Federal Opposition Strongly Condemns Budget Surpluses

Otago Daily Times, Issue 27091, 27 May 1949, Page 5

Federal Opposition Strongly Condemns Budget Surpluses

NZPA—Copyright Rec. 9 p.m. CANBERRA, May 26. In the House of Representatives Mr P. C. Spender (Liberal) said there had been hopeless miscalculation of both revenue and expenditure over past years, mounting and extravagant Government expenditure, arid complete lack of control over the spending of public money. He added that in the last three years the Prime Minister, Mr Chifiey, had under-estimated revenue by over £125,000,000. Either Mr Chifiey was incapable of making a reasonable estimate or he was concealing the surplus which he knew was likely to result from his budgetary proposals, added Mr Spender. All Parliament had received this time was a statement that revenue for the year might exceed the Budget estimate by about £35,000,000 and expenditure by £ 14,000,000. In spite of reductions in the taxation scale, taxation revenue per head of population had increased rrom £4O in 194243 to £57 in 1946-47, and £6l last year. The revised estimate for the current year was £7O. In other words, the increase in taxation over the period had increased by 72 per cent., whereas the basic wage had increased Dy only 22.6 per cent. Indirect taxation bore very heavily on the cost of living, and one-third of the total national income was being, spent on Government purposes. Mr H. L. Anthony (Country Party) said that the Government had allowed two of Australia’s leading Communists —Mr J. Healy and Mr E. Roach—to spend £860,000 as members of the Stevedoring Industry Commission and then had sacked them in election year.