HOUSE DISCUSSES BUDGET

Taranaki Daily News, 6 August 1930, Page 11

HOUSE DISCUSSES BUDGET

proposals for economy JpLEA FOR SECONDARY INDUSTRY. MANAGEMENT OF THE RAILWAYS. ..By Telegraph.—Press Association. Wellington, Last Night. Continuing his speech in the Budget debate in the House of Representatives to-day Mr. C. H. Clinkard appealed for support for local industries and said that imports were increasing so rapidly in some commodities that it appealed that the time would come when local industries would be starved. The time was coming when the public works now engaging thousands of men would be finished and the secondary industries would be required. ■ Mr. J. S. Fletcher replied to Mr. Clinkard’s criticism on I 1 riday regarding Mr. Fletcher’s vote against the Government. He asked Mr. Clinkard .if he hud considered’ hiS own position in regard to the non-fulfilment of pledges that had been made to his electors. Dealing with the Budget, Mr. Fletcher said many of the savings embodied in it were only deferred liabilities. Die Government had started a raiding policy and was raiding a number of funds. •Some of the departmental savings were the height of political folly. Instead of som-e of the votes being decreased they, should , have been increased, becausU industry 'could not expand in the country without expenditure. lie was in favour of capitalising the highways fund instead of building for ten years and trying to pay in one year. If the Government had increased liquor, licensee, increased postage and capital- 1 ised the highways fund there would have been no need for other taxation. '-'Competition with' railways. ■ • Mr. A. W. Hall said he did not think anybody'would consider it wise to construct; "railways purely for passenger traffic. In this respect motor competition rendered an adequate return unlikely, and’it was to;,goods, traffic that the country had to look for a large share of railway revenue. He believed the greatest difficulties in the way of making the railways pay' were motor competition and high administration hosts. The latter was by no .means ' a small item? He hoped a genuine ef- • fort would soon be made to secure coordination between railway and motor transport, thus to eliminate wasteful competition. He considered the suburban services could be improved by having lighter and faster trains and by eliminating first-class carriages. People did not. want first-class compartments in buses. '

Mr. Hall expressed the. opinion that the excuse of the Leader of the Labour Party for not voting against the Government was rather “thin.” He believed the real reason was that the Labour Party believed the defeat of the Government would precipitate a general election and it was not prepared to face the country at present. y I !'Mjr. ,M. J. Savage criticised the suggestion that a saying of expenditure could be effected by the elimination of mail subsidies. This money was paid to enable the carriage of mails, and while he did not contend it would be impossible to make a less costly arrangement than at present he did not see how it would be possible to withdraw the subsidy altogether. DEPOSITS' IN SAVING'S BANK. Mr. Sayage criticised the administration of the Post Office Savings Bank and expressed the opinion that there could be. no defence of the action in turning away deposits at per cent, when the Government was at the same time borrowing money at 5J per cent. He did not see why the Post Office payings Bank should not accept deposits up to £500(). New Zealand’s national debt had increased by £66,000,600 in the last 10 years and a large proportion of these advances had been ' brought into the country in the form of manufactured goods. How would 'this encourage the principle of "Buy "New Zealand, Goods?” How would it . . help the secondary industries? Mr; Savage advocated the, negotiation of trade agreements, .between the farmers of New Zealand and the consumers ' in Britaim, It would be urged that by .doing so, the-farmers would ; place thembselves in'.the hands of one buyer and that New Zealand would be burning its boats behind it. The reply to this ar- ' .guiniint was .that New Zealand had al- '' 'ready burned its boats. It was in the hdhds of trusts. Would it not be bet--1 ter to deal with one buyer represent- ., ing the people than with trusts represonting a, few individuals? The whole ednimunity would benefit frpm trade stabilisation between Britain and the Dominion. Mi’. Savage said it had never been intended that the railways should necessarily be run on a profit-making basis. Mr. Taverner as Minister of Railways last year had stated that the policy of regarding railway construction as a de.velopmental rather , than as a paying concern had been extended to the operation of the railways., Mr. Sayage asked how this statement could ■. be squared with the recent action of the Govern- ’ mOnt, in discharging men . because the railways were not paying on a balance-, sheet basis. UNEMPLOYMENT AMONG MAORIS. . Mr, . T. Makitanara reminded the . House that while unemployment was rife among the pakehas the Maoris also were sufferers, but they suffered in silence. He described the successes of Maori farmers in various parts of New Zealand and urged that the wheat growing industry should not be allowed to ,bp stifled. Maoris had been producing wheat in the North Island as successfully as any farmers in tho south, and he .believed that the time would come when .wheat growing in New Zealand would have to bo extended. It whs a mistake to attempt dairy farming on wheat growing country. Mr. D, Jones pointed out that the Government members still in tho House had been elected by about 220,000 elcct- . ors out of 740,000, Then* supporters had . been materially decreased, two by-elec-tions having proved this, yet the Government proposed to change the whole fiscal and taxation policy without further authority or appeal. That was not right in view of the failure to observe the promises on which the Government was elected. Lisi year there was an increase in revenue amounting to £ 1.730.0 CK) and tho expenditure increased by £1.000,060. itmThis year time proposals in tho Budget envisaged ;oyec;'< £2,000,000; increase in

taxation’and refusal to pay large sums that ratepayers must eventually meet. Mr. Jones contended this year’s surplus of £500,000 in the post office account might have been paid into the revenue account. ”In private business where some departments paid and others did not all were brought into a general account in the balance-sheet. He claimed that in times like the present the House should not tolerate a policy of increasing the burden on the producers and workers while tho 'post office piled up reserves. 'THE TREAy ALARMED.” Mr. Jones said it would appear that' the Treasury had become alarmed at the pace the Government was making in thoughtless expenditure and had decided to startle the Government by painting the' gloomiest possible picture of the future which the Prime Minister had handed on to the people. The alleged £3,000,060 deficit was purely an estimate of the future from the gloomiest possible standpoint. The balancing of the Budget was a drcsirablo object, but it should be balanced on sound economic lines. It was very apparent that the revenue for the year had been very much underestimated. Tho country had been expecting a reduction in the price of petrol because of the world’s increased production but these hopes had now vanished. The country was saddled with additional taxation on this item and there would bo an extra burden passed on to the producer in the whole of tho traffic that would go by motor conveyance from farm to rail and where there were no railways. Mr. C. H. Chapman said there would never be any: occasion to speak of loss on the railways in New Zealand if an attempt were made to reimburse the Government for its expenditure and maintenance costs by imposing a charge on the profits obtained by the sale of land the value of which had been greatly increased as the result of the advent of the railway. A reduction of wages or the dismissal of men would not solve the problem at present facing the Dominion. The Government could be congratulated on not having so far suggested the reduction of wages, but it had" made the mistake of discharging men from economic work and adding them to the unemployed He urged tho Government to adopt a scheme of graduated income tax in preference to other means of raising revenue.

Mr. H. M. Rush worth said the Budget recognised that primary products were responsible for 99 per cent, of the country’s exports and that there had been a decline in their value. He added that it did not seem to be generally realised yet that tho exporting primary producers had dropped £8,000,000 in the last six months. Instead of endeavouring to ease the burden on this section of”the community the Government was introducing taxation proposals that would add to the difficulties. One felt very uncomfortable indeed for tho primary producers, especially those out in tho backblocks. With regard to backblock roads Mr. Rushworth said the Budget referred to the provision of better means of access but it made no promise of what actually would be done. Tho debate was interrupted by the rising of the House at 10.30 till. 2.30 tomorrow.- '■ b-tx-o?-