Govt borrowing rate under heavy attack

Press, 11 December 1976, Page 7

Govt borrowing rate under heavy attack

PA Wellington Ine Government's rate of borrowing has come under attack m Parlitment. Opposition speakers claiming that die Government had borrowed more heavily than the Labour Government — at a time when export receipts had reached record lev els. Opening the topic during the fortnightly debate on Ministerial replies to quests-- Leader of the Opp -ition (Mr Rowling) said many people had believed that when the National Party came to power, it would reduce borrowing. What has happened?” he a-ked. "Onward and upward has been the trend.” Mr Rowling said that in the 1975 calendar year the labour Government had borrowed 5937.3 M. This year, to the end of November, the National Government had borrowed SIOIBM. This figure did not include suppliers’ credit fssoMi, loans originally entered into by the Labour Government which had been rolled over by the National Government (about SIOOMt, and loans entered into by' the Labour

Government and spent by! (the National Government (S9OM). “This was borrowed at a time when the country' enjoyed additional earnings' overseas of S1000M,” he I said. “It (the Government) has borrow'ed at a time of record overseas earnings, unlike the last Government, which had ito borrow at a time of depressed overseas markets.” Mr Rowling said the Government had claimed it would control imports: "There has been no control. There has been no policy.” New Zealand’s creditworthiness overseas had been affected. Mr B. S. G. Lambert (Nat.J Western Hutt) said New! Zealand was heading back i towards financial prosperity,; and the public knew it: “The; public are not fooled. Cer-: tainly we are continuing to! borrow, and the Prime Min-1 ister said before the last!

election that we would have to continue to borrow.” Mr M. A. Connelly (Lab., jWigram) said the Government had failed in an area in which before the election National spokesmen had boasted they would put the country' back on its feet. Mr D. M. J. Jones (Nat., Waitemata) said the country had appreciated the way the Government had handled the economy and inflation. Mr E. E. Isbey (Lab.. Grey Lynn) said the National Government had made New Zealand the beggar of the Western world. He described the! figure of SIOIBM as stagger-i ing. For every week the Government had been in office, it . had borrowed S2SM — $3.5M I for every day. “This Government pro-! iclaimed that they would not' borrow. They have borrowed lat a faster rate than any( ■ previous government in the ■ history of New Zealand,” Mr ‘lsbey said.