Budget Debate To Be In Evenings

Press, Volume CVIII, Issue 31736, 20 July 1968, Page 38

Budget Debate To Be In Evenings

INew Zealand Press Association) WELLINGTON, July 19. The debate on this year’s Budget, presented last night by the Minister of Finance (Mr Muldoon), would take place during the evening sittings of Parliament, the Prime Minister (Mr Holyoake) said in Parliament today.

Parliament would not sit on Tuesday afternoon, but would meet at 7.30 p.m. to begin the Budget debate, Mr Holyoake said.

The president of the Federation of Labour (Mr T. E. Skinner) in Auckland today described the Budget as a “stand-still one.”

“It’s dressed up with a lot of words and fancy phrases but doesn’t do anything to increase production and certainly doesn’t do what the Minister promised, to stimulate the economy,” he said.

“The Government would borrow $162 million this year—--50 per cent more than last year—and this would simply

continue our stagnation,” he said. The British Trade Association was sorry that the Government was determined to phase out the no-remittance licence scheme for overseas funds, said the director of the association, Mr L. B. Crompton.

His association felt that this scheme had helped to supplement inadequate import licences without any direct drain on overseas funds, he said. “We are glad to see some further stimulus given to internal demand and regard the Budget as a realistic attempt to moderately reinflate a lagging economy,” said the president of the Retailers’ Federation, Mr R. L. Jones, of Hastings. “It is encouraging to see

increases in the export of manufactured goods and the Budget provisions should add further encouragement to exporters of products other than primary products.”

“While the Budget is not a spectacular one, it reveals many encouraging and progressing trends,” Mr D. W. Johnson, acting chairman of the Finance Houses Association, said in Christchurch yesterday. “It is, for example, most reassuring to learn how well the economy has recovered and we as an industry wel. come the Minister’s first steps towards changing the structure of taxation in line with the recommendations of the Ross Report,”'he said. “Because of the present conditions, the Minister has unfortunately still been unable to relaxe the restrictions affecting the operations of finance houses, but the various steps taken by him to stimulate activity in such fields as exporting, building and the tourist industry will have beneficial effects on the economy.”