"FAVOURITE HORSE"

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

"FAVOURITE HORSE"

DEFENCE EXPENDITURE

"I have heard the Minister of Public Works described as 'Public Enemy No. 1' in the handling of the finances of this country," said Mr. A. E. Jull (National, Waipawa). "The man who told me that claimed that Mr. Semple had bolted and that there was nothing in Cabinet to hold him." * Mr. Jull contended that there was very little difference between the amount allocated for defence this year and allocated last year. Mr. Fraser: A million more! Mr. Jull: Defence seems to be a very favourite horse to back. Every little bit of expenditure they can unload on to him is being, unloaded. The horse won't get very far round the course. It will carry too much Aveight. Concern at the present condition of the Main Highways Fund was expressed by Mr. Jull, who outlined the effect that borrowing had had on the board's resources. There were, he said, a large number of people who thought that the petrol ! tax went into the Highways Fund. That was not true. The Minister of Housing (the Hon.

H. T. Armstrong): This Budget tells them where it goes. HIGHWAYS FINANCE. Mr. Jull said that the board received sixpence a gallon out of the previous levy, the balance going to the Consolidated Fund. The additional amount of tax provided' for in the Budget would also go to the Consolidated Fund, is that the Highways Board would not receive any evtra revenue. At the present time there was a balance of loan money totalling £7,500,000 against the board. This year it was proposed to expend £5,267,000. That would require a further loan of £2,500,000, making the total loan liability of the Main Highways Board £10,000,000. The board was paying interest at from 3 per cent, to 4J per cent. Assuming it to be an average of 4 per cent., the board, which also had to provide a sinking fund of 3.1 per cent, for redemption, would have to pay 7 per cent, out of its revenue towards these two items. That would amount to about £700,000. The total liabilities of the board in the way of subsidies to local bodies and so on were £1,032,500. The board's revenue was £2,630,000, so that if the policy of borrowing money were continued they would soon reach the point where a major portion of the board's revenue would be diverted to the payment of interest and sinking upon loans already expended on the highways. He had said for many years that the rural roads should receive some consideration. There were over 30,000 j miles of roads not receiving a penny ! from the Main Highways Fund despite the use that was made of them by all matiner of traffic. In his opinion the Main Highways Board was being used to a considerable extent for the purpose of assisting to deal with unemployment, and he did not think that it was a fair deal. The country should know exactly what unemployment relief was costing instead of the true facts being hidden in a variety of ways as at present. RELIEF OF UNEMPLOYMENT. It was pure moonshine to say that the petrol tax was for defence purposes only, declared Mr. Jull. The plain fact was that the additional £2,500,000 in taxation was~to cover up the £2,590,000 item in the Budget for employment promotion and the £400,000 from the Native Department vote for the same purpose. Was it just a coincidence of figures? "Apparently we are going to have as much expenditure this year on unemployment as we had last year with cur £6,444,000,*' he added.