First Shots Fired In Budget Debate; Hamilton – Savage

Northern Advocate, 22 July 1938, Page 6

First Shots Fired In Budget Debate; Hamilton - Savage

[Per Press Association. Copyright. 1 WELLINGTON. This Day, JT'jHE DEBATE ON THE BUDGET WAS OPENED BY IHE LEADER OF A THE OPPOSITION, THE HON. ADAM HAMILTON, WHEN THE HOUSE RESUMED AT 7.30 LAST NIGHT. MR HAMILTON STATED THAT THOSE WHO HAD LISTENED TO THE READING OF THE BUDGET THE PREVIOUS EVENING BY THE MINISTER OF FINANCE HAD FELT A KEEN SENSE OF DISAPPOmTMENT THAT THERE WAS NO RELIEF FROM TAXATION. IT WAS A “SOFT-PEDALLING” BUDGET, ALTHOUGH IT WAS AN ORTHODOX ONE. Government, he said, seemed lo bo taking credit for all the Dominion’s prosperity today, and blamed the Opposition for all past difficulties, but he considered that past Governments, which had laid the foundation of New. Zealand’s economy, were more entitled to credit for the present prosperous period than the present Labour Government. He continued that it would be quite safe to say that thousands of people in all classes of the community had anticipated that the 1938 Budget would bo an occasion on which the Government would honour the very definite promises it made last election, and disappointment at the absence of such fulfilment would be intense.

Unredeemed Promises. The Government had promised to remove the sales tax, but in its first year had taken over £3,000,000, In the second £3,500,000, and in the third it proposed to take another £3,400,000. |n three years it had levied almost fill),000,000. The Government,, added Mr Hamilton, was obviously soft-pedalling. Was it any wonder that people would not again trust a Government that treated its promises as scraps of paper Thousands of people, he added, thought the Prime Minister would keep his promise to remove the exchange rate, and would be bitterly disappointed at no reference being made whatever to the question in the Budget. Workers would be disappointed that £8,500,000 unemployment taxation was to be made available to some 8000 unemployed, and the same number on sustenance. If it were wrong, indefensible and iniquitous for the past Government to take £4,000,000 by a flat rate method of taxation, then the iniquity was only intensified by the present Government in taking over £5,000,000 by the same method. ; Unemployment. He would say quite emphatically that if. the Opposition had been in office to&iy, the unemployment tax would have been substantially reduced, if not wiped out altogether. There was no justification for a tax of over five millions to relieve 16,000 unemployed and unfit men on sustenance. Dealing with the Government’s primary produce marketing scheme, he stated that it gave absolute control of farm produce. The farmer had no say in the marketing of his produce today, but he would have next year. The Internal Marketing Act gave absolute control over foodstuffs, and the dairy farmer must pay the factory price for his own butter. Housing. Turning to the question of housing, Mr Hamilton dealt with the number of , housing permits which had been issued during the past ten years, and stated that the Government had been responsible for pushing up building costs, and private enterprise had been throttled. The Opposition would make money available for people to build their own homes. The Government, he added, was building houses in towns but he did not think the Minister could point to one house in the country. The Government’s policy was tending to crowd the cities. Heavy Taxation Load. Mr Hamilton contended that the Budget had been balanced at the expense of the taxpayer. He had said on many occasions that the present Government would never reduce taxation. It liked to have money by it, and would find something to spend it on. The heavy taxation load, he said, was very disturbing. Public Works Policy.

Ministers had misrepresented the unemployment, position under the last Government. Higher Taxation Predicted. He said no alteration in taxation was proposed. The Government seemed to be a bit timid to move. It wanted to maintain the status quo, and collect taxes until it got over the next hurdle. Ho warned taxpayers that if the present course was continued taxation must go up. and the value of money must go down. Grave Concern Sensed. In conclusion Mr. Hamilton stressed increased costs, and said higher incomes of people were cancelled out by increased costs. Thousands of people who were living on incomes from small investments were finding the purchasing power of those investments steadily decreasing. He drew attention to the depletion of NeW Zealand’s oversea credits, which, he stated, must be giving the Minister of Finance, grave concern, and he pointed out that .the Government’s borrowings to carry on the affairs of State had increased 17 per cent, in two years.

Mr Hamilton then proceeded to deal with the Public Works policy, stating that the bulk of the money was going to be spent on works that would practically return no interest on the investment. Public Works, he said, was the most prosperous industry in New Zealand today, and was the greatest competitor with private industry. The Minister of Public Works claimed to be effecting large economies, but the speaker said he thought he was not far wrong when he said they had never had more costly Public Works in the history of the country—that was as far as the actual final cost was concerned. No Help For Manufacturers. Mr Hamilton continued that it was idle for the Government to claim that it was assisting manufacturers. The Government had increased costs to breaking point. It had increased some tariffs to save factories from closing, but only a favoured few benefitted. The cost-raising policy of the Government spelt disaster to many industries, and it meant increased unemployment. The worker suffered first. Higher wages meant nothing if increased • prices swallowed up the increases. Exports And Imports. Imports were already out of relation with exports. Exports had increased bv £10,000,000, but imports had increased by £20,000,000. The Government, he said, dealing with the manufacturers’ plight, would have to face up to the position sooner or later, and ho asked which policy it would adopt; increase the exchange rate, or ration imports? Misrepresentation Alleged. He also attacked the method of compiling unemployment figures on lines similar to those lie used in receht broadcast speeches, stating that