Budget Debate Continues

Manawatu Times, Volume 63, Issue 184, 6 August 1938, Page 5

Budget Debate Continues

Guaranteed Price Defended tl J o: MR. ROY’S PLEA FOR DEFENCE I a si 1 1: WELLINGTON, Last Night. h Continuing the Budget debate in tho House after the luncheon adjournment ( at 2.30 p.m. Rev. C. L. Carr (Timaru) p said that the present CJovernmeut by ,s controlling tho finance of the country b had taken charge of the exchange, cur- t rcncy and credit, and it had reduced p costs. It had reduced the highest cost f of all to farmers, namely the interest c charges, and was protecting them from t the financial marauders who had been'g responsible for the last slump condi- t tions.' |p Honourable gentlemen on the other | side of tho House had often spoken of 3 rugged individualism as opposed to > Socialism and had accused tho members r on the Government benches of not i being religious, said Mr. Carr. lie c would like to quote the following sentence, he said: “Wo are members one « of another. No man liveth to himself 1 or dieth to himself." i Where was their rugged individual- > ism then, he asked. Rugged individ- c ualism was not only anti-Socialistic but j also anti-social. Socialism was nothing i but the articulation and implementa- < tion of social functions and duties. ( Under tho Guaranteed Price, said Mr. j Carr, the Opposition said that the ] farmers had lost ownership of their ] produce. "What did they want? he ask- ; ed. Did they want to keep it? Ho ; knew if he were a bootmaker and had : made a pair of boots he would be only i too glad to lose the ownership of hi§ ; product to a buyer. He asked if tho i Opposition would deny that their publicity liad been submitted to a certain . reputable firm for circulation through , that film’s circuit, but the firm had refused to put the Opposition propaganda over for them. Mr. S. G. Holland: Who are you talking about? Mr. Carr: The Fuller Hayward circuit. Mr. Carr admitted that some fanners were transferring from dairy produce to sheep. The Opposition stated that the reason was that they did not like tho Guaranteed Price, but this was not tho real reason. It was because the stock and station agents were gelling nothing from the marketing of dairy produce, but they were from wool, and they refused to finance fanners unless they changed from dairy to sheep farming. He also Tefened to railway freight charges, stating that until tho Government took over all road transport services competing with railways it would be impossible for railways to rationalise freight charges. Secondary Industries for Secondary Towns. Mr. Carr also entered a plea for the establishment of secondary industries in secondary towns. Why should they all be kept in large towns, he asked. There they tended to create slum conditions, but if the}* were established ia secondary towns it would allow workers to bo in touch with tho open country. Mr. J. A. Roy (Clutha) dealt with the need for a defence system adequate for a protection of New Zealand’s trade, stating that the threat of war was much, greater now than in 1913. Comparing the value of trade at that time with the present he argued that more should now bo spent on defence. In 1913, said Mr. Roy, New Zealand had 30,000 men in training, whereas today tho defence force was 7000, and of those only 3000 had gone into camp last year. When a house is strongly defended burglars are less likely to outer it, he said, and if a country is strongly defended burglars are less likely to enter it, he said, and if a country is strongly defended it is safer from invasion. If New Zealand had 20,000 trained men tho country would bo reasonably safe. Force Needed to Repel Invaders. It wae generally admitted that New Zealand and Australian troops were the best storm troops in the world. But when they landed at Gallipoli they had been held back by an inferior force.

rom that he came to the conclusion at any force attempting to invade ew Zealand •would require to be ten to le to have a chance of success. In her words, a strongly defended couny was sure of a bloodless victory. In Idition to security fre u invasion, a rong defence force would help indue* ies such as the wool industry, Mr. oy said. \ Compensated Price Criticised. Mr. R, Coulter (Waikato), referring irticularly to the dairying industry, ated that all the figures which find een produced showed that dairy lac>ry costs had not increased out of all roportion to the guaranteed price. They •cquently heard the words <4confisite" and 4 ‘commandeerin relation ) the guaranteed price, and it bad been jggested that producers had the right ) control the marketing of their own roducc. We had that in years gone by, said Ir. Coulter, and what had happenedf re had an orgy of speculation and lanipulatiou by those who were faming the farmer. It would be the height £ folly to go back to that system. Concerning the compensated price, he aid that when the scheme bad first een introduced it was intended that . price would be paid the producer rhich would give him a substantial inrease on the London parity, but it was ecu that this would not obviate the iolent fluctuations of the market under vhich the farmer could not with any ertainty budget ahead in regard to his ncorne. The promoters of the scheme lad Boon realised that it would be imiracticablo and a new system was sug;ested, based on four points which were it present all included in the Government's guaranteed price scheme. The Government had no need to apologise ’or taking anyone else’s scheme, because the four points of the compensated >rice scheme were already embodied in ts own policy. The Government bad lone everything possible to meet the farmers and he was of the opinion that he farmers had every confidence that he Government would handle the situition in the right way. The Government had proved a good friend to the farmer, especially the lairy farmer, and also to their employees. The most extraordinary thing About the speeches of the Opposition, mid Mr. Coulter, was that they should icsire to create the iin£>ression that the [Government, in wishing to socialise the means of production, distribution and exchange, was thereby nationalising the Land. Actually, he said, the Government had given back to the farmers the equities and goodwills of which they had been robbed, and he was glad to say that there was no possibility of the Government taking those equities and goodwills from the farmers again. A Better Deal by British .Press. The Minister of Mines (Hon. P. C. Webb) stated that the press of Great Britain had been fairer in their criticism of the present New Zealand Budget than of New Zealand, in which he had failed to find a single word of eulogy or even lair criticism. lie went on to refer to the accusations which the Opposition had made regarding the large expenditure on public works, and said the money in this direction was being expended principally on roads to enable backblock farmers to get to markets and motorists to use the highways with a greater degree of safety. £2,000,00(1 had been spent on main highways in the last year. One must be impressed, he said, in travelling through the country, with the necessity lor pushing on with an up-to-date loading system. There was no county in the country, he said, where more roads were not badly needed. Personally ho considered they were not spending enough public works money on roads and ramps to eliminate dangerous level crossings. In regard to the latter, the Minister was doing a job which should have been done years a^o. Mr. Webb went on to refer to the Minister of Public Works’ survey of backblock roads, stating that when the present scheme was finished it would moan that settlers who bad not had proper road access for 40 years would have good roads. Already, in a little over a year, he said, 1500 miles of backblock roads had been completed. The debate was interrupted by the adjournment at 5.30, and the House rose.