WILL DO HIS BEST

Evening Post, Volume CIX, Issue 124, 28 May 1930, Page 12

WILL DO HIS BEST

NEW PEIME MINISTER

FIRST PUBLIC STATEMENT

The following statement wa3 made by ,the Prime Minister (the Hon. G. W. Forbes) after the swearing-in ceremony:—

To My Fellow-citizens,—

On assuming the office of Prime Minister I am fortified in facing my responsibilities by many indications that well-wishers are to be found among all classes of the community, and, in a persona I.sense, I am happy to say, also among political opponents.

From those who may definitely differ from me politically, I know1 that the. Government ■ now taking office will receive consideration, and that there will bo national and Imperial occasions upon which they will feel justified in giving us their disinterested help.

Taking office under circumstance of difficulty, and regretful parting from active association with my distinguished leader (the Right Hon. Sir Joseph Ward), whose outstanding services to the Empire and the Dominion will ever be remembered, I am undertaking a high duty with a duo sense of humility and an earnest desire to serve the public weal to the fullest extent of my powers. I am conscious of linritatj iis, but I shall strive earnestly to do my best for the country in which I was born, and in which all my interests are centred.

I speak on my own behalf and on that p£ my colleagues when I say,

that wo will administer our offices with a full realisation that the Government must reserve the rights and advance the welfare of tho whole community, and not of auy sectional interest. We shall aim at a well-balanced consideration of all factors contributing to the national advantage. A Government which does not en-| joy a working majority -s necessarily restricted in the pace at which it caiiv progress on policy matters, but this difficult factor in our present Parliamentary position must not do - ter us from proceeding with maivy important. measures on which thej-e will doubtless be differences of opinion, though the objectives are of such great national importance tb at wo may fairly anticipate from all parties in Parliament their aid in reaching the best solution. Notably should this be the case with the problem of unemployment, which' we will ask Parliament to approach t vith the desire to • approve plans for a more permanent remedy than it has previously been possible to ewolvo. We have the deepest sympathy with those of our citizens who, 'throuj ;h no fault of their own, are unable to find employment. It will be our st renuous endeavour to alleviate their hardships. In submitting propossils to Parliament we have the advsmtage of additional knowledge of the causes and incidence of unemployment which will prove of great assistance in,considering this very difficult problem."

The Government is fully seized of the fact that in public as well as in private affairs, finance is a matter of vital importance. It is r» cognised that solid progress cannot 'oe made unless the State nays its xvay, and that sound public finance is a condition precedent to the weli'a re of the community. Accordingly t'hp people of the Dominion can rest as sured that this all-important subject will re-.

coive from the Government tho earnest attention it merits. Every endeavour will be made to cc that the nocessary burden on the taxpayer is distributed as equitably as possible, and that this burden is not increased if it can possibly bo avoided, having regard to the legitimato needs of the Dominion as a whole.

Requests for the State to provide additional services or undertake additional works will be considered in terms of taxation. In this connection it must be recognised that while there arc many projects that might be undertaken for the benefit of the people generally, we. must consider whether tho country can really afford such services, in tho light of present commitments and tho relativo economic position of the producers and other sections of the community. In private life most of usr havo to forego many desirable things i because we cannot afford them, and the same inexorable economic laws must apply to the State, which , of course, merely means the people organised as' a community. The onj y difference is that it is much more difficult in public matters to determine what we can and what wo cannot afford. In all such matters. -it rests with the Government to weigh advantage against cost from the pa int of view of the people, and the (3overnnient can be relied upon to do> its utmost to promote the true interests of tho country. At tho same tfiinc, so far as existing services arc concerned, every effort will be mad c to obtain economy in administration, and, while doing justice to tho P üblic servants in the matter of remuneration, to ensure that the taxpaye/.- gets value for his money.

Those are the broad prineip7 cs underlying the financial policy of the Government. It is my inter* tion to issue at the earliest possible uioment a more comprehensive staten lent regarding the present finanej al position of the Dominion.

Other vital f--tors eontrij juting to tho Dominion's prosperity, such as closer laud settlement, the o' aeouragenient of our secondary indui .tries, and a wise programme of publics orks doveloijment, will receive t' ho closest attention of the Goveruu lent. The sound principles of Liberalism which have played such an imp ortant part in the progress f New Za aland in the past will - still remain ■ the guiding spirit of the policy of tho future.

I shall be assisted I>y ablo colleagues who are now experienced administrators, and- who < :an be relied upon to take their full share of the responsibility which.tho new Government is about to assum ,c.