SHIELDING FACTS

Evening Post, Volume CXXIV, Issue 131, 30 November 1937, Page 19

SHIELDING FACTS

"A MONKEY PUZZLE"

MR. HAMILTON'S CHARGE

"Confusion is the ..creation of this Government, and it is being used as a weapon for shielding facts," said the Leader of the Opposition'(the Hon. A (Hamilton) in an attack on.the methods by'which' the Public Works .Statement had been prepared for presentation to the House of Representatives.,' '.The confusion between the Public Works Statement and the Public^Works Estimates and the Budget, Mr. Hamilton said, would baffle the best economist or accountant in New Zealand.! "It is extremely difficult .to make the figures in these statements balance," declared Mr. Hamilton; "and-it is not clear where the money is coming from."

The Prime Minister (the Rt. Hon. M. J. Savage): . Tell us where they don't balance. ::' . . ..

- Mr. Hamilton: I don't think there is a Minister on the Government benches who knows how much money is be,ing spent, or ..where it is all coming from. Perhaps the Minister of Public v^Vorks can tell us. He might know;-but 'it's a monkey puzzle, to the rest :of us. ■Instead of • being , clearly set-put the :figures 'are; in confusion. No; one can make them balance. ; •

' Mr. Savage: Tell us where, they, are astray. , ( .. • .......

Mr. Hamilton: I will do that as Igo along. i After : some more interjections, Mr. Hamilton said; he would accept the challenge to show where there was confusion. An example could be found in ; th'e.'Main Highways -expenditure. The sum of £4,165,200 was provided on the Estimates under this heading,-,, while the Budget had shown an expenditure of £5,708,000 for highways and roads. Those figures did not balance. ;That was not all. The Statement' then- before the House did not make it clear which funds were .to be'used. It should say how mucrrmbney was coming from the petrol tax, how much from the" Un.employment Fund, and . how much >o'uld be borrowed. '"' '"• The Minister of Public Works: Are you sure you are not merely confusing yourself. Mr. Hamilton: Confusion is one of the weapons- used by • the Government . . , The Minister of Education (the Hon. P. Fraser): Only to confuse the Opposition. Mr. Hamilton: No; other people as well. The Budget showed a total sum of £17,367,000 for Public Works This statement shows a total of £13,370,000. Here again the figures do not balance The Government seems to have a policy of creating confusion and withholding exact information. EMPLOYMENT FUND. "When have we had a statement of the position of. the Employment Promotion Fund?" asked Mr. Hamilton. The Minister of Labour (the Hon.H. T. Armstrong): Have you haclla look at'your book in the past three months? . ' «>',•. ,'.;,;.■. Mr. Hamilton: We would *like; the Minister to give us a clear-statement of the position of the fund.;: -~:■:-..,■. One thing seemed certain, Mr. Hamilton added, and that was that there was to be a big increase in spending. The Minister, had describes all' the work/ ahead as being essential, but he would have been much wiser had he said that much of it was relief work. It was particularly important that in boom times. New Zealand should live within its income. To borrow, money, on.'tbjp of spending all funds from revenue was inviting trouble;' iri 'they yeat's ahead, when (he country had passed through the boom and income began to decline. Already thcrei sJEflis that the Government w3s running; short of money. .-■ . ." .; '.;.:;, :j.:..'.':!'.;.;;----'■Mr. J. G. Barclay.V- (Government,Marsden): Who'said we w^rfr running short? ■■• ■ •^■ v';:- -1:-;{r"-:-■■ Mr. Hamilton: Th£t;'is.;<not. ; -hard-;tb see; ■■*-:"'!x*X'': K'\i- VMr. Hamilton added that peiOple; who. blinded themselves to*', the ■possibility of money running short must be blind indeed. He drew attention to' the results of the season's first-\*'ppT-sale/ari.d suggested that the probability was that the wool cheque this year would be cut in half; In: boom times New Zealand ishould cease borrowing an d. live within its income as nearly as possible.. , ; .-;■

Mr.. Fraser:. ..Do you ;;suggest'there should be no borrowing?' ...■■'

Mr. Hamilton:' No;, not if there is essential work to be done. . ■

Replyme to the reference-to;tlie;.Em-oloymeni Promotion Fund, 3'he Minrster of Labour (the Hon..'H:-'<.T;; Armstrong) said so far as Public .Works expenditure was concerned 'tnis^ fund came very little into the picture.; "Th^re was a total of something less than 600 men paid out of the Employment Pro-motion-Fund on Public Works. The rest were paid out of other funds. In an answer to a statement made by Mr. K. 3. Holyoake (National, Motueka), the Minister said there were only 8377 persons on sustenance who were physically fit to do any-work at all, and. a large, majority of them were incapable of giving the service required on Public Works.

way improvements. and improvements to open lines, school buildings, small farrc^, twiS.ra'ph ■; extension, \ Native land- settlement, swamp drainage.

An item of £475,000 for State Forests and portion of the land development expenditure, were not included in the .Public Works ..Fund.. Estimates, although included in the Budget total of £17,367,000, continued Mr.' Meachen. Of the expenditure .under..,the , con-, trol of the Minister of Public' Works,; it would be necessary,to,provide ap-., proximate! y £6,000,000 -from loan money. This would be allocated as follows: Railway construction, £1,108,000; main highways, £1,593,000; roads, £966,000; buildings, £1,139,000; hydro-electric, £625,000; lands improvement, £156,500; irrigation, £105,000; other works, £232,000: _ :