FINANCE BILL

Evening Post, Volume CXXII, Issue 21, 24 July 1936, Page 10

FINANCE BILL

RESTORING WAGE CUTS .. SECOND READING DEBATE CONTINUED | .:" . j The, second reading debate on thoj Finance. Bill was continued *in tha I House of Representatives today. Mr. A. C. A. Sexton (Independent Country Parly, Franklin) traced Ihs history of New Zealand's primary production in the- last few years to show that there had baen no reason to. deprive the people of the. necessaries of life. The cuts had been imposed by • reason of the financial policy wfcich had . been followed. . .. Mr. A. F. Moncur (Government, Rotorua) congratulated the Minister On bringing down the1 Bill. The purchasing power of the people was the regulator of trade and commerce. "We are in a process of evolution, which is. based on:, sympathy, rather than hate," ho. said. .. BOKEOWIiXG ON TKEASUK2 BILLS. Mr. W. J. Poison (National, Stratford), referring to tha- clause extending the Government's power to borrow on Treasury bills, accused the Minister of Finance of misfeading the House as. .he. had done on many occasions. Whatever might be the estimated expenditure, tile Minister could borrow the frhole of it. To give power like that to any Government was to court disaster. The Opposition was opposed ■■to..< the Socialistic principles of the Government. They believed in wide and. regulated individualism as opposed to Socialism; they believed in Government regulation, but not Government, ownership; they believed that the people, should own the nation and not.the nation own the people. The Minister-was-'asking.the House to subscribe to the expenditure of a very large; stun of money without having any, information as to where the money was to come from. They had already had .their doubts raised by the Minister's effort to camouflage his position, and -they were entitled to be told frankly, and > plainly where the money was to come from. He said that the Labour ■ Party 's. promises could be classified -into three categories. The first were-the j broken promises. The last;six months was strewn with broken promises—promises to remove the exchange and the sales tax and to provide, guaranteed prices for primary products other than butter-fat. Then ■" there ..were the distorted promises, such as the marketing legislation; and lastly there were the delayed promises, a class to which the Bill belonged. . '■"■ Mr. Poison said that rising costs a,s. a result of the Government's legislation were already calculable. The cost of treating a lamb at the freezing works- had increased B'd, labour costs iridair/ factories had advanced 2-5 d per pound of butterfat, the "cost of building had risen 25 per cent., prices of clothes ihad gone up by 20 per cent., and board and lodging was higher by 20 per cent. ■^Mr.Pblson asked whether it was the Government's desire to break down private enterprise. Was that the real objective behind the legislation? He believed ;that it \ras. He would oppose strongly legislation of this class. How.could the rates of 1931 be determined in cases where contracts of service .were not covered by an award? The matter was to be left to a Stipendiary1 Magistrate, instead of to the Arbitration Court, to which the matter should be referred. He considered thatthe workers would be disappointed . in the legislation, because costs would rise .proportionately. The Minister of Internal Affairs (the Hon. W. E. Parry): You are already assisting to raise them. -Mr.'Poison: I am, not. i Mr. Parry: Your farmer friends are. Mr. Poison:.. I challenge you to show a case where I am assisting to raise . costs.' ' '■ ■Mr.'Parry: You are the ring leader. Mr. Poison: As usual, the hon. gentleman is;;ju,s.t talking through his hat. WELL SATISFIED. ■ Mr. D, W; Coleman fGovernment, Gisborne) 'said that Mr. Forbes had asked where the money was to co:lie j from, and ;had: stated that there was' not■; sufficient money to pay cuts from July 1,. yet he had stated that the cuts should be restored from April 1. Mr. Coleman expressed the opinion that if the previous Government was in office the-cuts would not be restored. The Government was fulfilling its election promises and that was what was aggravating the member for Stratford. The people of New Zealand were well satisfied with: what the Government was doing—even the farmers were well; satisfied:,,, A great majority of • the > farmers .endorsed the policy of the. .Government. There was a certain; amount of timidness, he admitted, but that'was due to scaremongering. ;*'Are ■ you an Independent?" asked tne .Postmaster-General (the Hon. F. Jones) , during the opening remarks of the? speech of Mr. C. A. Wilkinson (Independent, Egmont). ■-."I"1, am ah: Independent," retorted Mr. Wilkinson, "but- I ■ can change if I want to,'l suppose. lam ready to' support.any party that acts in the interests of .the country. lam sorry to, say that ' l cannot agree that the present Government is acting in that. way/andTam" satisfied to be in opposition.". i .'■ . :■-'■. •"EEraEAX FROM MOSCOW." Mr.: Wilkinson declared that the Bill showed that the' Government was becoming panicky in regard to its own legislation. Was the Minister of Labour being over-ridden in this measure, he asked, when referring to the industrial section of the Bill. Surely the Minis-. ter had something to say why his recent legislation should be changed in such' a drastic manner. Mr. Wilkinson likened the position to the retreat from Moscow.- "The Government is running, away," he said, '-and we do not know where they are going' to stop." ■ Mr. Wilkinson said that prices for commodities.were rising all over New Zealand, and people were becoming apprehensive about. the increasing cast of living. ; Increased prices would •offset the higher wages and shorter hours. It was inevitable.' When the Court of .Appeal against high prices was set up it would be inundated with complaints from people all over the country who ■■ were: concerned only about trivialities. People were becoming restless about the continued threats that were being made by members of the Ministry. "They go round the country saying that if you . put your prices up you will find yourself . in ' the • Magistrate's Court, or if you are running an old car on the road we will scrap it," said Mr. Wilkinson. "The country is just about "red ■of that sort of thing." ' (Proceeding.)