"PROPHETS OF GLOOM"

Evening Post, Volume CXXVIII, Issue 30, 4 August 1939, Page 5

"PROPHETS OF GLOOM"

COST OF SOCIAL SECURITY

Kemarking that the Opposition members wore running true to form as prophets of gloom, Mr. J. G. Barclay (Government, Marsden) had something to say about their predictions as to the cost of the Social Security scheme. "We have heard a lot from Opposition speakers that Social Security was going to cost £18,000,000, £19,000,000, £20,000,000, even up to £26,000,000," said Mr. Barclay. "We find today that it is going to cost £12,000,000, with £2,000,000 for soldiers' pensions, making a total of £14,000,000. The member for Christchurch North (Mr. S. G. Holland) has said time and again that it was going to cost at least £18,000,000." Mr. Holland: That is right. Mr. Barclay: Opposition members talk a lot about the i;romises made by the Labour Government and not kept. But they themselves promised a lot before the General Election and tried | to persuade the people that Social Security would cost more than the country could meet. , An Opposition member: Benefits have been reduced. Mr. Holland: Yes, the Government has cut out millions of pounds. Mr. Barclay: The benefits will be there as soon as we said that they would be there. The Act never said that the medical .benefits were to be brought in on April 1. It says distinctly that they are to be brought in as soon as possible, and that is what we are doing today. The Leader of the Opposition (the Hon. A. Hamilton): You are collecting the tax, though. Mr. Barclay repeated that the promised benefits would be made available as soon as it was possible for the Government to give them. POLITICAL "LIBERTY. The contention that the civil servants today valued more than anything else the political liberty given to them by the present Government was made by Mr. Barclay. . An Opposition member: They never lost their political liberty. Mr. Barclay said that the loss of their political liberty under the previous Government had cut the civil servants more deeply in their sense of justice than ever the wage cuts had done. Mr. J. A. McL. Roy (National, Clutha): Would a civil servant's job be safe if he spoke against the Government? Mr. Barclay: Yes. If the civil servants have a grievance in any way they can come to a member of Parliament openly today with it. (Opposition laughter.) They are never victimised today, but before we came into office they would never be seen speaking to a Labour member. They were too frightened. FOR DEFENCE PURPOSES. It was regrettable that the petrol tax had to be increased by 4d a gallon, but the Government had to find between £900,000 and £1,000,000 in revenue for defence purposes and had looked around for the best way to get it, said Mr. Barclay. An Opposition member: It is an easy way. Mr. Barclay: Yes, it is easy, and it is spread over the whole of. the people, The Farmers' Union and the Chambers of Commerce have been demanding more expenditure on defence, but when we put on this tax for defence purposes it is all wrong. We know perfectly well that the tax will not be popular. Mr. Holland: You are right there. Mr. Barclay said that many farmers and Opposition members had claimed that it was joy-riders who used the roads most. That was their claim when they asked for derating of farm lands, but now that the tax had been increased the claim was that the farmers were the chief users of the roads. He had made a rough calculation of the effect of the tax on a 2000-ton butter factory, which showed that the company would pay about 2s | a ton towards the defence of New Zealand. Mr. Holland: You put it on for Social Security. Mr. Barclay: I don't think it will ruin the industry altogether.