CHANGE MUST BE SLOW

Taranaki Daily News, 1 November 1935, Page 7

CHANGE MUST BE SLOW

REDUCTION IN EXCHANGE SUDDEN FALL WOULD MEAN RUIN. DECLARATION BY MR. R. MASTERS. SOCIAL SERVICES EXPENDITURE. By Telegraph—Press Association. Wanganui, Last Night. The Hon. R. Masters, addressing a well-attended meeting of business men to-night, outlined the difficulties which had faced the Government during the past four years and claimed that its record of achievements in spite of difficult times entitled it to an opportunity to carry on from its first innings and play in a second. The Government had followed thd principle of paying for its obligations as it went along and had refrained from seeking popularity by borrowing. In fact the word popularity had not been included in the dictionary of the Coalition Government, but it had done what i+ conceived to be right in the interests of the country. Britain and New Zealand stood out as two countries which had followed the principle of balancing the Budget. The speaker read a long list of other countries which had deficits. New Zealand and Britain had surpluses. Dealing with exchange, Mr. Masters said that despite arguments to the contrary imports had increased, notwithstanding the pegged exchange. “I say as a business man that if there is a change in regard to exchange that change should be gradual," said Mr. Masters. "There is one party which says it would wipe out exchange to-morrow. If that were done it would ruin half the business people in this country who had built up stocks on the raised exchange.” ANNUAL EXPENDITURE. ' Dealing with taxation, Mr. Masters said £24,000,000 was expended from the Consolidated Fund. After the permanent fixed charges and expenditure on social services, defence and other items had been accounted for and petrol tax had been transferred to the highways fv-'d there was only £1,395,000 left for current expenses. “What should be reduced?” he asked. “Should we reduce social services or pensions? What is the trend of public opinion? With regard to pensions it is all in favour of an increase and not a decrease. Expenditure on social services alone is £7,144,000. I say as a business man that social services will have to be seriously looked at by this country in the next three or four years, because we cannot go on building up services for which we cannot'afford to pay.”

Mr. Masters then asked if the defence vote should be cut. Would any sane person, he asked, in view of the unsettled conditions of the world, ask for a decrease in that vote? Should the vote for law and order be decreased? The Government was forced to apply the sales tax when it was faced with a deficit in 1931-32 of over £8,000,000. “We had no desire to impose a sales tax,” he proceeded, “and we were the fifteenth country to do it. Australia had already collected £18,000,000 from it. “I know the unpopularity of the sales tax, and I can assure you that as far as the Government is concerned it does not look upon it as a permanent form of taxation, and we sincerely hope and I believe it will be one of the first that will go in any form of taxation reduction.” / In conclusion Mr. Masters said there was only one issue in the election, and that a vc«— against the National Government candidates was a vote for Labour.