BUDGET DEBATE

Grey River Argus, 19 August 1944, Page 2

BUDGET DEBATE

WAR TIME PROBLEMS Rehabilitation Issues P.A. WELLINGTON, August 17. One Minister joined the occupants of the back benches in continuing tne Budget debate in the House of Representatives this afternoon.

Mr. P. Neilson (Govt., Dunedin Central) praised the appointment of Hon. Mr. Boswell as New Zealand Minister to Moscow. He said that the Government could not have selected a better representative. It had been suggested that all that was required was a trade representative, but while a trade representative was very essential, Nev; Zealand wanted more than that. What was wanted was a man who could convey to New Zealand just what was going on in Russia. It had been said that, when the war was over, the next country that we would have to fight would be Russia. He did not believe that. It the Allies, played their part towards Russia, the Soviet would play its part in turn. REHABILITATION. Mr. T. L. MacDonald (Nat., Mataura) asked what was meant by rehabilitation. He said he knew there was great confusion about it in the minds of both returned servicemen and home servicemen. An impression hafl been conveyed that all that men had to do was to sign on a dotted line and get a farm or a home. Lt was wrong to give an impression that the State was going to do everything. Men should not be filled with false hope. The public should not be misled into thinking there was no need for them to help. As far as rehabilitation on the land was concerned, there was too much delay. Delay was a needless expense to both returned' men and to those people who were prepared to sell their farms. The main trouble about rehabilitation on the land was that vendors would not sell to returned soldiers. This was because they were afraid that their price would be reduced to an unfair degree. The Returned Servicemen’s Association had put forward an amendment to the Land Sales Act which appeared fair, and should meet the position, but nothing had been done about it. OPPOSITION ANSWERED. Hon. W. E. Parry said the Opposition had made a number of charges against the Government. Opposition speakers had complained about shortages of coal, manures, gum transport, manpower, houses and goods. They complained of high taxation, and of a threat to liberty, in all of these allegations the Opposition was capitalising on the war difficulties. The shortage of coal had been explained, and every member knew that the Japanese had cut off the main source of New Zealand’s manures. In spite of .that, however, more manure had been imported during the past five years 'than during the five years before the war. Difficulties over gum boots, transport and manpower were all due to the war conditions, and the Government had had to decide whether to continue building houses for the Japanese to occupy, or to take men to prevent the Japanese from reaching New Zealand. The Opposition spoke much oi farmers having unfair burdens, but the farmers had paid off a substantial portion of their mortgage indebtedness since the present Government took office. Mr. Parry said that, whil e the family benefits provided in the Budget were a great help to those raising families, he hoped that the time was not far distant when the child allowances would, be replaced by a straight-out endowment of motherhood, independent of wages, which should stand on their own. The better that the conditions could be made for motherhood the better would be the physique and health of the whole nation.