ENTHUSIASTIC MEETING

Bay of Plenty Times, Volume LXVII, Issue 12469, 1 October 1938, Page 3

ENTHUSIASTIC MEETING

MINISTER OF FINANCE AT TE PUKE

VIGOROUS DEFENCE OP GOVERNMENT POLICY

THE GUARANTEED PRICE

The Hon. Mr Nash, Minister of Finance and Marketing, met with an enthusiastic reception from an audience of nearly one thousand people in the Capitol Theatre at Te Puke last evening. Throughout his address, which lasted for two and a half hours he was listened to with aTtention and was frequently warmly applauded.

Mr Ben Keys, Mayor of Te Puke, presided, and briefly introduced the Minister.

Mr Nash prefaced his remarks by paying a tribute to the excellent work done by Mr C. H. Burnett as member for the district. He had watched the interests of the district with unremitting care and was one of the most -competent men who had ever entered Parliament. Finance

The present Government, said the ' Minister, had taken charge of the Treasury benches following a period of very severe depression and for the past three years fifty-live members in 1 Parliament had been associated in | implementing the • Government's ’ policy. One thing in which their opponents ' had claimed they would fail dismally was in the matter of finance, 1 but in every possible way the critics 1 had been confounded. Each succes- ' siva budget of the past three years had shown a surplus, the production of the country had been organised 1 and stimulated and with a minute exception practically every person in ' the Dominion was better off to-day than in 1935. Mr Nash then dealt with the country’s indebtedness and the minor changes made by the Government in the incidence of taxation and claimed to be thoroughly justified in assert- j ing that the Government had kept the country’s finances better than ■ they had been kept for the previous ten years. Our exports had increased until all records had been broken and our imports were also in excess of all previous records. Customs revenue was higher than ever before without increased taxation. He outlined the incidence of income-tax under the present Government and emphasised the-fact that it did not press heavily on the people with comparatively small incomes. He pointed out that the aggregate incomes during the past three years had greatly increased and claimed that not too much had been taken from those incomes. Public Works ■ Defending the Government’s public works policy Mr Nash said he had been astounded at some of the work done on roads and at the progress that was being made in the completion of our railway system. There had never been a period in the history of the country when more had been done and better done, with better conditions for those engaged. The Minister of Public Works had set aside £ 5,000,000 for backhlock roads and had planned a programme extending over live years. At the present rate of progress it was apparent that the work would be completed in three years. Some thirty aerodromes had also been completed at a cost of about £1,000,000. The past Government had done good work in connection with the country’s electrical schemes and the present Government had spent a large sum in extending those services. It was interesting to note, said Mr Nash, that to date some £73,000,000 had been spent on the roads and highways of the Dominion, a greater sum than was invested in our railways. Exchange Dealing briefly with exchange Mr Nash said the amount of money available in London when the Government came into office had been considerably reduced, due to the fact that im- , ports during the past three years had been heavier than before. For some five years previously imports had been restricted; the people- were starved and unable to buy, and that leeway had had to be made up, hence the increased imports. It was reasonable to assume that ifow the leeway had been made up there would be a falling off in imports and the Government had accordingly estimated a fall in Customs revenue this year of some £ 750,000. Expenditure I Giving details of the increased exi penditure under the Labour Government the Minister pointed out that the money spent on highways had increased by £ 1.000,000, but that had in the main been provided for by the petrol tax and customs duties on motor cars, etc. Defence expenditure had increased by £ 1,000.000, despite the claims of their opponents that the Government was not pursuing a vigorous defence policy. Rest assured, said Mr Nash, New Zealand will stand by the Old Country no matter what happens. The total expenditure had increased by £ 10,000,000, but the total revenue had been slightly more, leaving a small surplus at the end of the last financial year. lutci'cst Kates The Government had helped to keep interest rates down. The 1934 legislation had fixed interest rates, it is true, but it had been steadily reduced under Labour rule and the rates were lower now than at any period since the war. It was exceedingly difficult to keep the rate down and he affirmed that a Government following the policy of the previous Government would have been unable to keep the local body ! interest rate down to 3£ per cent. Money rates had been kept stable in, a field where demand tended to exceed supply, but that had only been made possible by the Government owning the State Advances Corporation and the Reserve Bank. The Minister then outlined at considerable length benefits secured under the Social Security Act. The principles in that Act he said were the finest ever written into the law of any country in the world. No people in the world were so completely safeguarded against the accidents and incidents of life over which they had no control themselves, as were the people of the Dominion. In the final analysis after providing all the benefits contained in the Act the sum of £ 1,420,000, was required. It was a fact that the income of the country had increased by £ 24,000,000, and if taxes were collected in the same ratio twice that sum of £1.420,000 would be secured without increasing the taxation one penny. Their opponents knew that and were definitely trying to deceive everyone by saying the country could not afford the cost of the Government’s scheme. He claiihed that the money would be there to do the job and we could not afford not to do it. , Mr Nash then dwelt humorously with the National Party’s proposal to advance £ 100 to married couples for the purchase of furniture. The Guaranteed Price The Minister in leading up to the question of the guaranteed price for dairy produce outlined his experience in a visit to Canada and the United States; where he found that pigs were being burnt so that they should iotrgo into consumption, and

