PARLIAMENT

Manawatu Standard, Volume LV, Issue 258, 28 September 1935, Page 11

PARLIAMENT

I THE BUDGET DEBATE. | MR STALLWORTHY’S PROTEST. | WELLINGTON, Sept. 27. I When the House of Representatives I resumed at 2.30 p.m. to-day, Mr I*'. ■ Jones spoke at length on the position I of Queensland in continuation of

I the Budget debate. He referred to I laxity, that, he said, had taken place I in the control of the Dunedin HosI pital by the Otago Hospital Board, I but said that, as the Government ! provided half the money spent by the I board, it was the Government’s duty I to take a greater interest in the way I in which the money was spent. He I had urged that an inquiry should be | undertaken, but the Government J would not act. He urged the adop- | tion of a comprehensive scheme for I the distribution of milk to children. I He referred to the health of nurses I and contended that soiffe provision

I should be made for nurses who conI tracted illnesses in the course of their S work and who were unable to continue I that occupation. Mr A. J. Stallworthy said the Government seomed to have adopted an anti-clerical crusade, and he protested against it. Dealing with the reduction of the public debt, he said it was time the floating debt was abolished, but thero was a contingent liability in connection with the Reserve Bank and the Mortgage Corporation that might amount to several millions. They could not tell what it might be. He regretted there had not been more equality of sacrifice during the depression. They found that more tha nhalf the farmers of the Dominion had had to compound with their creditors, and there were

many thousands of unemployed; yet the Government was setting a new | rate -of salaries and was paying as much as £SOOO, £2OOO and £ISOO per year. He contended that New Zea- ' land was given 12 months’ breathing space in connection with the meat contracts because there was a possibility of a change of Government at the "eitfl of the year. That was the inner history of the meat negotiations,, and an opportunity was given to see if New Zealand would change her ex-lj change policy. He thought women j’ should be exempt from the unem- j , ployment tax because they received practically no benefit from it. ' Mr D. W. Coleman said the legisla- ] tion and administration of the Gov- , ernment had robbed the farmers of : the benefits they should have obtained. 1 The farmers wanted incomes and not; , c charity. The farming population had '. fallen, and if the Government had put 11

more than 3000 people on the land, j how many had it forced off? He proceeded to deal with unemployment and contended that, despite the Minister’s statement, the number of unemployed was not decreasing. He urged that single men should be paid the same as married men on . works under the Minister of Finance’s programme, as the works were not relief jobs but necessary public works. CAUSE AND EFFECT. Mr W. J. Broadfoot said the Labour Party did not seen) to realise that | the shortage of pay in this country | was not caused internally, but that the national income had fallen by about £30,000,000 a year, or 35 per cent. Ho praised the small farm scheme and claimed it was producing excellent results. He did not agree that a single man on relief works should be paid the same as a married man. He thought the married man received 'greater consideration, but he welcomed the increases in pay provided in the Budget. He thought Britain was to be commended on the attitude she had adopted in the Abyssinian dispute, and if Britain went to war New Zealand would have to follow suit. He was sorry that other nations had not made as great efforts| for peace as Britain had. He paid a ! tribute to the success of the native land settlement schemes, and said great credit was due to Sir Apirana Ngata for that success. He regretted

that those schemes at present seemed to be standing still, and said the best way to solve the Maori unemployment problem was to get them back to the land. The debate was adjourned and the House rose at 5.30.