LAND DEFENCE BILL

Dominion, Volume 21, Issue 260, 3 August 1928, Page 10

LAND DEFENCE BILL

EXPENDITURE NOT EXCESSIVE

EMPIRE COMPARISONS QUOTED

Comparative figures were quoted by the Minister of Defence (Hon. F. J. Rolleston) in the House of Representatives yesterday to prove that New Zealand’s expenditure on land de- , fence was not excessive.

Excluding naval defence, said the Minister, the United Kingdom in 19271928 spent £41,565,000, or 17s. -Id. per head of population. South Africa spent £923,924, or 10s. 10(1. per head of population, and Canada £2,818,000, or 6s. sd. per head of population. The latest figures for Australia (19261927) showed an expenditure of £2,702,220, or Bs. lid. per head of population. Including aviation, New Zealand last year spent £481,759, or Gs. 7d. per head of population. Mr. I’. Fraser (Wellington Central) : Is Singapore included? The Minister: That is naval defence. It is not in these figures. Mr. J. A. Lee (Auckland East) : The figures are not accurate then? The Prime Minister (sharply): Yes, they are—quite accurate. Proceeding, the Minister of Defence observed that the figures showed that ■New Zealand was not spending as much as the United Kingdom, South Africa, or Australia, and only slightly more than Canada.