NEED OF SAVINGS

Wairarapa Times-Age, 27 September 1939, Page 5

NEED OF SAVINGS

MR HAMILTON’S CRITICISM.

ELIMINATION OF WASTE URGED. . WELLINGTON, This Day. Lack of information about the amount of money the Government expected to save from expenditure approved by Parliament drew criticism from the Leader of the Opposition, Mr Hamilton, during the introduction of the Wai’ Expenses Bill in the House of Representatives last night. He.suggested that the Minister of Finance, Mr Nash, should be able to save more than sufficient to offset the deficit of approximately £4,0(]0,000 in this year’s war expenditure. “It is very difficult for one to grasp the significance of all the proposals on their introduction,” said Mr Hamilton. “The Minister is asking for authority to borrow £10,000,000, when he expects a deficit of about £4,000,000 to be made up this year on account of war expenditure. The weakness in the Minister’s proposals is that he has not informed the House of any savings that can be made.

‘‘We have passed a terrific quantity of money this year, but, when the Minister asks us for a lot more for defence, we would at least expect that he would be able to indicate some expected savings from the expenditure of £75,289,000 already approved. This represents an increase of £8,797,009 over last "year. To come along for another £6,500,000 for war expenditure, without using some of the money already passed, looks as if it were only half the story. Even if the' Minister can economise only to make up the £4,000,000 out of the £75,000,000 I should say he is not as careful as he might be. “The Minister’s proposals for extra taxation will be carried willingly by the people, but only if the Government makes a supreme effort to be careful of expenditure in other directions,” said Mr Hamilton. “A certain amount of waste is inevitable in war expenditure, but we have to see that there is no waste elsewhere.”