BUDGET DEBATE

Greymouth Evening Star, 12 September 1934, Page 7

BUDGET DEBATE

GOVT. POLICY REVIEWED BOUQUETS AND CENSURES [PER PRESS ASSOCIATION.! WELLINGTON, September 11. In the House, this afternoon, the Alsatian Dog Bill was received from the Legislative Council, and read a first time. The Financial debate was resumed. Mr Coleman was disappointed with the reference in the Budget to railway construction, and would like to have seen the Gisborne-Napier railway completed. Mr Linklater congratulated the Minister of Finance on the optimistic cheerful Budget he placed before the House. He said it must be pleasing to all. to have a balanced Budget. The high exchange rate had been of great benefit to farmers and manufacturers. Farmers had had to be assisted in some way, and that asistance had

been given by raising the exchange. He thought the establishment of .the Mortgage Corporation wou,ld give investors confidence in land investments. The Corporation promised to provide ample security for. land investment.

Mr Wilkinson criticised the raising of the exchange, and considered the Government should be most careful in taxing British goods or they were in danger of setting up conditions that would be to New Zealand’s detriment. To-day, the world had to fight for its markets, and New Zealand seemed to think its outside markets were of little value. France and the

United States were relatively much

better customers of Britain than Argentine, Australia, New Zeeland, and Canada. Regarding the Mortgage Corporation, he said the State Advances and present lending institutions had treated its people very sympathetically. If a man had a case to make, he could put it to the Department, but he would have no chance of doing so to the Corporation. In that case, business would be the essence of the contract. If a man could not pay, he wotijld be sold up. The Auditor-General in his ‘report, said the Dominion had lost a million sterling in conversion of its silver.

Mr Coates: The Auditor-General is up a tree. He does not know what he is saying, and he will say so. Mr Healy, after congratulating the Minister of Finance on what he termed a bull’s-eye Budget, turned to railway construction;, particularly the South Island Main Trunk. He said that part of his electorate had no chance of development while that railroad was at a standstill. He wondered what the Railway Board could manage. It could not manage eVen a sawmill, and it should not be left to the Board to say whether the railway should be proceeded with or not. It would be to the interests of the coun-

try to complete both the South Island Main Trunk and the Gisborne-Napier line. He, hoped if a reasonable proposition were put to the Government by private enterprise to take over the Christchurch-Picton lipe, it would not stand in the way.

Mr Healy appealed to the Minister of Lands and the Government to consider ways of placing unemployed men in the South Island on small farms. Mrs McCombs said she could not help thinking that when the Government drew up its plans for the year, it had not a thought of the unemployed. People did not want a reduction in unemployment taxation while unemployment continued. She contended that the reduction should not have been made. The unemployed were in a desperate plight, were living in misery, and often with a bailiff under the same roof. Surely, if there seemed to be a turn in the tide of the Government’s finances, something should have been done for those people. She was astonished considering all the appeals that had been made by businessmen and others that the Government had done nothing for the unemployed boys. The Government did not seem to have sufficient imagination to realise that boys and girls were the best asset the Dominion had. The Government continued to Collect an increasing sum, it must be over a million annually, from women, yet it was putting unemployed women and girls off with only a few pounds. It was time the Government did something adequate for those women and girls. She pleaded with the Government to do something for returned soldier® who suffered as the result of war service, bu,t who were unable to prove their present condition was due to war service. Mr Endean said he did not think the raising of the exchange was contrary to the spirit of the Ottawa agreement, his understanding being that that question was left open Jo each Dominion to decide for itself. He considered that with the price of gold at about £ 7 it would pay the Government to encourage that industry and relax the restrictions as much as possible. The tourist industry was another thing that should be given every encouragement. He thought the old-age pension restoration should have been made retrospective and consolidated. Instead of restoring the wage cut to civil servants, the Government should have reduced taxation, under which the whole country was staggering, and taken a big slice off the unemployment tax.

LIKE COLUMBUS. Mr McKeen said that members l on the Government side evidently had been vieing with each other to find suitable words to praise the Budget, but he compared it with Columbus, who, when he set out, did not know where he was going. When he got there, he did not know where he was, and when he got back he did not know where he had been. He asked the Government to do something to improve the apprenticeship position. The housing problem was one that should be tackled. There was a definite shortage of houses. Two or three families were compelled to live in one house because they could not pay the rent. He contended the Budget should have shown a deficit of £2,967,000. In addition, the National debt was piling up year by year. The National debt when the United Party took office was 251 millions; it increased by sixteen millions under the United Government, and seventeen milions under the Coalition. Mr Cobbe said the courageous administration had produced the present satisfactory Budget. The Government Was satisfied that the Mortgage Corporation would have a beneficial ef-

feet, especially on those who produced the real wealth of the country. Secondary industries could be successful only as far as they could supply local needs. It was to the primary producers that the Dominion must look. The exchange had been of great benefit to farmers. He doubted if any Act passed in recent years had been of greatei’ benefit than the Mortgages and Tenants Relief Act. There was a steadily increasingtendency to settle matters privately, but many were left to the Commissions, showing the confidence placed in the Commissions. Had it not been for that Act. he shuddered to think what would have happened to farmers in the Dominion. The debate was interrupted, and the House rose at midnight.