BUDGET DEBATE.

Hawera Star, Volume XLVIII, 9 August 1924, Page 6

BUDGET DEBATE.

CONCLUSION REACHED. PREMIER ANSWERS CRITICS. (by TELEGRAPH —PRESS ASSOCIATION.) WELLINGTON, Aug. 8. Ihe debate on the Budget was concluded _in the House to-night. The discussion was continued during the afternoon and evening, and at . 10.30 p.m. the Minister for Finance (Mr W. I-. Massey) rose to reply. Mr Massey said the" Budget ha (s come through the debate sound and unscathed; indeed, so little had it suffered by criticism that his reply was only the mother of courtesy and not the mother of necessity. It had been said that the Budget disclosed no policy. That was not so, for it disclosed a great policy clearly in that the policy was to keep the country prosperous.'

1 ault had been found that the Budget had a. surplus. That was an unusual fault to find. He did not think W'e should always aim at showing a big surplus every year, but this was a good surplus, and lie had no doubt .‘*l fhose members who had adversely criticised it would shortly be swarming round him to get some of the money spent in their districts. It had jeen said the Budget was inaccurate, ft was strictly accurate, with one exception. There was one slight mistake m the title of a Bill mentioned in the document.

He proceeded to discuss the terms on which the recent loans were raised, which was another proof of the prosperity of the country and the people. He knew there were executions, but the general position was that the people arid the country were prosperous. He defended the setting up of the taxation Commission, which he said called attention to injustices connected with the land tax. He did not sav he was prepared to repeal the land tax but he would see that the producers were not again subjected to double taxation. He was not bound to accept all the recommendations of the commission, but he had no doubt that as a result of their recommendations they would be able to make some valuable improvements.

He maintained that no bad bargain had been made in funding the debt to Britain. We had got exactly the same terms as Australia. The funding " as arranged at 6 per cent, -which included sinking fund. Later on he anticipated that money would become cheaper, when it would be the duty of those in charge of the financial affairs of the Dominion to raise a loan, say, at 4 per cent, and oav off the debt of £26,000,000 to Britain. That was his intention from the first, as it would not be adding to the indebtedness of the country.

It had been said the Budget did not disclose the position of the State’s Bank of New Zealand shares. The position was fully set out in the investment account as an investment, and the country made a very good bargain in that connection. Ihe first declaration of policy in the Budget was a reduction of taxation. No country could prosper if the taxationivas too heavy. It was too heavy in New- Zealand.. Previous reductions nad led to a diminution of unemployed, until it had practically disappeared. Taxation would be further recluced this year. Cabinet had not yet decided in what, direction the reduction would go, but the right thing would be clone. The next item of policy was legislation in connection with the moratorium, which would help to save those men who could be saved. At the same time he had reason to beheve 'that the trouble in connection w ith mortgages w r as more imaginary than real. Then there w T as a proposal to make the widow’s bonus permanent, and a proposal to provide a second cruiser, which would be something in the way of making our proper contribution to the British Navy which we were not doing now. As to land settlement, he contended tile Government was doing very well, and, in conjunction with immigration' he hoped to he able to do a great deal niore before long. There were other items of policy -which had been more than once announced. They were pushing on with public works, railways, and hydro-electric works, drainage and irrigation. His desire was to see these works completed and put in a profitbearing position. Tte Premier then nroceeded to refer to details of the Budget with a view to showing that the figures coincided exactly with the figures of the AuditorGeneral, which, he contended, was a complete answer to Mr T. M. Wilford’s charges of arithmetical inaccuracies. He quoted corresnondence which had passed between the Secretary of the Treasury and the Auditor-General on the subject of the accuracy of the figures relating to the public debt. The Secretary of the Treasury asked that these figures be examined with the object of ascertaining, if they were inconsistent with the detailed results as shown in the Auditor-General’s reports «iucl the audited accounts. To this rcquest the Auditor-General replied that he had had the figures examined, and that, Hie apparent differences arose Horn different methods of setting out the transactions, and that the figures could be readily reconciled with the audit figures shown in his report. That was, Mr Massey claimed, an answer to .M r. Mil ford’s charges, which, if they had been true, would have necessitated he and the officers of the treasury going to gaol. The House then agreed to the motion that it go into committee of supply to consider the estimates, whereupon the Premier moved to report, pro- *??*■ Sf i’ ai,d tile House rose at midnight I till 2.30 p.m. on Tuesday.