MR HOLLAND GIVES REASONWHY HAS GOVERNMENT DELAYED MILITARY TRAINING PLAN ?

Greymouth Evening Star, 17 August 1949, Page 4

MR HOLLAND GIVES REASON—WHY HAS GOVERNMENT DELAYED MILITARY TRAINING PLAN ?

WELLINGTON, This Day (P.A.)“It is quite obvious that the delay in launching military training is entirely due to the importance of relieving this year’s finances and thus make an election year Budget possible,” said the Leader of the Opposition, Mr S. G. Holland, today. He said that in anticipating the contents of the 1949 Budget the public would not fail to consider three important factors: i 1. This was election year and the Minister of Finance, Mr Nash, had never failed to use his election year Budget to woo the electors and there was no reason to suppose that 1949 would be any exception. “Millions To Spare” 2. The Minister had so «many millions to spare last year that he

had to transter them to other accounts so that he could operate freely in election year. 3. The urgency for military training seemed to have passed away since Mr Nash began writing his Budget and the first recruits would not enter camp for nearly another year. Therefore no provision would have to be made to meet this new defence expense till next year. That was most significant. “The Minister ; has upwards of £10,000,000 to ‘play with,’ so that the public has every reason to anticipate some juicy electioneering bait on Thursday night, but it will take more than an electioneering

Budget to arrest the present deterioration in the Government’s fortunes,” said Mr Holland. “The delay in getting military training going will disappoint those who worked so hard for the referendum. We were all told that the situation was critical and very urgent; that the referenoum could not even wait until the General Election. It iis nd use saying that the military i authorities could not handle the recruits until next. May. “They showed during the war that they can rise to the occasion if only they know the Government’s plans. What they did before they can do again. The whole trouble is that the Government has just muddled along without plans for defence.”