Address-In-Reply Debate Concluded

Northern Advocate, 28 July 1939, Page 5

Address-In-Reply Debate Concluded

[Per Press Association. Copyright. 1 , WELLINGTON. This Day. In the House of Representatives yesterday afternoon, Hie Address-in-Reply debate was continued by Mr W. T. Anderton (Government —Eden), whose speech was interrupted by the adjournment the previous evening. He continued his criticism of British foreign policy and said that if Britain had made an agreement with Russia there would have been peace in the world today. He also denied the contention that poverty existed in New Zealand at present. Who is Responsible? Enlightenment as to the method to be used by the Government to meet the deficit in the Dairy Account was

sought by Mr 11. G. Dickie (National— Paten), who said a deficit already existed in this account, and, with the prospects for butter and cheese none too bright, there was a possibility of a further deficit of two mil-

lion pounds. Would

this be a charge against the producers, he asked, adding that he did not think any one of the Ministers could provide an answer. The Minister of Education (the Hen. P. Fraser): The debt is against the people of the Dominion. The Government has a right to say how it will be met. Mr Dickie contended that they should be told how the Government proposed to finance the deficit. The Government had succeeded in landing the country in a financial mess, and the only way out seemed to be in be-

.filiation of the currency. He con-

tended that if exchange were not peg-

ged aown, and were allowed to rise to its proper level, there would be no debit in the Dairy Fund. The “Lee Letter.” Mr Dickie then referred to the “Lee letter," stating that one of the grievances expounded by Mr Leo was that a majority of caucus had been in favour of taking over the Ban a of New Zealand. The Minister of Finance

had declined to accept this course, and the Prime Minister had threatened to resign it members of the party pushed ahead with the proposal. Whai advantage the Left Wingers of the Government thought they could obtain by taking over the bank he could not understand. Loss err N. Z. Woolpacks. Mr Dickie also dealt with the losses made by the New Zealand woolpack industry at Foxton, despite substantial assistance by the State. He was in favour of establishing suitable secondary industries in New Zealand, he said, but he was afraid a great deal of money put into them by the Government would be wasted. If all woolpacks used in New Zealand were made at Foxton. ho added, it would cost the farmers of New Zealand £CG,OOO more than if they bought jute packs. The industry at Foxton had been going for four years. In one year it had shown n loss of £7OOO. The next year there was a profit of £ls, and during the past year the loss was £1750.

The Minister of Education, the Hon. P. Fraser, suggested that it would be a great advantage in time of war to have packs made in New Zealand. Mr Dickie replied that it would not matter at all if New Zealand were to be isolated. N.Z. Pound Notes. Mr C. A. Barrell (Government — Hamilton) said the Opposition had contended that the New Zealand

pound was worthless in Australia. Personally, he would not mind having a few thousand of them over there. He would soon find means of converting them. What he was worried about was the distribution of those pound notes

among the people

of New Zealand themselves, and this was being effected by the Govern - j merit’s policy. ) A Monetary Reformer.

He was a monetary reformer, and he made no apology for it. He recalled how. on several occasions, the Bank of England had closed its doors, and the British Government had to come to j its assistance with the people’s credit. The monetary system today, he contended, was antediluvian, and financiers themselves realised there had to be a change. New Zealand, he thought, might lead the way in this direction. Mr Barrell asserted that New Zealand was being better catered for in connection with defence than over before in Its history, and the present Minister of Defence had done more for i the country in this respect than any I of his predecessors. I

Guaranteed Price

Mr Barrel] also defended the guaranteed price for dairy produce, quoting figures to show that the payment of rates in dairy districts was better than ever before. He added that dairy fanners should lie given an opportunity to say whether they wanted the present system to continue.

The debate was interrupted by the

adjournment at 5.30.

Press Criticised

After the tea adjournment, Mr J. O’Brien (Govt., Westland) criticised the press of the country for what he characterised as its unfairness, and contended that the member for Waikato, iMr -Goosman in stating that dairyfarmers were adverse to the guaranteed price had done them a great disservice. One dairyfarmer in Westland, he

said, had cleared

some £1250 from 130 acres .as a result of dairy fanning. That was not bad for the guaranteed price. “Typical Tory Speech.”

