LABOUR'S OPINION

Evening Post, Volume XCI, Issue 143, 17 June 1916, Page 6

LABOUR'S OPINION

VIEWS ON THE BUDGET.

Generally. the Budget has been well received in Labour circles. This lie;* not mean that the Budget is one which would be approved if it.were submitted by a Labour Government. "It is much better than we expected from the piesent Cabinet, judging by its past performances," remarked one member. The income tax is considered to 'be much more satisfactory than what is termed the "tinkering" of last year's Financial Statement. The imposition is regarded as by no means heavy, and more couk! have been done without placing any great burden upon the well-to-do classes of the community. Labour is already bearing its burden in the form of increases in the cost of living. The'proposed war profits tax of 45 per cent, is regarded as good so far as it goes,' but Labour men see no reason why New Zealand should take less of such profits than Australia or Great Britain.Concerning the proposed war bonus to Civil servants, the .view is advanced that the State is displaying a greater measure of generosity than private employers have been encouraged by the Arbitration Court to show. In recommending a war bonus of 10 per cent., and not even malting it mandatory, the Court proposed that the minimum wage, with this bonus, should be Is 3d per hour, or £2 12s per week. , No relief was suggested, and very little has been given, to skilled workers receiving higher hourly or weekly rates than these, oven though such workers are liable to have their average earnings much' reduced by loss of time on account of wet weather or other breaks in their employment.

Mr. A. Walker, member for Dunedin North, said it was apparent, of course., that they would have to await the tsut of the measures putting the proposals of the Budget into force. In regard to taxation, the Labour Party hoped that it would be approximately commensurate with the recent'■ tremendous increase in the cost of living, so far as the largest, consumers were concerned. As to the general proposals connected with the cost of living problem, he confessed thai they were disappointing. They wei'e told that the Board of Trade was era-, powered, to investigate various matters, and that "much information, valuable .to the Government and the people generally would be collected by the board." On the subject of the cost of living, the most the Finance Minister was able to say was that during the year this matter had received careful attention with a view to preventing high \prices. Then follow 'excuses for having achieved nothing in this, direction, concluding with i an appeal to the old "Reform" excuses' concerning the law of supply and demand. The Budget failed to state that not only had nothing been achieved by Ministers in regard to cost', of living legislation, but that actually the rate of increase in the cost of living had been greater since the formation of the National Government than during the. previous six months under a purely Reform administration. But' the Minister offers v* this consolation : that if articles of necessity wliich now come in free had been taxed, we would not have been much worse off than we are. Surely, this is. the lamest of all excuses ever offered for the ineptitude of: the National Government in connection with the - domestic legislation which was promised when the National Government was formed.