TILT AT LEFT WING

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

TILT AT LEFT WING

/'PICTURE OF MISERY"

"I wonder how many of the Left Wing of the Government will not speak at all in this debate," remarked Mr. W. J. Broadfoot (National, Waitomo). "When the Budget > was being read their faces were the picture of misery. It will be interesting to see how many will get upland back up the Budget that has been presented to a staggered country."

Mr. Broadfoot said that the country was ( ». being financially intoxicated. They were not only consuming all the income from production, but they were voraciously devouring all ■ the reserves that had been accumulated by prudent Governments and prudentpeople.

The Budget appeared to him to be a direct onslaught on the farming community, Mr. Broadfoot said, and it was the farming community that supplied the export commodities.

Discussing the problem of the seasonal workers, he said that he had advocated placing them on small areas of land so that they would have a home where they could produce something during the off-season. The Government had not endeavoured to do anything in that direction, and the seasonal workers were asking for relief.

Neither had the Government made any effort to help the hundreds upon hundreds of young and middle-aged men who were employed as labourers. Instead of training those men for industry, the Government was'importing tradesmen. After four years the available. men were still untrained arid unemployment was as bad as ever.

Commenting on the Government's promises to control credit, Mr. Broadfoot said that if there had been intelligent control of currency and credit during the last four years no one could say what would have happened under unintelligent control.

Where was the Government going to get the £5,000,000 required for the development of the iron and steel industry? Mr. Broadfoot asked. If the Government had not interfered in the industry it would have been developed by private enterprise three years ago and the cost would have been nearer £3,000,000 than the present estimate, because the cost of development had risen to a great extent.. The Government would not have private enterprise. It had to have State enterprise at any cost.

Mr. W. P. Endean (National, Remuera): Statesmanship! Mr. Broadfoot: Yes, like all other State ships, it will go on the rocks.