PARLIAMENT MR HOLYOAKE OPENS DEBATE ON ADDRESS

Press, Volume XCVIII, Issue 28936, 2 July 1959, Page 12

PARLIAMENT MR HOLYOAKE OPENS DEBATE ON ADDRESS

Call For No-Confidence Vote (Aeu> Zeutana Pres* Association) WELLINGTON, July 1. An eight-point amendment calling for a vote of no confidence in the Government was moved by the Leader of the Opposition (Mr Holyoake) in the House of Representatives tonight when he opened the Address-in-Reply debate. The amendment claimed that the Government had over-taxed, broken General Election promises, and failed to provide encouragement and incentives to the people. Mr Holyoake, in a speech lasting 70 minutes, spiritedly attacked the Government on several fronts and called on the Minister of Finance (Mr Nordmeyer) to reduce taxation substantially. The Deputy-Prime Minister (Mr Skinner), who also spoke for 70 minutes, discussed increased overseas receipts for New Zealand butter, but said that though New Zealand could be reasonably sure of reasonable prices in the immediate future “we can’t expect these conditions to last beyond the end of this season.”

United States surplus butter stocks, he added, did not at present constitute a threat to New Zealand’s overseas markets.

The text of the no-confidence amendment is:—

“We deem it to be our duty to represent to your Excellency that your Excellency s advisers have forfeited the confidence of this House and of the country for these reasons:

“(1) The Government has over-taxed, over-borrowed and over-spent. “(2) It has failed to give sufficient encouragement and incentive to development, production, and saving, which are the basis of dur national wealth. “(3) It has failed to hold the cost of living as it claimed it would. “(4) It has jeopardised the’defence of the country. “(5) It has resorted to unnecessary control and restrictions.

“(6) It has let down the people by failing to honour some election promises, particularly in relation to taxation, and has placed limitations on other promises. “(7) It has damaged New Zealand’s interests and standing abroad by its failure to make appointments and fill vacancies in important overseas posts. “(8) Its general administration has failed to retain the confidence of a majority of the electors.”

Laboar Party "Pattern”

Mr Holyoake said the speeches of the mover (Mr N. E. Kirk, Lyttelton) and the seconder (Mr S. A. Whitehead. Nelson) of the Address in Reply had been ma wily about slumps and unemployment. ‘This certainly fits into the Labour Party pattern. They just seem to revel in it. They have been talking about unemployment since I first came into the HousV Mr Holyoake said. .

‘The Labour Party prophesied there would be 10.000 unemployed if we became the Government in 1949. But there was no real unemployment in the eight years we were in office, though there was considerable unemployment in other countries.

“The member for Lyttelton trotted out the same old grey mare and belted it lustily round the track. Then the member tor Nelson belted it round another lap.” ; , A Government voice: They were a couple of good jockeys, though. Mr Holyoake: Rather heavyweights, I thought. Referring to Government criticism of the National C j--ernment’s P.A.Y.E. legislation, Mr Holyoake said that no member of the Labour Party spoke on the legislation or “made any real contribution” when it was before the House.

“The Labour Party was so busy increasing the over-all burden when it became the Government that it had no time to worry about anomalies," he added. Policy Legislation

MP Holyoake said there was very little policy legislation from the Government in the Speech from the Throne. This was the middle session of Parliament, and one would have expected the Government to be implementing fundamental beliefs.

“This Government has no policy whatever." said Mr Holyoake.

Thousands of New Zealanders, he said, bitterly regretted the support they gave to the Labour Party in 1957. Thousands would never trust the party again. The outstanding feature of Labour’s reign had been the cynical breaking of election promises It was quite clear Labour was a party without policy or political principles. The Government had lost the confidence of the people. Mr Holyoake said that Labour’s 1957 election policy was the greatest piece of humbug ever perpetrated on the people of New Zealand, who- would not forget broken taxation promises There was no need for the heavy increase in taxation, and indeed the recently-published Public Accounts showed that the Government had collected £ 21.5 m more than the Minister of Finance said he intended to collect, and produced a gross surplus of £ 35.5 m. “My colleagues and I call on the Government to make substan-tial-very substantial—taxation reductions in the forthcoming Bud-

get,” Mr Holyoake said. "It is no use trying to fool the people any longer.” When the National Party was the Government, he continued, there would be substantial taxation reductions. People would be given incentives to work, save, and produce more, there would be encouragement for the expansion of industry and services, and more and more jobs would be provided

Mr Holyoake said that public servants had been bitterly disillusioned with the Government's attitude to Public Service salaries

Attacking the Government for its failure to fill the vacant diplomatic posts in London and Washington, he said this was a scandal and a disgrace. Mr Holyoake added: "It is an insult to the people of New Zealand. It is an insult to the people of the United Kingdom. And it is an insult to the people of the United States.”

Speaking about overseas borrowing, Mr Holyoake said the Government had made election pledges not to borrow overseas. "But I don’t know what this Government has borrowed—nobody does.” The Government had borrowed every penny it could. Import Licensing

There was always some need for restraint on imports, said Mr Holyoake, discussing import licensing, but there had been no need for the drastic- 'controls slammed on by the Government. Importers did not know where they were. It was another example of the Government’s ineptitude and change of policy. Mr Holyoake claimed there were allegations of secret commissions in the granting of import licences and widespread trafficking in licences. The Government had been brought into sad repute, be said

Mr Holyoake charged the Minister of Finance with “considerable juggling” in the Public Accounts.

