The Northern Advocate Daily FRIDAY, JUNE 12, 1936. A MEMORABLE SESSION

Northern Advocate, 12 June 1936, Page 6

The Northern Advocate Daily

FRIDAY, JUNE 12, 1936. A MEMORABLE SESSION

Registered for transmission through the post as a Newspaper.

The first session of the twentyfifth Parliament of New Zealand was brought to a temporary halt yesterday, when an ad.iournment was made till July 21. The session, so far, has been of a memorable nature. Opened on March 25, with a Labour Government in power for the first time in the history of the Dominion, the Parliamentary machine has travelled at high speed, the brakes being off with a vengeance.' The Government has been true to its promise that there would be no waste time; there certainly has been none, though it is fair comment that a more leisurely pace would at times have been in the interests of sound legislation. It is the quality, rather than the quantity, of the legislation placed on the Statute Book that makes the session memorable. At the outset, the Government submitted, and Parliament adopted, an amendment of the Reserve Bank Act. By one stroke, the Government has converted the Reserve Bank into a State Bank, and assumed control of the credit and currency of the Dominion. This step was taken to pave the way for the Government’s policy con-

eerning guaranteed prices for dairy produce and tlie market-1 ing of that produce. Under aj Primary Products Marketing Act, | the Government is given control, of the Dominion’s exports, though! its guaranteed prices and mar- j keting proposals are to be ap-; plied at present to dairy produce; only. ! On and after August 1, thej Government will become the own- 1 cr of dairy produce, for which it | will pay a price yet to be'fixed. | Pending the sale of the produce, the Reserve Bank will grant the Government an overdraft to allow for payment to dairy companies, and, through the companies, to dairy farmers. As sales of produce are made, the proceeds will towards reduction of the overdraft granted by the Reserve Bank. If, at the end of the financial year, the overdraft has been wiped out and there is a credit balance, that will be the property of the Government, which will dispose of it as it deems fit. If, on the other hand, the overdraft is not wiped out, the Government —in other words the people of the Dominion —-will meet it in whatever way it thinks may be necessary. That there will be a substantial credit balance at the end of the financial year is sincerely to be wished ; whether it should be passed to a reserve to meet lean years, or whether it should be partly devoted to bonuses to producers, are matters which will no doubt be decided when the time for decision arrives.