FINANCE BILL

Evening Post, Volume CXXVIII, Issue 48, 25 August 1939, Page 11

FINANCE BILL

COMMITTEE STAGES

MINISTER'S PLEA

"MUST HAVE MONEY"

Nothing that was new developed when the Committee stages of the passing of the Finance Bill commenced in the House of Representatives this morning, but members of the Opposition showed signs of fighting the measure throughout the remaining stages. The Acting Prime Minister (the Hon. P. Fraser) entered the debate early, and declared that, the Government must have the finance provided for in the Bill.

Nothing was to be gained by resurrecting the Budget debate or the second reading debate, Mr. Fraser said, but he thought the position should be clarified to some extent.

"The Government requires this money and must have it," he said, "or there will be nothing but disaster facing' thousands of families in this country- That is not going to happen. The people of this country are to be safeguarded and will be safeguarded, and as far as human endeavour provides they will not again be subjected to the conditions that existed during the depression years."

The Leader of the Opposition (the Hon. Adam Hamilton): Why should they be in these prosperous times?

LIMIT TO PUBLIC WORKS

Mr. Fraser said that he had no desire to obscure the position. Certain economic difficulties had arisen. It had never been imagined that they would not arise in the first stage of the resuscitation- of the country. There was a limit to what could be spent on Public Works, and that limit was stated in the Budget. The whole reason for the increased loan authority was that it would be disastrous to stop the works that had been commenced. The oroblem now facing the Government was how to direct employment into productive industries.

Drawing attention to the decrease in the overseas funds of the trading banks and the increase in the note issue of the Reserve Bank, the Hon. J. G. Cobbe (National, Manawatu) said there was no doubt that inflation was coming; indeed, to a certain extent it already existed. He urged the Government to reconsider the taxation proposals, which would impose a tremendous burden on the country and cause hardship to almost every section of the community.

Mr. J. Hargest (National, Awarua) said that While some of the proposed expenditure such as that for housing and hydro-electric power purposes would be reproductive, his opinion the huge amount to be borrowed for Public Works would not be in the best interests of the employment of labour in New Zealand. Much of the benefit would go overseas. He recommended that the Public Works programme be spread over a longer period.

Mr. H. G. Dickie (National, Patea) said that a big opportunity existed for spending more on land settlement and less in other directions. It was rather pathetic to note that not a single acre had been purchased by the Labour Government for land settlement purposes during the past two years.

The debate was interrupted by the luncheon adjournment.