cotton, corn,.potatoes and tobacco were being ploughed In and farmers subsidised to refrain from growing crops. At the same time out of 300,000 children examined in New York, doctors had certified that 63,000 were short of food. ‘ Out of this had- come the conception of the guaranteed price, and prior to the last election he had written and issued a pamphlet on the subject. The Government had been returned to implement that policy. After detailing the prices fixed for the past three years, Mr Nash affirmed that the dairy farmer had never before had such results from bis produce and was never so sure of getting an income as be was to-day. There were two reasons, said Sir. Nash, why the Government had not followed the recommendation of the Advisory Committee set up to advise on the fixation of the guaranteed price. The first was that it was bringing in disparities in the procedure that would wreck it, and in taking the price so high it would also wreck it. If the guaranteed price were fixed at such a point that there were bound to be continued deficits the whole thing would be wrecked. The Government did not intend to do anything that would wreck the guaranteed procedure. On the evidence so far available the surplus so far this year was £ 427,006, and It was expected that the deficit in the account for the 1938-39 season would be approximately £ 935,000. He claimed that the present method was infinitely better for the farmer than under the old procedure when he sold to the representatives of Tooley Street and under which there was always a profit in the sale of the produce for the speculator. He maintained that our present marketingprocedure had resulted in better prices for the dairy farmer and speculation in butler and cheese had entirely disappeared. A considerable saving had been effected in the cost of marketing, and the Govrenment had been successful in building up other markets. In this connection he gave particulars of the agreements with Germany and Canada. Not only had better marketing conditions been brought about, but the farmer now knew at the beginning of the year what his income would be for the year. He was determined that the dairy industry and the guaranteed price procedure should not be wrecked, and sincerely hoped the method would continue to operate for many years. He appealed to the electors to send the Government back to office to continue its good work in connection with guaranteed prices. (Cheers). The best way to help, in that direction was to return M'r Burnett with a big majority. Mr Nash was warmly applauded at the conclusion of his speech. Questions

Asked what would happen in the event of prices falling at Home and costs remaining as at present Mr Nash said 'that if costs remained as they are to-day and the farmer received the same, standard of living then prices would ren]ain as they are to-day.

Replying to a question as to the , Government’s, iuteutioii, regarding’the j country.quota the Minister said' he j; considered the’ man in the . city good as the man in the country and \ vice versa, but in large country elec- ! ; , torates it was more difficult for one !, man to look .after the interests of ■:, his constituents than tor the member j, in the city. It was probably easier j tor him to look after his electorate L hi the Hutt than for Mr. Burnett to I . look after Tauranga. ' That probably i had been the idea behind the country ( quota. He did not think the quota;: could he altered unless better opportunities were afforded the country | member to cover his constituency. The Hon. Mr Macmillan put the following question to’ the Minister; “Will the Minister give a fair trial to forty boxes of finest butter, kept j in various freezing works under ex- ] pert conditions for not less than three j months, packed in pinus radiata j boxes manufactured free of knots and j de-odorized by a secret process. Will : the Minister, if the butter stands up to grading test (at which any Dairy Company interested may be present) allow such box to be used for packing butter for export. Note. Such i a box has been manufactured and had been tried under export conditions and the butter it contained has | satisfied the grader, hut the holder of the’secret process has come up against a blank wall when approaching the Minister of Agriculture,; This, box, if it came : into • general- use, could be sold at 6d less than the price paid for boxes at present, thus sav- | ing £1 per ton costs of manufacture.” Replying Mr Nash said that it Mr Macmillan knew that there existed a process that would pack butter better and cheaper than to-day he would be' pleased to discuss it with the Minister of Agriculture and the Cabinet. Mr Macmillan asked a further question:—Will the Minister amend The Butter Marketing Regulations 1937 so that if last year’s experience is repeated,'the export price exceeding the local fixed price, he will make up the deficit to thosd factories selling on the local market, by a grant from the consolidated fund and not as lie did this last season by taking the required sum from the surplus overseas realizations. If not will be mete out the same measure to other goods manufactured in New Zealand. Fix a local price less than the manufactured goods could realize if sold in London and equalize the local fixed price by raiding the surplus overseas realizations. In other words, if the dairy farmer by regulations is compelled to sell his manufactured goods in the Dominion at less price than he can net in London,' why should not all other goods manufactured in New Zealand he compelled to be sold at a price less than they would return net to the manufacturer if he sold them in London. To this Mr Nash replied that the dairy factories supplying the local market had been guaranteed that they would receive exactly the same prices as factories who sent their product overseas. Mr Macmillan’s assertion was not correct. The latter portion of the question was not dealt with. On the motion of Mr P. McKenna, the Minister was accorded a hearty vote of thanks for his interesting-and instructive address. This was carried by acclamation. A vote of thanks to His Worship the Mayor for presiding concluded the meeting.