply of their money. Interest rates were also introduced to help provide relief for the farmers and businessmen of New Zealand. Economic changes were made to prevent the unemployed from being unhappy and fighting against the Government.
The people of New Zealand needed a change of leadership to pull them out of this Depression. The Labour Government was this change to benefit the people.
A change in Government was greatly needed to put New Zealand back on the recovery road and pull their people out of the poverty abyss. Copious amounts of people voted for Labour to be the new Government, the riots had installed doubt within the minds of many New Zealanders about the Coalition Government. The Coalition Government had failed to pull the people out of the Depression, they were more focused on balancing the budget than listening to the people, this is why they rioted. Instead people wanted a new alternative, to support democracy rather than extreme political structures such as left wing or right wing. This is why the Labour Government was chosen. The election was postponed in 1934 by Coates and Forbes, which made people dislike this choice, the change in power was delayed by a year. On November 1935 the Labour Party won the election, Labour Party front man Michael Joseph Savage became Prime Minister of New Zealand. The Parties win was a substantial 55 seats and was now in office for the very first time. Their goal was to promise a change for the people of New Zealand, this was guaranteed to benefit the people and give them no need to riot against the Government ever again. MP John A. Lee wrote a pamphlet titled ‘Labour Has a Plan’ in 1934 with Labour’s intentions on making the promised change. The document stated, “Use our own physical resources and amplify the progressive genius that has been dormant in these past decades and erect the new socialist state that will once again cause New Zealand to inspire the world”. The Government was then able to act on their propaganda improving the lives of many New Zealand citizens. Many New Zealanders felt that the Coalition Government destroyed their livelihoods and making the state of depression even worse. The change in Government was well needed to encourage the countries society to work and develop. The New Zealand society was happy for a change from the Coalition to the Labour Party in Government, reducing the idea of future riots and revolts within the people.
The new Labour Government focused on making substantial economic and political development to aid the country and listen to what the people of New Zealand wanted.
The unemployed were now issued with a Christmas bonus and the old age pensions that were taken away had now been restored. Teachers colleges that were shut down due to the oversupply of teachers and the expense’s were now reopened. The Government also made another educational change, secondary school fees like primary school fees were now made free of charge. This would assist families with unemployed parents to manage their bills and get their children an education. Conditions for dairy farmers also improved as the settler contract was rewritten as the Primary Products Marketing Act. It gave farmers the right to state full employment and fair wage in the form of guaranteed prices for dairy products. These conditions also helped indebt farmers remain on their land and to attempt to pay off their mortgages. The Industrial Arbitration was then restored and union membership was compulsory to all. Through the Industrial Arbitration being restored it led to a new Federation of Labour that had stable financials and membership base which represented the workers on a national scale. The Industrial Conciliation and Arbitration Amendment Act of 1936 had entitled the Arbitration Court to set the basic wage to be sufficient enough for an average family of a man, women and three children. They also factored in other circumstances such as single working women that had no children or has elderly parents to support. This gave the opportunities for the families of unemployed people to be provided for, making lives easier for these families and to ease their distress. The Labour Government was able to show how much they cared for New Zealand society in wanting to prevent further rioting they made changes to benefit the unemployed, the hurt and the angry.
The Labour Government inherited the surplus from the Coalition Government who previously had power for three preceding years. This inherited money was largely spent on public work schemes. Export prices were recovering and New Zealand was slowly beginning to prosper again, the large numbers of unemployed were finally given work by the Government. The unemployed were being taken care of first because they were the collective group that initiated the riots. The Employment Promotion Act in 1936 was created to assist the unemployed in finding jobs. The Government wanted to place emphasis on getting the unemployed jobs that were permanent and not temporary. It entitled the Government to work on promoting jobs within secondary industries. This is because there was a great increase of employment in factories, public services and construction. Young children suffered during the Depression and this was shown through nutrition surveys. This is why one of the banners on Queen Street said “free milk for the schools”, to improve nutrition in children and to try reverse the poverty they endured. The unemployment did not only hurt men and women but there families too, they wanted to fight for the right to be able to provide for their children. This shows that the Labour Government was taking initiative in giving the rioters their demands and by doing so trying to improve life in New Zealand. The League of Nations pushed countries to establish nutrition inquires and to advocate child health and development. The League of Nations wanted a prescribed milk consumption to be placed on 1½ to 2 pints (1 litre) a day beginning from the age of 2 years old. The New Zealand Government in 1937 responded by creating a national milk scheme. This milk scheme held high political appeal because it would not only benefit the New Zealand children but it would also assist dairy farmers in selling their product. The Labour Government also thought that in increasing the purchasing power of New Zealand citizens it would help grow their economy. The Reserve bank was taken over by the Labour Government to restrict credit and offer financial assistance for recovery and security. By making this move Labour were able to offer ‘protection all round’ which meant a disciplined economy to help maintain and manage the vital problem of economic fluctuation.