He congratulated the member for Temuka. Mr T. D. Burnett, ,on his honesty in asking for the abolition of the forty-hour week and the arbitration court. Mr Burnett had made speech in typical Tory fashion, said Mr O’ Brian, and had not sought to hide his meaning. Honourable members of the Opposition had been telling the Government how wrong it was. but they had been very careful not to say what they would do themselves in relation to the country's finances.

Opposition's Policy

Their past action, however, told what they would do if returned. Their first act would bo to stop a great number of Public Works. Prob-

ably they would sack about 5.000 civil | ! servants, 4.000 rnilwnymen and 10,000 | ; employed on housing construction. { j Ed ore wo knew where wc were, j simps and factories would bo closing and wo would soon be back in the position where there were 50,000 to 70,000 unemployed. Unemployment. Mr H. S. S. Kyle (Nal.-Riccarton) said the Minister of Public Works, Mr Semple, had slated that there was more unemployment in New South Wales than there was in New Zealand, but

the Opposition could not get the figures that applied to New Zealand. While New Zealand had granted, during the past year, almost six and a. half million pounds on relief, the New South Wales Government was actually

reducing taxation. There were probably between 35.000 and 40.000 unemployed in New Zealand today. He said ihe Government had not fulfilled its promise, made six months ago, to take 8,000 men from Public Works and place them in industry. The Government contended that it could carry on the work of stock and station agents better than these firms had done, said Mr Kyle, but stock and station agents had carried out a very great work for this country, and had assisted in its development mere than ever the Labour Party had done.

He criticised the Government for not doing more in an attempt to eradicate tuberculosis from New Zealand's dairy herds. The Lee Letter. Mr Kyle referred to the Lee letter, stating that the Honourable Member for Grey Lynn had demanded a purge of the Party. In this he reminded one of the Nazis. The member for Grey Lynn had attacked the Minister of Finance, and. in attacking him. had attacked the cabinet. If Left-Wingers wanted to make a scapegoat of Mr Nash they should also make a scapegoat of the cabinet and the Labour Party, because Cabinet was merely

carrying out the dictates of the party. Members of the Government, he said, had talked about financial gangsters, but Mr Kyle said he would point out that the majority of shares in large companies, banks, etc., were held by small shareholders. An Allegation. In conclusion Mr Kyle asked that an inquiry should be made into an j allegation that a certain person receiving £2OOO a year in connection j with the marketing of eggs was also a guarantor for a Christchurch company. from which he received £566 last year. One of the directors of the company had recently been appointed Government nominee on the Poultry Board. There semed to be a sinister inference in this, and investigation should be made. . No-Confidence Motion Defeated. The debate then concluded, and the first vote of the session was taken on the Opposition's no-confidence motion, which was defeated by 45 votes to 23, the following being the division list: —

For the Amendment. Messrs. Allen,' Bodkin, Broadfoot, Burnett, Dickie, Doidge, Forbes, Goosman, Gordon, Grigg, Hamilton, Hargest, Holland, Jull, Kidd, Kyle. MacDonald, Massey, Ngata, Poison, Ransom, Roy, and Wilkinson. Against the Amendment. Messrs. Anderton, Armstrong. Atmore, Barclay, Barrell, Boswell, Carr, Chapman. Coleman. Combs, Cotterill, Cullen. Denham. Fraser, Frost. Hodgens Hultquist, Jones, Lee, Lowry. Lyon, McCombs, MacFarlane,, McKcen, Mar-

tin. Meachen. Moncur. Neilson, Nordmeyer. O'Brien, Osborne, Paikea, Parry, Petrie, Richards, Roberts, Robertson, Schramm, Semple, Skinner; Sullivan. Thorn, Tirikatene, Williams, and Mrs Stewart. Pairs. Fairs for the amendment were: Messrs. Coates. Cobbe and Endean. Against: Messrs. Savage, Webb and Mason. After Mr MacFarlane, mover of the motion that a respectful address b? tendered to the Governor-General, had briefly replied, the motion was carried without further division. During the debate, which approaches a record for length, extending, over four weeks and fifteen sitting days, a total of 73 speakers took part, including all members of the Opposition. The only members who have not Taken part were the Speaker (the Hon. W. E. Barnard), and the Hons. Parry, Webb, Langstone and Nash i the two latter members being absent from the country), Schramm and Richards. On the motion for adjournment, the Deputy-Leader of the House, -the Hon. P. Fraser, in reply to a question from the Leader of the Opposition, Mr Hamilton, said to-morrow would be devoted to discussion of questions and their answers.

The House rose at 9.50,