TIME NEEDED

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXX, Issue 21172, 13 August 1943, Page 4

TIME NEEDED

MR. J. A. LEE’S PLEA “MAN-POWER BUNGLES" (P.R.) * WELLINGTON. Aug. 12. The view that, it was not fair to expect members to accept in a few days a Bill which altered the whole basis of tenure was expressed by Mr. J. A. Lee (Dern. Lab.. Grey Lynn), speaking in the second reading of the debate on the Servicemen’s Settlement and Land Sales Bill in the House of Representatives last evening. It would not be unreasonable from Ihe Government’s point of view, he declared, if the new House was to set up a committee that would spend three months on the Bill. He hoped that when the servicemen were, rehabilitated, instead of giving them land and compelling them to be slaves to a debt-finance system, they would give them half the area of land free from debt and allow the farming community to enjoy some of the benefits of the age of leisure. “Wc should start the application of this scheme with the person who has an excess of land,” said Mr. Lee. “Why attempt to put the wind up every person who has only sufficient land for his own use?" Opposition Members: Hear, near! Me thought there was a danger of causing every existing tenant to fight to defeat the measure: That would be of advantage to the soldiers. “A lot of the land aggregation today was due to a bungled man-power policy,” continued Mr. Lee. “Wo pulled out the farmers right and left and left women and children and oldage pensioners to struggle on the broad acres. They have not been able to -carry the burden and have walked off.” Nobody could demand the right to sell at one level and to be taxed at another level, and if the State was going to have the right to buy there should be a guarantee Ihe State that it would prevent a tenant from being forced to sell at a fraction and a guarantee to instal a new currency system that would give' stability to local productivity. To-day, the country was in an inflationary period, apd he did not think it would go back to the 1939 level ol currency. If it- did, it would have the greatest depression that had ever hit it." It would be compelled to stabilise on the higher level after the war. If they devalued to the 1938 level, they would have to pay 19s 9d in the pound of their income in taxation.