REPAYING LONDON LOANS

Press, Volume LXXXIII, Issue 25274, 28 August 1947, Page 8

REPAYING LONDON LOANS

POLICY SUPPORTED BY MR MCCOMBS

(From Our Parliamentary Reporter.) WELLINGTON. August 27. He was sure all members of the House, including the Opposition, would agree with the policy of repaying overseas debts, said Mr T. H. McCombs (Government, Lyttelton) in his Budget debate speech in the -House of Representatives this evening. He referred to the announcement in the Budget of New Zealand’s intention to repay overseas loans falling due this year, and claimed that, although the Leader pf the Opposition (Mr S. G Holland), before the election, -had spoken against repayment of loans, all members would support such a policy Mr J. J. Maher (Opposition. Otaki): We want more work, more production. Replying to criticism about the large sums accumulating in departmental balances. Mr McCombs said the fact was that the total of surpluses was orfly £1.090.000 more in this Budget than it had been in the 1946 Budget. No prudent businessman would work all the time on overdraft if he could save interest by using surpluses, and that was just what the Government was doing. Discussing criticism of shortages, Mr McCombs said that there were shortages indeed of expensive seats in theatres. because too many people wanted them, shortages of staffs for totalisators. and shortage of parking spree for cars, but the New Zealand pound would still buy more than a pound in England, Australia, and South Africa Mr McCombs was subjected to a tarrage of interjections in the closing part of his speech, and Mr Speaker (Mr R. McKeen) intervened, telling members their conduct was “very disgraceful.”