AN UNRELIABLE INDEX

Evening Post, Volume CX, Issue 51, 28 August 1925, Page 3

AN UNRELIABLE INDEX

MINISTER'S COMPARISONS QUESTIONED Statements mnde by the Minister of Finance were disputed by Mr. T. K. Sidey (Dunedin South) in the House of Representatives last night. Referring to the public accounts, Mr. Sidey said that he noticed the Minister had been drawing favourable conclusions from the results of the first quarter of the financial year. He was glad to note that in some_ respects a satisfactory position was disclosed as compared with last year. This applied to the banking returns. The rate of advances to deposits was less; and he observed that the Minister had specially mentioned the Post Office Savings Bank returns, which .disclosed an excess of deposits over withdrawals of over half a million. The results, however, of one quarter might be quite unreliable as an index to the position for tfie whole year. In support of this statement he quotod figures for 1923. Favourable comparisons were also being made in relation to the exports and imports, taking the first six months of the year. If the first quarter were eliminated, it would be found that these comparisons were not so favourable for the June quarter. In order to finance for the 'June quarter the Minister had been obliged to issue one and a quarter million pounds of Treasury bills, as against only £600,000 for the first quarter of Jast year, this apparently because 'he had less cash in the public account. When the Minister stated that, his estimated expenditure for the current year was £758,145 more than the amount appropriated last yejr, the comparison was unfair, because he compared the current year's main estimates only, without the Supplementary Esimates, with last year's total appro priations. If the half-million pounds allowed for the Supplementary Estimates were tuken into account, it would be seen that the current year's estimatei exceeded last year's appropriations by one and a quarter million pounds. Similarly, when the Minister stated that his estimates for the current year were £1,625,000 more than his actuul expenditure for last y.enr, that comparison was also made without reference to hi< Supplementary Estimates; adding the amount required for the Supplementary Estimates, his estimated expenditure for the current year was over two million pounds more than the actual expenditure of last year. Mr. Sidey acknowledged that enhanced revenue in various Departmenis might be anticipated as the result of the New Zealand and South Seas Exhibition.