BEER AND BANANAS

Grey River Argus, 21 September 1945, Page 4

BEER AND BANANAS

DANCE HALLS AND PRICES Debate on Estimates F.A. WELLINGTON, September 20. The House went, into committee to consider the estimates. Mr S. G. Holland (Nat., Christchurch North) said that in the Publicity Sectom which was being set up in the Prime Minister’s Department, the Government, apparently, had an eye to elections . next year, and wanted the public to get information which the Government desired it to get. He said it appeared that some people, who were now really supe’’f’.ions, were being found jobs. The vote was passed. Speaking to a vote of £207,987 for the Prime’Minister’s Department, Mr F. Langstone (Govt., Waimarino) sa’d there had been a lot of “high faintin’’ nonsense talked about the High Commissioner’s residence in Ottawa. To say that the subsidence under the building was the reason for the spending of so much money was moonshine nonsense. Most of the money; had been spent on additions, on the enlarging of rooms, and on making the kitchen longer. He felt very keenly about the matter, being the person who had purchased the building on behalf of New Zealand. Rt. Hon. Mr Fraser said that no one could convince him that the Ottawa building was not a good bargain. But nobody could convince him that the foundations of the building had not collapsed altogether. There had been £5266 spent on the repairs up to last April. The full accounts were not yet to hand, hut he would be pleaser! to Prepare a detailed statement for the House.

The vote was passed. Mr W. J. Polson (Nat., Stratford) snoke on the Department of Island Territories vote of £388.177. He said the value of New Zealand imports of bananas from S~moa had risen from £48,000 in 1944-4b*to £BB 000 this year. A question that would b° of interest to house-wives in New Zealand was why, when the banana growers received 6s 6d per case for bananas, they cost the consumer fifty shillings? The landed cost at Auckland was twenty shillings.

Mr A. G. Osborne (Govt., Onehunga) said that while the banana grower received 6s 6d per case, the other expenses in Samoa brought the total to 13s 3d fo h. ner case. In New Zealand the difference between the twenty and the fifty shillings was swallowed up largely by “good old private enternrise”. Mr Osborne pointed out that if private enterprise and the “jungle law of the auctioneers” had been allowed to continue in the banana market last year, the price, instead of being sevenpence and sevenpence half-pence ner lb, would have been in the vicinity of Is 6d to two siblings per pound.

The vote was nassed. The votes of £90.191 for the Audit Department; £28.475 for the Public Service Commissioner; and £25.393 for the Electoral Department were put through without, discussion. Mr FoFon, sneaking to a vote of £875.675 _ for the Police Department, referred to the Question of the drinking of liquor in the vic'nitv of country done their best to sunpress it. but in dance halls. He sa ; d nolice had one Taranaki district their work had been handicapped because the Magistrate look too lenient a view of these offences. Mr Fraser,, said that he thought it was incumbent on those administering the law to inquire into an admitted evil, and Mr Polson wag justified in calling attention to the matter. Mr J. ’A. Roy, (Nat... Clutha) said that another aspect of the problem was that, while most of the police were doing their utmost to detect offenders, there were apparently a few of the police who were not doing their job in this respect. Mr Fraser said that if the names of any such officers were supplied bv Mr Rov to the Commissioner of Police, he'would deal promptly with the matter. Hon. Mr Nash said it cost New Zealanders twopence farthing weekly, for all protection we got from the police force. There was a lesser proportion of crime in this countrv, and more efficient protection, than in any other countrv; he knew of. We had the cheapest and most efficient police force in the world. The vote was passed. The House rose at 10.12,