IN PARLIAMENT

Manawatu Standard, Volume LVII, Issue 306, 25 November 1937, Page 2

IN PARLIAMENT

JOTTINGS FROM THE HOUSE. IMPORTANCE OF WOOL. The importance of the wool industry in New Zealand was illustrated by the Hon. J. E. Duncan (Auckland), one of the recently appointed members of the Legislative Council, when lie made his maiden speech yesterday on the second reading stage of the Sale of Wool Bill. Mr Duncan, who for the past 14 years has been a sheep-farmer near Te Awamutu, said New Zealand was in a unique position, in that she had a greater number of sheep per square mile than any other country in the world. She had about 273 per square mile whereas Australia had only’ about 33. New Zealand also had about one-twenty-fifth of the world’s flocks in her little territory. Referring to the necessity for research in the woollen industry, Mr Duncan said there were men at Massey Agricultural College who had achieved a great amount of INCREASED TAXATION. The claim that the hardship clause in the Finance Bill would exclude thousands of land taxpayers suffering severe hardship was made by Mr S. G. Holland during the second reading debate on the Bill in the House of Representatives yesterday. Mr Holland gave typical examples to illustrate lus complaint that the Government had unduly increased taxation. On one piece of land, he said, the graduated land tax was £419 when the Government came into power. Under the Labour Government’s taxation scheme, although the Government had been (Hedged to oppose higher taxation, the land tax levied amounted to £2698. HARDER LIFE. “The Labour Government has done nothing for the small farmer except to make his life harder,” said Mr AV. A. Bodkin, discusing various aspects of the guaranteed price scheme. A member of the Government had said that economic and social forces combined had doomed tho small, farmer to gradual extinction. The reason for that was that men on the land who found themselves successful units in a system of private enterprise would be opposed to the collectivist principles of Socialism. PURCHASE OF BUSINESS. “It has been stated that £60,000 of the dairy-farmers’ money has been taken out of the Dairy Industry Account to pay for the purchase of Picot Brothers,” said the Minister of Finance (Hon. AV. Nash). could be further from the truth. Not a penny, of the dairy-farmers’ money was used. The only authority by law under which the purchase could be made was to take the money out of the Dairy Industry Account, but it will be a charge against the Internal Marketing Account inside the Dairy Industry Account.” AUSTRALIAN COMPARISON. The whole guaranteed price scheme had also been attacked by the Opposition. Mr Nash continued, and it had been stated that dairy-far mere in New Zealand were worse off than their Australian competitions. Figures showed that the average (layout in New Zealand last year was approximately 12.66 d, whereas the payout in Australia was something over lid. Irrespective of the bonus paid to Australoan producers, the New Zealand fanners were in an infinitely better position. SOLDIER SETTLERS. A claim that the losses in the administration of the discharged soldiers’ settlement scheme would have been fatgreater but for tile sympathetic cooperation between the Lands Department and the Mortgage Corporation was made by the Minister of Lands (Hon. F. Langstone). Discussing the effect of the slump oil the scheme, Mr Langstone said that much more damage could have been done had it not been for the sympathetic administration of the Lands Department. In 1923-24 £3,970,000 had been written off as a definite loss. There had been other losses since that date, of course, and in all the total loss represented by the writing down of land values was £6,820,000. That amount did not include additional losses which would follow from cases now being considered. TENANTS’ RIGHTS, i Explainng an amendment in the Finance Bill the Minister of Finance said that it was proposed that no, person could be evicted from a home, provided he had paid the rent, was not a nuisance to his neighbours and was not letting part of the home at a profit, unless alternative accommodation was found. '* “Does that apply to State houses?” asked Mr K. J. Holvoake. Mr ]^ T ash :It applies to all houses.