“WHY THE SILENCE?”

Timaru Herald, Volume CXLVI, Issue 21323, 18 April 1939, Page 6

“WHY THE SILENCE?”

Future Financial Policy

Uncertainty Should Be Dispelled

Government Neglecting Its Duty By Telegraph—Press Association INVERCARGILL, April 17. “Apparently the Labour Government is not prepared to make a public statement about its future financial policy,” said the Leader of the Opposition, the Hon. Adam Hamilton, in a statement to-day. “Labour Ministers are usually quick with their statements in reply to criticism of a particular Administration, although sometimes with an exhibition of lack of courtesy and frankness that is becoming a by-word in politics to-day, making the silence in this particular instance significant.” It was particularly significant, said Mr Hamilton, that no statement was made by either Mr Nash or Mr Savage in reply to his statement concerning the financial situation before the beginning of the annual conference of the Labour Party. Also, did not Mr Nash and Mr Savage take the conference into their confidence as to the measures that would have to be adopted to meet the present crisis? Did they think it best to get the conference difficulties over first and then talk details of the financial stringency after it had dispersed? “We have had the experience of the last election, when the true state of affairs was withheld and may therefore be excused for wondering,” said Mr Hamilton. Mr Nash must deal with the Public Accounts at an early date, and it was to be hoped that now that the immediate hurdle of conference criticism had passed he would get down to plain facts with the people. There was no justification for withholding a full explanation of the financial policy until the Budget was brought down. Not only was the present financial situation tense, but with the prospect of deficit budgeting in the Immediate future the whole community must be concerned as to the length of time that the present emergency conditions of control and confusion would continue. A deficiency of £2,000,000 for the present financial year had been estimated by Mr Nash when recently introducing the Social Security scheme. The expenditure on defence, to be in line with the expansion in other parts of the British Empire, must increase substantially. Full provision for unemployment had disappeared since April 1. Instead of more than £5,000,000 being available there would be merely £1,500,000 for sustenance. Mr Langstone had already made a request for £2,000,000 to provide employment of Maoris in the year following the abolition of the Unemployment Fund.

Uncertainty Should Be Dispelled

“All these considerations and more cannot be lightly brushed aside, and I repeat that in failing to make any specific statement to the people concerning all these known facts the Government is neglecting its first duty,” declared Mr Hamilton. “No one can talk of co-operation, nor are they entitled to it, until uncertainty has been dispelled by frankness. No one can keep the people’s good will by keeping them in the dark. The budgetary situation is of first importance to-day, since it is on Budget policy more than anything else that the lifting of restrictions when London funds have been restored depends. Mr Savage and Mr Nash in their announced insulation methods have made it clear that they have a manipulative power with money unknown to the rest of the world. In actual fact this has just been propaganda talk. The courses open to them to-day have no connection with ‘easy money’ and something-for-nothing talk. Of those courses it would not be surprising to see the volte face of Mr Savage seeking a loan overseas, and the course taken regarding rates of interest, even internally, since they have already been broken from the pegged level for overseas borrowing, will be a real revelation of how Labour talk measures up to Labour action.”

Mr Savage, speaking on December 12, 1938, had made his attitude clear. He said, “The present Administration might easily have followed the bad example of its predecessors and floated a loan in London to keep the balance of trade and maintain our overseas credits, but we set out to pay our overseas debt—not increase it.” As to the internal loan position, said Mr Hamilton, it would appear that an attempt on the open market at present would have little prospect of success. Labour’s commitments were in excess of the revenue. They had already deteriorating finances and they were faced with deficit budgeting. The people must have clear statements of the future proposals for repairing the position. Why the silence?