THE ELECTION MANY QUESTIONS ASKED

Greymouth Evening Star, 4 November 1946, Page 2

THE ELECTION MANY QUESTIONS ASKED

MR. HOLLAND GIVES FURTHER POLICY DETAILS THE ANSWER TO COMMUNISM (P.A.) CHRISTCHURCH, Nov. 4. Making the seventeenth speech of his election campaign, Mr. S. G. Holland opened a brief personal campaign as National candidate for Fendalton in the Rugby Street Hall on Saturday. There was an attendance of about 600, and many others were unable to get into the crowded hall. He was given an excellent hearing and a vote of thanks and confi- . dence without dissent. Mr. Holland did not go over the full outline of the. party’s policy again, and much of his speech was in the form of answers to questions which had been asked during his North Island tour. He had been asked, said Mr. Holland, if the National Party proposed to sell some Government-held land to returned servicemen to build homes on, and if the Land Sales Act would be maintained to control inflation. His answer was that 'it was proposed to sell some of the large number of sections held by the Government, which in itself would have a stabilising effect on land values. The amendments proposed to the Land Sales Act did not apply to the land, only to the improvements, and were designed to bring properties on to the market and to prevent “under the counter” payment.

Another questioner wanted to know if, under the National policy, a man who had already postponed retirement would be entitled to the higher rate of age benefit. The answer was “yes.” “The answer is no; we are not going to spoil the ship for a ha’porth of tar,” said Mr. Holland, when replying to a questioner who had asked if there would be any fees or stamp duty on converting a home to joint ownership between the husband and wife.

Purchase of Houses. Another person wanted to know if he must decide at once to buy the State house he was tenanting under one of the four options proposed by the National Party. The answer was that he could postpone his decision for as long as he liked, provided the National Party was the Government, and could buy at the time that suited him, not the time that suited the Government. Further, while he remained a tenant 20 per cent, of his rent in the future, as in the past, would be credited towards his deposit. Another tenant who had been in one State house for five years, and a second for nine months, asked over what period 20 per cent, of his rent would be credited to his deposit. The answer was the whole five years and nine months.

Mr. Holland said that since he had made his opening policy speech the question of double unit State houses had been looked into again, and it had been decided that it would be possible to sell each unit provided the two stood on their own land and were not of the two-storey type, with one unit above the other.

Age Benefits and Superannuation. An age beneficiary had written expressing appreciation of the proposal that his allowable earnings should be increased from £1 a week to 30/-, but asked why there should be any limit on earnings. Mr. Holland said that seemed sensible enough, but that would entitle almost everyone to the age benefit, resulting in an increased cost of about £10,000,000, and the party could not see its way to do that. K man- drawing superannuation asked if he could be excused from paying social security taxation because he could not get the age benefit. Mr. Holland pointed out that the man was able to draw other benefits if he needed them. To meet that situation it was proposed to exempt superannuation income from income tax up to £3OO and to class the first £3OO of assessable income as earned income and not as “unearned,” on which one-third extra tax was payable. Every visit he had made overseas had confirmed his original impression that the menace of. Communism was growing, said Mr. Holland. There was only one way to deal with Communism and that was to make the alternative practicable and acceptable. The National Party wanted to see a great many little capitalists owning the means of production, distribution, and exchange. If that were done New Zealand would not be a fertile field for the growth of Communism.

He wanted to see as many people as possible owning their own homes, farms and businesses, and it was equally important that they should have a financial interest in the money system. Therefore, the National Party proposed that two-thirds of the shares in the Bank of New Zealand should be available to the people, with the qualification that there should be a fairly low limit on the number of shares held by one shareholder, and that there should be a reasonable limit to dividends. He wanted to have their interest as much as their money in the bank. Control of Credit.

The Government must have control of currency and credit, and so it was proposed that four of the six directors should be nominated by the Government. Mr. Holland said the National Party was asked how it could give effect to its policy without increasing taxation. His answer was that the Government budget this year provided for a balance in cash, according to the Reserve Bank statistical summary, of £21,200,000. The War Expenses Account began this year with a surplus of £11,700,000, ahcl £1,000,000 more than was being spent would be raised by taxation, making a total balance of £12,700,000. The Social Security Fund began with a balance of £ 1,500,000 and would finish with one of £4,000,000, and the Consolidated Fund, beginning with £4,500,000, finish with the same balance. Food Subsidies.., Asked after his address what the National Party would do about food subsidies, Mr. Holland said it would put the peg in to stop them from going higher. It would have to go on paying them until it could remove the need for them, because the only alternative would be to increase retail prices, which would lead to a demand for higher wages and start the spiral off again.