SOUTH MAIN TRUNK

Evening Post, Volume CXXVI, Issue 7, 8 July 1938, Page 5

SOUTH MAIN TRUNK

OPPOSITION'S ATTITUDE

Opposition members were still criticising the building of railways, particularly the Sduth Island Main Trunk line, and yet the Leader of the Opposition (the Hon. A. Hamilton) had written to some of his supporters in Blenheim giving a pledge that if his party were returned to office it would complete the South Island Main Trunk railway, said Mr. E. P. Meachen (Government, Wairau).

In 1936 eight or nine members of the Opposition had made the South Island Main Trunk railway their chief object of criticism. "I take it that if they were the Government" again they would have a caucus and draw up a line of policy, but, no, according to the Leader of the Opposition he is going to dictate the policy of the National Party," Mr. Meachen continued. "Some of these gentleifflen have been over to Marlborough, and I think they are not playing fair with the public in criticising on every Possible occasion the completion. of that railway and then saying, 'Put us back and we will go on with the line.' I want to tell them that they will never have the'opportunity as the Government to complete that or any other railway. The people have been let down badly enough and they are not going to change over when they can see the progress being made with that particular job. They know that the line will be completed in 1940, and all the stories we have had from members of the Opposition regarding whether it will pay wjll all be blown sky-high when the line is completed. The railway will pay, and in any case, whether it pays in hard cash is not j the all-important question. The all- j important question is that the people j over there have been paying for railways in other districts and have never had railway facilities for themselves. They are going to get them now." GREATER CONTROL. Mr. D. Barnes (Government, Waitaki) said that they must take greater measures of control in the interests of the people. When people talked about reducing costs they meant reducing wages—not interest charges or dividends. They had to have co-operation in civilisation. They were all dependent on one another and merely production was not the real test of social and economic well-being. Distribution was the real test, and unless they cou»d distribute production in an equitable manner, to ensure that everyone would get his reasonable share, there was something wrong with the economic system. They'had to work on a basis of consumption. Mr. Barnes declared that State enterprise would not reveal such evidence of mismanagement and inefficiency as private enterprise. He contended that previous Governments had taken more control over the country's economic life than the present Government had done so far. He thought he was right in saying that in Great Britain more than one-third of the primary industries were controlled by the Government in a varying degree. TAXATION REDUCED. j Mr. W. T. Anderton (Government, £den> made the claim - that the Gov-J

ernment had reduced taxation. In the 1935 Budget they would find that the actual total income for 1934-35 was £103,000,000, and the 'revenue from taxation, including unemployment taxation, was £25,310,000, making taxation 24.6 per cent, of the total income. In the 1936 Budget the actual income was £120,000,000/ and the total taxation, including the unemployment tax, was £25,476,000, or 21.3 per cent. He anticipated that for 1937 the figure would be about 22 per cent.

Touching: on the question of defence, Mr. Anderton said that the Government had created an organisa-

tion for the defence of the Dominion which was lacking1 in 1935 when it took office. It was a known fact that the defences were in better condition now than they had ever been. He did not think it was the proper thing for members of the Opposition to try and create a > scare about the defences. This question should be outside politics altogether.

An entertaining contribution to the debate interspersed with some serious thoughts was made by Mr. D. McDougall (Independent, Mataura). "I am proud that we have such good men in the party that I support," he remarked in reference to the mover and seconder of the motion for the Address in Reply. Alluding to the frequent mention of Socialism, he maintained that the Master had preached and' practised Socialism nearly 2000 years ago, and he could not for the life of him understand any man denouncing such a creed. Private enterprise Mr. McDougall described as "private grab." Everybody did it, and he did not blame artyone for doing v it. "I would do it myself," he added, amidst laughter. Private enterprise was only another term for the survival of the fittest, and thus it brought human kind down to the level of animals. ALL PROMISES HONOURED. Mr. J. O'Brien (Government, Westland) said that before this session was over every one of the twelve points laid down in 1935 by the Prime Minister (the Rt Hon. M. J. Savage) would be on the Statute Book. He recalled that the National Party had a proposal on its manifesto for a compulsory superannuation plan, but they had never intended to put it into operation. Referring to the question of control by outside interests, Mr. O'Brien asked the National Party whence came the £30,000 for advertising purposes. The Rt. Hon. J. G. Coates (National, Kaipara): What £30,000? Mr. O'Brien: The hon. member is one of the old gang, and is probably not in the know. The Forbes-Coates combination has become unpopular, and the new gang is taking charge..

"Where did the £1000 that is to be spent in every electorate come from?" asked Mr. O'Brien. "And where did the money for the whispering campaign come from?"

He added that the coming election would be fought on the issue as to whether or not the people were going to get a chance to apply their labour to the country's means of production and natural resources.