DANGER OF APATHY

Otago Daily Times, Issue 24685, 14 August 1941, Page 6

DANGER OF APATHY

COMMENT ON THE BUDGET NEW BORROWING CONDEMNED “There is too much apathy among us, and this apathy seems to be a symptom of democracy that has allowed Hitler to attack one by one his enemies inside and outside his country,” said Mr R. C. Burgess at the annual meeting of the Dunedin Chamber of Commerce last night. He was referring to the matters which he considered should be discussed by the Chamber of Commerce, and he took as an example the recent Budget. “ That Budget was a frightening thing.” Mr Burgess stated. In it was still shown heavy expenditure on civil matters. It also indicated to what extent our liquid reserves are being tapped, and it should be remembered that it was delivered at a time of falling production. The population of New Zealand is not increasing, and the best type of immigrants arc babies. But” he said, “no firm foundations were given in the Budget for increased families.' The working man with a family of four or five is at present taxed far too heavily m proportion to the rest of us. “One of the proposals in the Budge, was to borrow £31,000,000 from Great Britain,” Mr Burgess said, “but do we realise that by borrowing that sum we are helping to bring about the inflation Great Britain does not desire? I do not feel that our fighting men should get any less for their services, but this is another matter of which we should think. Our men are getting 7s sterling a day in Egypt whereas the Tommy is being paid 2s a day. That 7s our men receive is actually being borrowed from the people in Britain whose properties and possessions are being so ruthlessly bombed. These are matters which certainly should give us cause for thought.” Mr Burgess also referred to import control, and to the recent schedule announced by the Government. He said that a matter for serious consideration was the increased power given to so few in respect to import licences, and he expressed the opinion that these powers should be in the hands of an authority similar to the Supreme Court.