PARLIAMENT

Evening Post, Volume 32, Issue 32, 6 August 1931, Page 15

PARLIAMENT

TO-DAY'S PROCEEDINGS

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

The House of Representatives met at 2.30 p.m. to-day. Mr.-X. A. Wright (Reform, Wellington! Suburbs) gave notice to introduce the New Zealand Institute of Architects Amendment Bill. ' Mr. F. Langstone (Labour, Waimar'ino) gave notice of his intention to ask the Minister of Internal Affairs whothcr he would repeal the law which made it illegal for certain citizens to frequent racecourses. ~ Mr. K. S. Williams (Reform, Bay of Plenty) gave notice to ask for a return asking:—(l) The number of Maoris employed on relief works of any kind; (2) the districts in which such men are working, Mr. J. O'Brien (Labour, Westlaud) intends to -ask the Government if' it ."will develop a scheme whereby' unem--1 ployed labour may be employed in developing the mining and agricultural industries. ' " ' . ' Mr. 3. Linklater (Eeform, Alanawatu)' gave notice to'ask -the Minister, 'of Lands if the Government had refused the offer of a block of land near Shan- -. aon at lessthan Government valuation. Mr. Wright asked the Minister of ' Labour' whether citizens who had paid the unemployment levy ,of 7s6d for the quarter , ending 31st August, 1931, ■would bo given credit for the month of August, in view of the reduction made in the levy by .the recent legislation. "The annual unemployment le\iy im- .- posed by the Unemployment Act, 1930," said the Minister (the Hon. S. G. Smith), "is a definite sum ,due on a definite date, and there is no justification for the assumption that because it is payable quarterly each instalment covers <a period of threo months. Tho June instalment was due on Ist June, and no part of it is applicable to the months of July' or 'August. Tho first instalment of the general , unemployment( levy imposed fiy the Unemploy: ment* Amendment Act, 1931, is an amount of ss, and was 'due on Ist, August, 1931. In oases where the, September instalment of the levy under the ' 1930 Act has already been paid 2s 6d of • the 7s 6d thns paid will be carried forward in partial satisfaction of tho November instalment of the levy due under the amending Act; and consequently the further1 payment then* to be made ■will" be 2a 6d only. If any further instalments of the levy imposed by the 1930-Act have been paidj" thoy also will be carried forward in partial or full satisfaction of futuro instalments due under, the 1931 Act, and if an amount has been 'paid which is more than sufficient to cover all instalments due up 'to and including that of August, 1932, a refiind-pf the excess will be made after that "date." ' ' THE BUDGET DEBATE. The ,Leader of the Labour Party (Mr. H. E. Holland) 'resumed the debato on the Financial Statement. He said Mr. Coates had obviously been ill at easo during his speech, which was tho most unconvincing speech Mr. Coates had ever made in ,the House. Mr. Coates had failed to say how the Reform Party would endeavour to amend," the taxing ,Bills when they'came down'.',but had ( merely, stated that avenues should bo explored.' "Mr. Coates' would become known to history as the explorer of avenues. It appeared that there was. a wide, divergence of opinion between the Leader of the Reform Party and, mom- "; bers of the party. ''' " '' Alr.'.J. A. Nash (Reform, Palmerston): f'Ybu are .guessing, now.". , . MX Holland: '.'Not guessing, merely making commonplaco deductions." .Mr" P. Waite (Reform, r Clutha): " Very.commonplace." Mr. Speaker: "Order!1 Order!" Mr._ Holland said that tho Reform Party,""", would .not stand in the way of tho country's interests, but tho country's interests were subject to Mr. Ccffites's interpretation. This raised tho interesting ' invitation by the Prime Minister to ■ the Reform Party 'for a merger.' In the first place. tho Leader of. the Opposition saw that tho plight of -the country called for a >'f National Government, and in the samo breath he said, that his party would have nothing to do with it. After he had definitely, rejected the proposal ha was keenly interested to see what thn Labour Party would do. A DIFFERENT MATTER. Later, on, Mr. Coates changed his ground, and asked whether Labour was prepared- to discuss tho matter. That was a different matter altogether. Of course Labour was willing to confer, • but so' far no invitation had been extended to the Labour Party and it was A , not likely to come. The Labour Party ■ - .had- always been willing to confer with other -parties, on national questions. Labour would be a party ti> no merger "of'parties, or to tho imposition of taxation proposals which made the poorer sections of tho community pay out .'of all" proportion to the richer sections. The Labour Party would not be a party to cutting down the wages of the workers. ' Before Mr.' Coates worried about Labour's attitude he should review his own reply to the United Party's S.O.S. signal. • Mr. Coates must know as well as he knew that after the election the present Government would <be the •smallest party in the House. Mr. Lysnar (Independent, Gisborne): , "That's a matter of opinion." , Mr. Holland: "Of course. I am ex'pros'sing my own." What the Leader of the Opposition had in mind was a possibility of no party having a majority, but that his party would be stronger than tho United Party,' and ho would say to the .United Party: "Get in behind me." If two men rode a horse one man would have to ride behind, and Mr. Coates did not want to bo the man behind. Mr. Holland said that Mr. Ransom had a comparatively easy task in re--plying to Mr. Coates, because he was only replying to the leader of a party that was pledged to support tho Government. The policies of United and Reform were identical. It was liko two Australian snakes tiying to swallow each other, each starting at the tail end. The result was that by the timo tho process was half-way through Jjoth were dead. (Laughter.) JSeforring to the statement in tho Budget that it would prove in years to come a document of great historical'interest, llr. Holland remarked that that 1 , was quite true, but at was a thousand pities that the minus quantity in the Prime Minister's sense of humour did not sco that a joke of the first magnitude was wrapped up in the statement. He predicted that tho Budget would ond its days amongst other curiosities in the museum. Our children's children "won'd wonder whether the pages were of historical or fictional interest. Mr. ( Holland said lie did. not know of any circumstances so emphatically calculated to affect, New Zealand in tho eyes of the world as the heavy gloom of Tiis public statements regarding our economic and financial position. He had laid on ,the black paint in tho Budget with a most lavish hand, and with a reckless disregard of a full measure of accuracy. Tho position was bad enough, but was nothing Hko-as bad as the Prime Minister would lead people to believo. The year 1929 was a record one as far as exports were concerned, the total being £57,154,000, which was £8,000,----000 above the average for the ten years

1922-31. In 1928 there was another record year, when' the exports totalled almost £55,000,000, which was £6,000,----000 above the yearly average for the decinde. Tho same argument might be applied to imports. In 1930 New Zealand experienced her third recoid year for imports, the total being over £49,000,000. Last year tho total imports were only £0,00.0,000 below tlid yearly average for the ten-year period The position was not anything like as black as the disastrous brush of the Prime Minister had painted it. The years 1928 and 1929 had been exceedingly good ones, and exports had exceeded imports by £22,000,000, but li'othing had been done in these fat years to make provision for the leaner year everyone knew would come. (Proceeding.) |