"ALL TO BLAME."

Auckland Star, Volume LXIII, Issue 239, 8 October 1932, Page 11

"ALL TO BLAME."

WASTE AND INEFFICIENCY.

COMMISSION'S REPORT. EULOGY BY SIR JAMES PARR. (By Telegraph.—Parliamentary Reporter.) WELLINGTON, Friday: The declaration that he agreed with 75 per cent of the National Expenditure Commission's proposals was made to-day by the Leader of the Legislative Council,' Sir James Parr, when speaking in'the Address-in-Reply debate. Sir James said that a striking feature of the present session was the absolute lack of public interest in the proceedings of Parliament. He was not surprised at that apathy, for the man in the street was absorbed in the often impossible task of balancing his own budget. The public, in his opinion, regarded Parliament at the present time rather waste of time and money. It was too early yet to judge the Government on its, policy of retrenchment and readjustment, continued Sir James. It was true that the cost of living in the last 18 months had come down by 12 per cent, but it must fall further before the public, who suffered from recent legislation, got compensation from that quarter. Last session's new laws created anomalies and some injustice, but had considerably eased the burden of costs. Alternative to Coalition. "I know there is dissatisfaction with the Coalition Government in some quarters," said Sir James, "but the public should recognise that the Coalition Government has had the courage to perform unpleasant .and difficult tasks, and that they should be given a fair chance to let their policy fructify for the general good. What is the alternative? The only alternative is the Labour party. And whal is the Labour party's alternative policy? It is the expansion of credit. In other words, palliate it as one may, it means resort to the printing press, which spells ruin." * " A Sorry Tale." Sir James eulogised the work of the Expenditure Commission. Some critics said that the members of the commission were not competent and that the report was not "practical politics." The term "practical polities" often meant giving clamant electors and selfish vested interests what they wanted, frequently against the best interests of the country. It often meant kotowing to ill-informed mass sentiment. He agreed with 75 per cent of the commission's recommendations. Its report was a sorry tale of scandalous public waste and inefficiency, and in the main he believed it to be true. They were all to blame for it, and the report would be the acid test of Parliament's sincerity.

"The people who are carrying the burden of gruelling taxation and the tens of thousands on the bread-line will 6urely punish us if we fail to reform the waste and inefficiency so forcibly indicated by the commission," concluded Sir James.