UNEMPLOYMENT RELIEF

Taranaki Daily News, 3 October 1932, Page 7

UNEMPLOYMENT RELIEF

TOO MANY AUTHORITIES. LOAN EXPENDITURE UNSOUND. “In our opinion there are too many authorities dealing with the question of unemployed relief,” states the National Expenditure Commission. ‘’We are' informed that some schemes are undertaken by the Public Works Department, and they are in effect unemployment relief schemes, but are on a different basis to those operated by the Unemployment Board, and, furthermore, ar© financed by the department from loan money, which is inconsistent and undesirable. ~ . “There is a grave danger to which we feel we should direct attention, i.e., the inauguration of capital works which are not required and will entail a heavy annual maintenance charge. In the endeavour to avoid the employment of .men on uneconomic and useless work there is a risk that large and ambitious schemes, such as reading, irrigation and others, much in advance of the requirements of the community, may be put in hand without sufficient consideration being given to the ultimate liability which must be borne by the general tax* payer for maintenance and renewal of small-farms scheme recently inaugurated apparently involves the expenditure of loan money and violate* the principle that borrowing for the relief of unemployment is unsound.