“CRAZY FINANCE.”

Wairarapa Age, 4 July 1936, Page 6

“CRAZY FINANCE.”

1 OBSERVATIONS BY OPPOSITION j LEADER. ; CRITICISMS OF GOVERNMENT POLICY. WELLINGTON, July 3. , “Great interest is being taken in po- , lities to-day, and during my tour up i North I was asked on all sides about i the Government's legislation,” said the Leader of the Opposition (the Rt. Hon. G. W. Forbes) in an interview to-day. “I found in Taranaki that the guaranteed price scheme was received with considerable distrust, being based on a scheme of what one farmer termed * crazy finance. ’ It did not give any confidence as to its permanence, and it was felt that if the scheme required the provision of large sums to maintain the guaranteed price it was bound to crash and leave the industry in a state of chaos. There was also a real anxiety as to the effect on the free entry of our produce into the British market when the British farmer realised that he had to compete with Gov-ernment-subsidised produce from New Zealand. ,a ln Auckland I was pleased to find that a strong organisation was being built up in support of the National Party, the junior and ladies' branches being particularly enthusiastic. The business community there were very appreciative of the effect of the heavy costs that they would have to face under the new labour legislation. The general impression was that to meet the new conditions they could only afford to employ thoroughly efficient employees. They were at present engaged in reorganising 1 their staffs to that end with the inevitable result that many men and women who were not up to that standard would have to go.

“In regard to boy and girl employees, the new scale of wages under the Bhop>s and Offices and Factories legislation was undoubtedly making for unemployment. One business man told me that in a few of the establishments he knew of he could count up at least twenty boys who were being discharged. If this legislation is persisted in I am afraid that the outlook for our boys and girls is very gloomy . “I notice that the Prime Minister takes some exception to my pointing this out, but it is my duty and the duty of the Opposition to draw attention to any injustices that are being done, and I will continue to do so in spite of his objections.”