“What we need is more honesty and integrity,” he said. Government members: Oh! Oh!

The Prime Minister (Mr Nash): Mr Speaker, is the Leader of the Opposition in order in saying we need more honesty in the Public Accounts?

Mr Speaker: Was the Leader of the Opposition casting any reflection on the Minister of Finance?

Mr Holyoake: 1 was not casting any personal reflection on the Minister of Finance.

Mr Speaker: I must accept the Leader of the Opposition’s word then.

Mr Holyoake asked the Minister of Finance to tell the House how much departmental money had gone into the Government’s recent £lsm works loan. He said the Government had failed to hold the cost of living as it had promised.

“As a direct result of its actions last year, the cost of living went up 6.7 per cent, by the end of March this year.” he added. National Party Policy

Mr Holyoake. discussing points of National Party policy, said that if the party became the Government it would reduce taxation rates, give incentives, and make it possible for people to save. "That is the policy I urge the Government to follow when the Budget comes down early next week.” he said.

The National Party would provide the utmost freedom of the individual. "The State.” he said, "should be the servant of the people, not their master."

The party would preserve and expand the economy based on private ownership, enterprise, and management, restore incentives to save, abolish socialist controls establish still greater personal freedom and opportunity than has ever existed in New Zealand in the last quarter-century, and give security against a hectoring and confiscatory Government.

“We believe the taxpayer should have the maximum amount left in his pay packet, not just what some Government thinks is enough for him.” he said. Mr Holyoake claimed ‘hat the Government had brought down a panic Budget which had done irreparable harm.

Mr Holyoake challenged the Government to go to the electors for a fresh- mandate “in the interests of this country" The Hamilton by-election, he said showed the Government had lost the peoples confidence.

“It has no mandate for the things it has done," said Mr Holyoake. “and it has done things directly against its election promises.”

Mr Holyoake then moved the Opposition’s amendment of no confidence in the Government. The Deputy-Prime Minister said that Mr Holyoake was reported'] at a meeting in Whangarei tp have quoted from the Constitutional] Society’s magazine, the “Liberator,” which claimed that more honesty and integrity ( were needed in public life. "I suppose the Leader of the Opposition has made his presence felt in the country more than any other politician in recent months,” Mr Skinner said. "I suggest the Leader of the Opposition has made his contribution to the situation people are complaining about.” Mr Skinner said there was not one scrap of truth in Mr Holyoake’s statement that there had been trafficking in import licences.

Speaking about the Government’s negotiations with dairy industry, Mr Skinner said the Government wante dan amendment to the act to enable the industry to pay back its accumulated debts. That was the only tag the Government would attach to the industry running its own affairs. "We want the industry to make its repayments, and I have every confidence the industry will agree to what we suggest.” said Mr Skinner.

Dairy Produce Pricer Mr Skinner said that New Zealand was fortunate in the change that had taken place in dairy produce prices this season. “Twelve months ago none of us would have dreamed prices would have recovered so quickly,” he said. “We can be reasonably sure of more reasonable prices for our dairy produce in the immediate future, i But we cannot expect these conditions to last beyond the end of this season. The British housewife has much better quality margarine now. It’s a much more real competitor to butter now than in the past.” Mr Skinner said that New Zealand had to sell an average of 3300 tons of butter a week overseas to dispose of her annual output.

“The picture is very good at present. But we have to remember that once we lose a customer to margarine we have to drop the price of butter a long way before we get that customer back again.” he said.

Mr Skinner said that though there were surplus butter stocks in the United States amounting to some 10,000 tons, they presented no problem to New Zealand’s exports, particularly because the United Kingdom Government had given an assurance that it would not open its doors to United States butter.

Canadian cheese supplies were low, and similarly presented no threat to New Zealand on the United Kingdom market. Town Milk Supplies Discussing town milk supplies, the Minister said that when the Government was urged to look upon that industry as a separate one altogether, that was too much to ask The margin between milk for cheese and milk for town supplies was wider than ever—--170 per cent, above the price received by the farmer supplying milk for cheese manufacture. Discussing stock figures. Mr Skinner said that the number of dairy cows had increased—from 1,746,753 in 1948-49 to 1,962,492 in 1952-53—mainly because of the development and other work accomplished by farmers under the previous Labour Government. It seemed significant that the increase in the dairy cow population between 1952-53 and 1956-57 was only some 40,000 head. Mr Holyoake: Quote the beef cattle figures. Mr Skinner said that among other agencies which contributed to the increase in stock figures were the excellence of the work of the Animal Research Division of the Department of Agriculture and the Ruakura Research Station Attitude to Farmers “To listen to National Party speakers you’d think we were' the enemies of the'farmer,” Mr Skinner said.

Mr S. W. Smith (Opposition, Hobson): That’s right. Mr Skinner said that every worth while change in the life of the farming community had been under a Labour Government

‘‘Would the ‘enemies of the farmer’ have introduced the guaranteed price system as we did?” he asked Mr Skinner said that the Labour Party, “unlike the Communist Party and the National Party,” believed in the freedom of the individual. “We believe the individual should have the right to own his own home, and should have the opportunity to do so. We believe every farmer should have the right to own his own land and the opportunity to buy it. “Our type of freedom is a much more practicable freedom than the National Government gave to the people.” Mr Skinner said

When Mr Skinner finished speaking the adjournment was taken till 2.30 p.m. tomorrow, when the debate will be resumed.