GOVERNMENT'S POLICY DISCUSSED

Evening Post, Volume CXXIV, Issue 69, 18 September 1937, Page 15

GOVERNMENT'S POLICY DISCUSSED

CRITICISM AND PRAISE

According to political affiliations, speakers lo the Address-in-Reply motion and the no-confidence amendment moved by the Leader of the Opposition (the Hon. A. Hamilton) criticised or praised the Government in tlic House of Representatives yesterday afternoon. Broadcasting, the Public Works policy, interest charges, the sales tax. Ministerial trips abroad, and many other matters were mentioned. Opposition members found fault with the Government's actions in many directions, but on the other hand, Government members argued that the policy of the Government had been fully justified. Some bright moments were provided by Mr. 11. b. S. Kyle (National, Riccarlon) in his contribution to the debate. Mr. Kyle followed Mr. A. F. Moncur (Government, Rotorua), and he remarked that the lion, member had told the House all about the increased value of dairy produce and the high-producing cows that were responsible for the improvement. He would remind the House that those cows had probably come into being before the Labour Parly look office. Surely the member for Rotorua was not going to give the credit to the Labour Parly for producing those wonderful cows. (Laughter.) -

On the night of the General Election the Prime Minister had told the people of Auckland that the sales tax and the exchange rate would be attended to, said Mr. Kyle. He would say that it was the exchange rate that had helped the dairy farmers moire than the guaranteed price. Amid laughter Mr. Kyle produced a bulky newspaper file arid proceeded to quote from a statement made on May 3 by the Minister of Industries and Commerce (the Hon. D. G. Sullivan). On that day, he said, the Minister decided to issue a statement to the people dealing with the" rising cost of living. He doubted whether the Minister had ever read the statement; He 'believed that if the Minister had gone through it thoroughly it would never have seen, daylight. Mr. Siillivan admitted that the cost of living had' gone" tip, and he went oh to complain that that was due a good deal to external conditions over which the Dominion had no control. That was a remarkable admission from a Minister after nearly two years of responsible rank.. He told the workers at New Brighton that he had saved them £500,000. "I wonder if he took that out of the wheat growers' pockets," said Mr. JKyle. "He certainly did not take it from the bakers' pockets."

Mr. E. L. Cullen (Government, Hawke's Bay) said the previous Government had closed down public works and disposed of all tools and equipment so that when the present Government took office new machinery and gear had to be purchased to carry out its public works programme. Conservative parties were the greatest manufacturers of the world —manufacturers of slums. That was exactly what they were capable of. Much had been said about the unemployed, but it had to be remembered that there were between 6000 and 7000_ returned soldiers who were not able to work. Reference had also been made to the shirkers on the Government side of the House. A tribute and not a sneer should have been paid when what the workers had done in the Great War was considered. Mr. Cullen said the Government had done nothing which was not orthodox. The previous Government could have carried out the same administration of the Reserve Bank as was being operated today. Mr. Cullen" said 'the member for Patea (Mr. H. G. Dickie) had addressed a meeting at Hastings, and had told his audience that it was necessary for any person who desired to enter the ballot for a section in the Galatea Estate to be in possession of £500. That was not the correct position. Those who wanted to enter the ballot did not need that amount of money. Mr. Dickie: Let in as an afterthought. Mr. Cullen said that one of those who had been in the ballot had only £53. Another had 36 cows and no cash. Mr. Dickie: I said cash or its equivalent. Mr. Cullen: Thirty-six cows do not represent £500. He went on to say that Mr. Dickie should have got the correct details. He had misrepresented those who went to the ballot. LAND VALUES. Despite the fact that mortgage legislation had been placed on the Statute Book by the United and National Parties when in office, land values today were far too high, said Mr. Cullen. He drew attention to the fact that land for dairying in Hawke's Bay was as high as £108 an acre. Much was heard in the House about farmers' costs, but it had to be borne in mind that land was only worth what it would produce. When men returned from the war there was a hue and cry to obtain land for them. Along the route of the East Coast railway returned soldiers had taken up land, and when the previous Government was in power these men had asked for a reduction in the values on which they were paying. The reply they received was that the land was well able to carry the burden placed on it, but when the new Government proposed to complete the railway line the Opposition said the country was poor and the railway should not be proceeded with. Those were the same men who had denied the returned soldiers a reduction in valuations. That was the measure of the sympathy extended to the returned soldier by members who were formerly in the Government party. Mr. J. Hargest (National, Awarua) opened his speech by referring to the Empire-wide expressions of loyalty to the Throne which had been evoked by the Coronation celebrations and to the manner in which their Majesties had endeared themselves to the people. He spoke also of the strength of the Empire in ensuring peace. Turning to conditions in Hew Zealand, Mr. Hargest said that farming, costs were increasing daily. There was no better buyer than the farmer, and naturally, when his income was restricted his buying ceased. That was one of the main reasons why the people of the cities suffered during the slump. "NOTHING ACCOMPLISHED." The Prime Minister and the Minister of Finance had come back from the Old Country with nothing ' whatever accomplished. The increase in the meat quota meant nothing, said Mr. | Hargest. It was only for 1937, and at I present the Dominion was something I like 20,000 tons behind and had no chance of filling the quota. After all ', the lavish promises of getting so much by bilateral agreements and what the Prime Minister was going to do on the other side of the world, there was nothing but a miserable failure. Mr. Hargest asked how they were going to reconcile the views expressed in regard to trade with other countries with the lavish statements made by the Prime Minister almost immediately after taking.office, that the Gov- | eminent was going in for economic nai tionalism. Mr. Savage: The fact of the matter is that I never said anything that looked like that. -Mr. Hargest: It: appeared in every paper, and if. the Right hon. gentleman

I doubts my words let him look in the "National Review," the only paper I can think of. That was the impression I got and what every person in the country thought he said. GUARANTEED MUCES. Referring to guaranteed prices. Mr. Hargest said that the crime was not so much the amount paid, but that the Government had commandeered the dairy farmers' produce. He would sooner sell his cream where he liked and when he liked even if he had to take a lower price, rather than sell under a commandeer. He was speaking for thousands of other farmers when he said that. Mr W. M. C. Denham (Government, Invercargill) said that the policy of the Government had been productive of prosperity. The housing shortage was a legacy from the last Government and it was being effectively dealt with. Replying to Opposition claims that the Government had not kept its election pledges, he said the Government had never contended that it would keep all of its promises within eighteen months! The members of the Opposition were contradicting one another. One would say that the country was experiencing unprecedented prosperity, while another would say that rising costs had cancelled out the increased values the producers were envying. Those two statements could not be reconciled. The House adjourned at 5.30 p.m. until 2.30 p.m. on Tuesday. /