FINANCE POLICY

Dominion, Volume 32, Issue 172, 18 April 1939, Page 6

FINANCE POLICY

Mr. Hamilton Seeks Public Statement “WHY THE SILENCE?” Prospect Of Deficit Budgeting Seen By Telegraph—-Press Association. INVERCARGILL, April 17; “Apparently the Labour Government is not prepared to make a public statement about its future financial policy,” said the Leader of the Opposition, Mr. Hamilton, in a statement today. “Labour Ministers are usually quick with their statements in reply to. criticism of particular administration, though sometimes they exhibit a lack of courtesy and frankness that is becoming a byword in politics today. That makes the silence in this particular case significant.” It was particularly significant, said Mr. Hamilton, that no statement was made by either Mr. Nash or Mr. Savage in reply to his statement concerning the financial situation before the beginning of the annual conference of the Labour Party. Also, did Mr. Nash and Mr Savage take the conference into their confidence as to the measures that would have to be adopted to meet the present crisis? Did they think it best to get the conference difficulties over first and then talk details of financial stringency after it had dispersed? “We have had the experience of the last election when the true state of affairs was withheld, and may therefore be excused for wondering,” said Mr. Hamilton.

Mr. Nash must deal with public accounts shortly, and it was to be hoped that now that the immediate hurdle of conference criticism had passed, he would get down to plain facts with the people. There was no justification for withholding a full explanation of the financial policy till the Budget was brought down. Community’s Concern. Not only was the present financial situation lense, but, with the prospect of deficit budgeting in the immediate future, the whole community must be concerned as to the length of time that the present emergency conditions of control and confusion would continue. A deficiency of £2,000,000 for the present financial year had been estimated by Mr. Nash when recently introducing the social security scheme. Expenditure on defence, to -be in line with expansion in other parts of the British Empire, must increase substantially. Full provision for unemployment had disappeared since April 1. Instead of more than £5,000,000 being available, there would be merely £1,500,000 for sustenance. Mr. Langstone had already made a request for £2,000,000 to provide for the employment of Maoris in the year following the abolition of the Employment Promotion Fund. “All these considerations and more cannot be lightly-brushed aside, and I repeat that in failing to make any specific statement to the people concerning all these known facts, the Government is neglecting its first duty,” declared Mr. Hamilton. “No one. can talk co-operation, nor are they entitled to it, till uncertainty has been dispelled by frankness. No one can keep the people’s goodwill by keeping them in the dark. “Propaganda, Talk.” “The budgetary situation is of first importance today, since it is on Budget policy more than anything else that the lifting of the restrictions when. London funds have been restored depends. Mr. Savage and Mr. Nash, in their announced insulation methods, have made it clear that they have manipulative power with money unknown to the rest of the -world. In actual fact this has just been propaganda talk. The courses open to them today have no connection with the ‘easy money’ and something for nothing talk of those courses. It would not be surprising to see the volte face of Mr. Savage seeking a loan overseas, and the course taken regarding rates of interest, even internally, since they have already been broken from the pegged level for overseas borrowing, will.be a real revelation of how Labour talk measures up to Labour action. Mr. Savage, speaking bn December 12, 1938, had made bis attitude clear. He said : “The present Administration might easily have followed the bad example of its predecessors and floated a loan in London to keep the balance of trade and maintain our overseas credits, but we set out to pay our overseas debt, not inereast it.” As to the internal loan position, said Mr. Hamilton, it would appear that an attempt on the open market would have little prospect of success today. Labour’s commitments were in excess of revenue, they had already deteriorating finances and they faced deficit budgeting. The people must have clear statements of future proposals for repairing the position. Why the silence?