BENEFITS DENIED

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXV, Issue 23083, 7 July 1938, Page 15

BENEFITS DENIED

GUARANTEED PRICES AN INDEPENDENT CRITIC MINISTER'S FAULTY ESTIMATES [by TELEGRAPH —SI'K ;ni reporter] WELLINGTON, Wednesday W hat lie termed the wild guesses of the Minister of Marketing, the Hon. W. Nash, on the receipts from New Zealand s dairy produce were criticised by Mr. C. A. Wilkinson (Independent Kgmont) during the debate in the House of Representatives to-night. Guaranteed prices, he contended, had been of no actual benefit to the producer.

"'Hie country was promised many times that either a loss or a gain in the Dairy Account would belong to the country," said Mr. Wilkinson, "but this is election year and, taking the surplus, the Government says here is a gilt to the industry. In fact, it is not a gift but is the farmers' own money."

Mr. Wilkinson contended that the original guaranteed price system had been abandoned because the marketing organisation in New Zealand was not voluntary as were the marketing boards in Great Britain. The actual figures showed that the farmers' realisations under the guaranteed price were little better than those of the year before the guaranteed price was brought in. The farmer had received almost the same price, but his costs for everything had greatly increased.

Mr. Wilkinson quoted .from the bal-ance-sheets of a largo Taranaki factory with an output of 5000 tons, mostly of cheese. In 1935-136 it had paid out is 2d per lb. butter-fat and in the next year under the guarantee it had paid out only 3d more. On the grading the actual return was smaller under the guarantee. "The Minister never seems to know what the result will be," said Mr. Wilkinson. "A £OOO,OOO deficit turns out to be a £200,000 deficit and the estimated deficit of £2,000,000 for this year turns out to be a surplus of £1,000,000. The return anyway is small beside the returns of other years."

CREDIT OVERSEAS MR. H. G. DICKIE'S VIEWS EFFECT OF LABOUR POLICY [by TELEGRAPH —SPECIAL REPORTER] WELLINGTON, Wednesday The general policy of the Government and the expenditure of money on uneconomic undertakings were given as the reason for the decline in the value of New Zealand securities by Mr. H. G. Dicki<? (Opposition—Pa tea) during the debate in tho House of Representatives to-day. "Complaints have been made by the Prime Minister, Mr. Savage, about a whispering campaign to destroy the Dominion's credit overseas," said Mr. Dickie. "I was surprised to hear those complaints for when he was in England the Prime Minister must have met a good many people with interests in this country, people who have its welfare at heart.

"Thorn is no doubt that our stocks have fallen because of the policy of the Government, the enormous amount of money spent on uneconomic undertakings and the drift to socialism," Mr. Dickie continued. "We are following the lead of France. That country has gone in for a 40-hour week and a vast programme of public works and it has been compelled to depreciate its currency by 50 per cent. This country has to convert £17,000,000 by January, 1040, but the present Government may just escape having to negotiate that transaction."

LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL RESUMPTION OF DEBATE [BY TELEGRAPH —PRESS ASSOCIATION] WELLINGTON, Wednesday The Address-in-Reply debate was resumed in the Legislative Council today by the Hon. V. A. Ward (Wellington). He said he was in favour of humanitarian legislation, but did not consider socialism was the same thing. Ho preferred to support the system that had succeeded in the past and had given the individual a chance to develop. The Hon. <T. E. Duncan (Auckland) complimented the Minister of Public Works, the Hon. R. Scruple, on the way he was tackling the problem of flooding and soil erosion, and expressed the opinion tint much could be done to prevent major flood disasters such as occurred in Hawke's Bay. The Hon. J. Trevethick (Auckland) said the measures passed by the Government were for the welfare of the people of New Zealand. He urged the need for vigilance and defence if democracy was to survive the onslaughts of dictators, whoso only authority was might. The Council adjourned until tomorrow.