Help for lower-paid appreciated by F.O.L.

Press, 9 November 1984, Page 3

Help for lower-paid appreciated by F.O.L.

PA Wellington The Budget’s help for the lower-paid was welcomed last evening by the president of the Federation of Labour, Mr W. J. Knox.

But trade unions were concerned about the Government’s intention to administer the Family Care scheme through the Social Welfare system, he said. “We are concerned that, because of the complications associated with payments by a benefit, some people entitled to the benefit will not take it up,?’ Mr Knox said.

Expressing union reservations about aspects of the Budget, he said there was concern about higher electricity charges, higher petrol prices, the intention to broaden the sales tax system and the removal of some tax concessions or exemptions.

“Unpalatable but necessary,” , was the reaction to the Budget of the president of the Employers’ Federation, Mr Garry Tait.

The Family Care scheme targeted financial assistance in the direction that it was most needed.

His federation appreciated the Government’s attempts to reduce the deficit, even though the measures being adopted to achieve this would be “unpalatable” to many sections of the community. He looked forward to restraints in the wage rounds. The president of the Retailers’ Federation, Mr lan Halsted, said many of the Budget measures were no surprise as warnings of the proposed actions had been forecast by recent Ministerial statements.

“My major disappointment is in the absence of any measures to reduce unemployment and in fact there are some parts of the Budget which will have an adverse effect on the unemployment problem” he said. The chairman of the Combined State Unions, Mr Ron Burgess, said the Budget reduced spending power and

would lead to higher unemployment unless there was an upturn in exports. “I believe it will complicate the forthcoming wage round and make it difficult to find guidelines,” he said.

The executive director of the Finance Houses Association, Mr Ken Baker, said the Budget was a welcome sign that the Government was prepared to show what it planned to do, and how it intended to finance the fiscal deficit.

The president of the Master Builders’ Federation, Mr Ivan Llrinell, said the industry welcomed the assistance to the modest-income firsthome buyer. But the federation was concerned about the effect on investment which might occur as a result of actions on insurance premiums and tax It was also concerned about the effect on building costs of measures to follow, such as the Goods and Services Tax.

The chairman of the Life Officers’ Association, Mr Os Vivanti, said the removal of

tax concessions on new life insurance policies and superannuation would make it harder for New Zealanders to provide future financial security for themselves and their families.

Small business people seemed to have been hard hit and their ability to reinvest had been taken away, said Mr J. A. Hazlett, executive vice-president of New Zealand Chambers of Commerce.

Ownership of fringe benefits needed more exact definition and even-handed treatment, he said.

The vice-president of the Road Transport Association, Mr Norman Bidwell, said road transport companies would be ...“twisting and turning” tq find ways to keep afloat after the Budget- .

He said ' that the road transport industry had been hard hit. There was no way the huge increases could be absorbed by the industry. It was already paying its “fair share” in road and business taxes, contributing more than $650 million to the Government last year.

The New Zealand Party leader, Mr Bob Jones, said it was the most commonsense Budget he had heard. It looked as though the country was moving into the twenty-first century 16 years early . . . “that is the basic philosophy behind it,” he said.

The president of the Export Institute, Mr John Lister, said it recognised that the Government understood the value of exports and its associated growth. But it was surprised it had not taken notice of submissions made by the institute and other parties to focus on export market development taxation incentives. Instead it had rolled over the present system for 12 months. “This will not allow exporters to plan for the future with confidence,” Mr Lister said. The leader of the Social Credit Party, Mr Bruce Beetham, described the Budget as “grossly inflationary.”

“It is possibly one of the most inflationary we have seen in recent times,” he said. That was because of the enormous increase in Government charges such as road-user charges, he said,