"OH, NONSENSE!"

Auckland Star, Volume LX, Issue 230, 28 September 1929, Page 12

"OH, NONSENSE!"

PRIME MINISTER'S RETORT. ALLEGATION BY MR. COATES. FALLING OFF IX TRADE. (By Telegraph.—Parliamentary Reporter.) WELLINGTON, Friday. There were shouts of protest from the Government benches in the House of Representatives to-day when the Leader of the Opposition (Rt. Hon. J. G. Coates) suggested that the effects of the proposed land supertax were already being felt in the country. He said it was not fair that the landowners should be loaded with heavy additional taxation without warning. "The effects are already being felt, and the reaction has set in throughout the country," said Mr. Coates. "A falling off in trade had been suffered by chemists, jewellers, shopkeepers, storekeepers and tradespeople. The Prime Minister (Rt. Hon. Sir Joseph Ward): Nonsense! The Chief Government Whip (Mr. Murdoch) : Do you mean since this bill was brought in V Mr. Coates: Since the Budget proposals came down. Government members laughed at this. Mr. Coates said the member for Marsden need not sit there smiling. If that member got up and gave his opinions it could be said that he was doing his strict duty. (Laughter.) Unemployment had already been affected by the proposals of this bill. The Prime Minister . (impatiently): Oh, nonsense, nonsense! "Savaging the Farmer." Mr. Coates: May I say in reply to that interjection that every fanner who becomes liable for this tax immediately attempts to adjust it? Why should the fanner be selected for this tax fit is savaging the farmer —why should he be singled out for this impost? It was true that State necessity overrode private rights, but, if it was necessary in the interests of the State that land be taken for closer settlement, and that the private individual must meet the position, it must be insisted that the private person was entitled to compensation for anything that might be to the advantage of the State. Had the Prime Minister decided what "farm lands" were? It should be remembered that some farmers would have holdings of very mixed type —perhaps 500 acres of forest, 500 acres of bracken, fern and tea-tree, and a good quantity broken in, as the result of expenditure of capital., How wae that position going to be met? Was the farmer going to be taxed for having planted or preserved trees? Idle Lands Available. There must be a clear conception of what the Government wanted to get at. There was idle land available for settlement. The co-operation of the Crowd and the private individual could put that right. Then there were other improved lands suitable for closer settlement. How was that land going to be dealt with? That brought up the question of classification. "No purpose can be gained by taxing land that is not suitable for closer settlement," declared the Leader of the Opposition. "Encouragement should be given to those who are on the land to go ahead and increase production—to turn the wilderness into an oasis. Other speakers have pointed out the importance of the proposals. Others again have drawn attention to the. weak places. Others again have looked to the best interests of the country, and have stressed the point that revenue from taxation should be obtained in a strictly fair way. I suggest that this bill should go before a Select Committee for consideration."