The Labour Government Gains Traction
In the long-term, the Labour Party gained a lot more support as New Zealanders chose to support democracy as it provided stability, rather than take part in any radical, extremist right or left wing political movements.
The extreme political groups, while they had their moments of glory, did not gain any real lasting followers. The general public did not view them as being able to achieve anything in the long term and the Labour Party began to be the most popular Party amongst New Zealanders. They were accepted as real leaders for the society and no longer viewed as a fringe group of radicals, by 1935.
Public resentment towards the Government grew as the Coates-Forbes administration postponed the 1934 election. The people acted accordingly in the 1935 election and voted in Labour with an overwhelming majority. Michael Joseph Savage came into power as the first Labour Prime Minister. |
A Labour Party poster advertising that they were the key to getting out of the economic crisis and working towards prosperity.
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Savage, along with many members of his cabinet, had shown great support for the unemployed workers as they stood alongside them as ‘radicals’ on the front line. They began their ministry by restoring the cuts made by the Coates-Forbes government. Immediately after being brought into power, they also established Christmas bonuses for the unemployed, further increasing their popularity. New schemes and organisations were established. The Department of Housing Construction was started to begin a state-house building campaign, in order to give dairy farmers a fixed price for their milk the Primary Products Marketing Act was put in place and the union membership and industrial arbitration were brought back. In 1938 they implemented the Social Security Act and this ensured their political position was secure until 1949.
Social Security Act 1938
The Social Security Act passed in 1938 showed recognition from the government that the State had some responsibility of ensuring the welfare of its citizens, when they couldn't do so themselves and this was the beginning of the Social Welfare System which New Zealand has today.
The Act meant that all unemployed were eligible for an unemployment benefit if they were unable to get work. The Act, as described by Savage, was “applied Christianity”. Out of general taxation, small monthly pensions were also made payable for the aged and poor. This was a new departure in social legislation, and was based on the idea that the State had some responsibility for those citizens whose own efforts were not enough to keep them from poverty in their old age. This was the fundamental step made in creating the Social Welfare System which we have today. Initially the payments were small, but as the years passed and national prosperity increased, successive amendments raised the amount of pension and liberalised the conditions.