Points From Parliament

Northern Advocate, 25 July 1938, Page 10

Points From Parliament

The Rev. C. Carr (.Government — j Timaru) has given notice to ask the 1 Minister in charge of the Tourist De- I partment whether he will consider the planting of the Mount Cook region j with trees of a type which resists j frost. s'fi * * * Insulating Legislation. Mr Kyle (Opposition—Riccarton) has given notice ta ask the Minister of Finance if he will, prior to the introduction of the superannuation legislation, introduce and put on the Statute Book the necessary legislation to carry out the Government’s policy of insulating the Dominion to ensure that producer, consumer and Government will be safeguarded against falling overseas prices. , * * * ❖ Commercial Broadcasting. Replying to a question by Mr S. G. Holland (Opposition—Christchurch North) as to whether commercial broadcasting stations were making substantial losses, the Prime Minister stated that a complete report on the financial operation of the service would be available to the House within the next few weeks. Replying to further points raised by Mr Holland, Mr Savage added that the conference of station directors and head office executives which recently took place in Wellington was merely a repetition of periodical discussions in connection with the general organisation of the department, and was not called for the purpose of considering political propaganda or discussing losses. Mr Savage added, in connection with the trip to the islands of the Controller of the Commercial Broadcasting Service, Mr Scrimegour, that he was merely on annual leave. No part of his expenses were a responsibility of the Government, and his salary continued, as was usual with Government officers. » * • • The “Man M The Street.” Answering a further question by Mr Kyle, who wanted to know if the Minister would censor matter from 2ZB on Sunday evenings so that the station might be debarred from turning alleged religious meetings into political propaganda, Mr Savage stated that the “man in the street” session, to which it was presumed tse question related, was not a religious or political one, but merely a general discussion of every day affairs for the “man in the street.” * * * * Restriction of Funds. The Minister of Finance, the Hon. ( Walter Nash, in reply to a query by Mr J. Hargest (Opposition—Awarua), who wanted to know whether the Minister was aware that trading banks in the Dominion were restricting the transfer of overseas * funds held by them, and whether this restriction was the result of Ministerial instruction to the banks, said he understood that the banks were merely following the normal course of conserving for the ordinary requirements of their customers overseas funds which had been considerably depleted by the large volume of importations. Mr Nash- gave an assurance that no Ministerial instructions had been given to the banks, nor had there been any pressure by the Government 1 to adopt this procedure.

Planes In New Zealand. The question of the manufacture of aeroplanes in the Dominion has received careful consideration from time to time, and certain aspects of it are still being investigated, said the Minister of Industries and Commerce, the Hon. D. G. Sullivan, in reply to a question by Dr. McMillan, who asked whether investigations were being made into the feasibility of establishing factories to manufacture aeroplanes in New Zealand. Mr Sullivan added that it was fully realised that the development of an aircraft factory in New Zealand would be of inestimable value to the Dominion and the Empire. * * * * More Pay For Territorials. Replying to a question by Mr J, G. Barclay (Government—Marsden) drawing his attention to a statement by the Hon. Waite recently that the advice of British authorities about the land forces of New Zealand was not being carried out, the Minister of Defence, the Hon. F. Jones, said that the statement as reported was not correct. The Minister intimated, in reply to another question by Mr Hargest, that the Government had already decided to increase the pay of members of the territorial force, and an announcement would be made in due course. » * • * Highways Tax Expenditure, An urgent question was addressed to the Minister of Finance by Mr O. Wilson (Government—Rangitikei), who asked if the Minister's attention had been drawn to a recent statement of Professor Tocker, of Canterbury College, to tiie effect that out of the total motor taxation of £5,348,019 in 193637, only £2,776,375 had been used for roads and highways. The Minister, in reply, after detailing road expenditure for the period mentioned, stated that actually for the years 1937-38 the total actual expenditure on roads and highways was £5,816,842, which did not include loan moneys other than those expressly charged to the Highways Account.