The Labour Government inherited the surplus from the Coalition Government who previously had power for three preceding years. This inherited money was largely spent on public work schemes. Export prices were recovering and New Zealand was slowly beginning to prosper again, the large numbers of unemployed were finally given work by the Government. The unemployed were being taken care of first because they were the collective group that initiated the riots. The Employment Promotion Act in 1936 was created to assist the unemployed in finding jobs. The Government wanted to place emphasis on getting the unemployed jobs that were permanent and not temporary. It entitled the Government to work on promoting jobs within secondary industries. This is because there was a great increase of employment in factories, public services and construction. Young children suffered during the Depression and this was shown through nutrition surveys. This is why one of the banners on Queen Street said “free milk for the schools”, to improve nutrition in children and to try reverse the poverty they endured. The unemployment did not only hurt men and women but there families too, they wanted to fight for the right to be able to provide for their children. This shows that the Labour Government was taking initiative in giving the rioters their demands and by doing so trying to improve life in New Zealand. The League of Nations pushed countries to establish nutrition inquires and to advocate child health and development. The League of Nations wanted a prescribed milk consumption to be placed on 1½ to 2 pints (1 litre) a day beginning from the age of 2 years old. The New Zealand Government in 1937 responded by creating a national milk scheme. This milk scheme held high political appeal because it would not only benefit the New Zealand children but it would also assist dairy farmers in selling their product. The Labour Government also thought that in increasing the purchasing power of New Zealand citizens it would help grow their economy. The Reserve bank was taken over by the Labour Government to restrict credit and offer financial assistance for recovery and security. By making this move Labour were able to offer ‘protection all round’ which meant a disciplined economy to help maintain and manage the vital problem of economic fluctuation.
The Social Security Act of 1938 established by the Labour Government was one of their greatest achievements in providing for the New Zealand community.
The Social Security Act re-established New Zealand’s situation as a social laboratory. It gave the country a free health system, an old age pension at age 60 and universal superannuation at age 65. Erik Olssen wrote that this Act “to have put New Zealand back on its true course as the most advanced and humane society in the world”. Some historians have stated that the Social Security Act of 1938 was one of the most important piece of legislation in New Zealand's history. The Act created in 1938 was due to the riots and the unemployed needs still have significance in New Zealand society today. Savage’s popularity soared within society. This Act was able to introduce an unemployed benefit for both men and the single women for the first time. Women were finally being recognised as employees that needed protection too. That single women worked in paid employment in between their schooling and marriage. Single women through the Great Depression with no man to support them, there was no money for them. They were unemployed too and struggled to make ends meet for survival, living in poverty. There has been lots of evidence that women took part of the riots in 1932, their gender was an unemployed voice. Therefore single women would be recognised as unemployed if their employment was terminated consequently allowing them to receive the Unemployment benefit and have a better lifestyle than living in harsh poverty. The costs that the Act was able to provide rose from 6.8 million pounds in 1938-39 to 12.3 million pounds in 1939-40. All these changes and Acts being created by the Labour government were to form a recovery and prevention shield for the economy and to make the New Zealand population peaceful.
Many New Zealand citizens lost their homes due to unemployment and the inability to pay the bills, the Labour Government wanted to put an end these evictions.
The Labour Party also wanted to make the suburban dream come true for many out of their homes or heavily affected by home ownership because of unemployment. This suburban dream would be available to the urbanites that were qualified as a ‘nuclear family’. They recommended the ideology of home ownership because many home ownerships were eroded by the depression. Many people who were classified as the ‘nuclear family’ earned low wages therefore could not afford their own houses. To rebut this the Government built many state houses furnished and ready for rental in 1937. These State Houses had been financed by the Reserve Bank credit and developed rapidly in Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch and Dunedin. This Government scheme was ideal for ordinary people because it allowed accessibility to a small block of houses within reach of work and schools for the community. Bettering the lives for many therefore making them docile and dampening their anger, averting the needs for protests.
The Labour Government promised to bring equality for the Maori citizens of New Zealand who also suffered harshly from the Great Depression.
Maori were said to be equal with the Pakeha people, however in practice they were not. They were receiving social security benefits 25% less than the Pakeha people. Many said that the Maori people could cope by just living off the land but in reality many Maoris were unemployed and landless struggling to get by. Savage was able to significantly improve the quality of life for the Maori’s by improving public health, the Department of Health extended their services and an inquiry was launched into the high death rate of Maori. Through the riots of 1932 The Pakeha were able to grab the attention of the Labour Government to change the quality of life. In doing so the Labour Government made sure that this improvement was going to be felt for all communities of New Zealand. That the Maori needed some help and benefits too, the Pakeha’s riots changed the Maori’s growth, advancing the nature of their lives.
The Labour Government managed to gain footing with the unemployed because they made many comprehensive programs to help the unemployment rate and to benefit those struggling. Hindering the future outbreaks of riots, destruction and violence. Positively benefiting the society, economy and politics of New Zealand.
The Labour Government managed to gain footing with the unemployed because they made many comprehensive programs to help the unemployment rate and to benefit those struggling. Hindering the future outbreaks of riots, destruction and violence. Positively benefiting the society, economy and politics of New Zealand.