BUDGETARY SITUATION

Otago Daily Times, Issue 22367, 14 September 1934, Page 5

BUDGETARY SITUATION

DOWNHILL RUSH ARRESTED ECONOMIC ADJUSTMENTS PUBLIC SERVICE 'EULOGISED (From Ocr Parliamentary Reporter) Wellington, September is. “ It looks as if we Jiave arrested the downhill rush.that set in three or four years ago,”.said the Minister of Finance (Mr J. G. Coates), speaking generally to-day about the budgetary situation. He had, ho said, received messages from all parts of the country, expressing appreciation of the work of the Government and congratulating it on the better outlook as indicated, by the Budget. Mr W.. E. Parry: Does that include the relief workers?

Mr P. Fraser: Sonic people are fairly easy to please. v Continuing, Mr Coates said the Government had readied the stage where it could make economic adjustments, and it felt in the first place that it should recognise the part played by the Public Service. Any other policy than that which had been adopted by the Government to meet the emergency would have piled up debts and liabilities, and wQiild have frightened the most courageous of critics. The officers of the State, high and low, had played their part well. The Government had received nothing but willing co-operation from them in spite of ’the fact that their remuneration had beenreduced and they had been called bn to work tedious hours.

Mr F. Langstone (Waimarino) : They would have got the sack if they hadn’t.

The Speaker: I warn the honourable gentlemen at the outset that I won’t tolerate such interjections. Mr J, A. Lee; No interjections at all?

■ The Speaker; The honourable gentleman is interjecting most unreasonably. Mr Coates said it had been decided to increase all the Public- Service, salaries by 5 per cent. It sounded all right'to say that only the salaries of the lowerpaid servants should be , increased, but that would immediately cr.eate anomalies which would take years to overcome.

Some comment had been made about the position of those outside the service. It had been urged that the Government should have appealed to outside employers to increase wages. Mr Coates said he felt such a declaration would have been definitely unfair because private employers had not called on their employees to anything like... the same extent in the reductions of wages.

. Mr E. Semple; In some cases they have cut 60 per cent. Mr Coates: Industry can only itself determine what it can pay. Mr Fraser: Why didn’t you take up the same attitude when the general order was made reducing wages? Mr Coates: I don’t want to shirk my responsibility, but as a matter of strict fact I don’t think I was in the Government then. I accept, ■ however, my full responsibility for that. Referring to the hope expressed by the Minister of Lands (Mr E. A. Ransom) that the year would cud with a surplus of £1,000,000, Mr Coates said that some of the newspapers reported the Minister as saying definitely there would be that surplus. , Mr Parry: That is what he said. „Mr Coates said he thought the Minister had merely expressed the hope that that would be so. He explained that much hard work bad been, put into the preparation of the EstimatesJu an endeavour to get the figures as correctly as possible. “It may be that we shall exceed the £BOOO surplus estimated,” said Mr Coates. “On the other hand it will require the strictest economy, on the part of the Ministers and the departments if we are to finish this year with a surplus of £BOOO. It is true that windfalls .come to us from time to time. One occurred, the other day since the Budget was made up.” Reverting to the position of the public service, Mr Coates said there were loan funds in the Post Office from which officers from time to time got advances to help them over ■ any little difficulties. Those loan funds were all used up, showing that some of the men in the service were “well up against it.” Mr Coates said he' knew some industries which had not reduced wages one penny piece. Mr Semple: Very few. Mr;CoatesT can name .a number of them. I

The Prime ' Minister. (Mr G. W. Forbes) : , The Christchurch City Council. ' Mr D, G. Sullivan: You can always expect a good example from us.

Mr Coates said a close watch was required to enable the Government, to get through the year with a surplus. Regarding the taxpayers’ position he had, noticed a cartoon in which Mr Downie Stewart and himself had figured. .Mr Stewart was apparently regarded, by the cartoonist as the champion of the taxpayer, while he (Mr Coates) was supposed to be responsible, for all the taxation—which he denied.