FINANCIAL DEBATE

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 77, Issue 210, 5 September 1934, Page 8

FINANCIAL DEBATE

VIEWS ON THE BUDGET JiOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES [ Per Press Association J WELLINGTON, Sept. 4. The Financial Debate was resumed in the House of .Representatives tnis afternoon. Mr. A- E. Juil (Government, Wai pawa) said the Leader of the OppoaiHou had taken a very gloqmy view o£ the position of the country and the Budget. The Budget was the first brigut spot the people had had tor some years. He was surprised and sad that the Leader of the Opposition was so doleful. There wete some objections to the Budget, and one of them was the question of making the restoration of old age pensions retrospective. He thought ibe Government might recon aider its decision in that matter. He saw no reason for the Government handing mortgages to the corporation and including even the activities of the State Advances Department, but he would withhold further criticism until the details of the scheme were made known. He expressed the opinion that there should be a compulsory contributory system of superannuation for a.I persons, not only those employed by the State, that would largely do away with old age pensions. He considered the Government superannuation scheme should be put on a better footing, and not have to depend on a vote from the House. . Coming to the extension of the life of Parliament, Mr. .lull said that other Governments considered that tour years was the most satisfactory period, and having extended its life, the Government should consider electoral matters. He urged the adoption of proportional representation in the four centres and preferential voting in the lest of the Dominion. He considered the members of Parliament should have a greater share in the administration of the country, and suggested that each Minister should have a committee of members attacned to him. They could meet monthly and advise on admm.st,alive matters. The length of the sessions would thereby be considerably shortened, and the circle from which candidates came wouid be increase . He criticised Die amount ot pubh building work in the cities compared with the country towns and the ependng of £330,000 on the po t office nt Dunedin. He reterred to lie expenditure of CTO.OWI on the Milford Sound Road, and said > suggestion had been made that there should be a road right round the South Island. He protested against such expenditure. He thought the audittonal amount to be expended on main highways and >ac '- block roads was an excellent thing. Unemployment Fund Credit' Mr C H. Chapman (Labour. Wellington North) said the Government should be given no credit for having over £600,0(10 in the Unemployment Fund. It would have been deserving of more credit if the fund had shown a deficit and thousands of people not left to suffer hardship. No provision was made in the Budget for Britain s refusal to take all New Zealand s surplus produce- Production had increased in recent yea.,, and exports had also increased. Now the Dominion was faced with the position that Britain would impose a restriction on tne amount of produce she would take. What, was to be done with the surplus produce? Any reduction by the Dominion's principal customer must have a serious effect. Land values would tall, and the effect ot the slump would he accentuated it restriction were placed on New Zealand produce. He appealed to -the Government to take steps to meet the position. The Buuget was heralded as a bright document, but the Minister <of Finance must realise th't at the end of the year the Dominion was £20,000,000 more in debt than at the beginning of the year. Io show a surplus while increasing the debt seemed to him to be contradictory.’ He feared that the Unemploy merit Board had an undisclosed surplus. He submitted that the board had been guilty of withholding money given it for distribution among the unemployed. He appealed to the Government to make the old nge pension restoration retrospecteive to April 1. Mr D. 8. Reid (Government, Raglan) attributed the surplus shown to the fact that some farmers had held •wool for th.ee or fc.tr years, and therefore had three or four years’ income He believed a satisfactory agreement would be reached with the Old Country and that a keener search would be made lor new overseas markets. He submitted that not only the farmer bu the secondary industries had benefited greatly as a result of the exchange. Tne House adjourned. Mam Highways Mr Reid, continui ig, said the tune had arrived when the Government should hand all highways to the Main Highways Board to relieve the local bodies, and the money from the petrol tax should be paid to the board and none to the Consolidated Fund. He contended |hat the railway freight for trucking rattle should be reduced by at least 15 shillings a truck. The hope that the penalty for converting motor-cars would be made severe was also expressed by Mr Reid. Mr F. Jones (Lab.. Dunedin South) said the benefit of the high exchange ■was going to the banks and stock and station firms. The main benefit \as not gained by the farmer. He thought that much of the conversion of motorcars was due to no provision being made for young people They bad nothing to occupy their time, and drifted into crime. Much of the crime in the Dominion to-day was due to the depression, and the Government’s failure to find work for voung men. The Budget was a ep forward. The Government had overthrown the recommendations of the Economy Commission and had followed the advice, of the Labour Party. The Budget was a step in the right direction, hut did not go far enough. Old age and other pensions should have been restored, but the Budget did nothing for the worker who came under the Arbitration Court. Mr Jones asked if the Government would this session bring down legislation to restore the wage cut tc workers. The Government should alsc do something to restore the appren ticeship position. Something should be done for the voung people in factories. There were over a thousand fewer apprentices present than in 1931 He hoped the Government this session would do something to remedy th< position. He quoted the increased re

venue received by the Unemployment Board, and considered the board should have been more generous, especially to the suburban and country relief worker. He ’could not see that the Budget would help the farmer. The Mortgage Corporation would not be in operation for a year, so the farmers could look I for some benefit within two years, but did they not require help to-day? The farmers should be helped, a|id there was no reason for the delay. There was a greater market for farm produce in New Zealand if the people had the purchasing power. The erection of the Post Office at Dunedin was necessary. It was appreciated bv the ; people. A large sum would be saved in rents and employment would be given to a large number of people. Mr A. E. Ansell (Government, Chalmers) thought the outlook was distinctly brighter, and that there was evidence that the actions of the Government had materially assisted in the economi'c recovery. He thought as the years passed the Labour Party would appreciate vhat the Government had done. The plan followed by the New Zealand Government was based on that of the British Government, which had (placed Britain ahead of all the nations of the world. Mr Ansell criticised the [Government for its non appointment of iMr Tyndall to the Main Highways Board, although the Minister of Mines was willing to make his services available. He said that Mr Tyndall knew more about highways and highways finance than all the Government members on the board. Motorists’ Claims. Mr. Ansell added that the Minister of Public Works should reply to the statements he (Mr. Ansell) had made, as protests had been made by motoring and other bodies. In view of the upward trend of finances, he suggested that the Minister should give some relief to motorists, not in the way of laxation, but in road improvements, i which would benefit the motorist. He asked the Minister to consider the eli- [ mination of level crossings. He considered that the highways, unemployment, and railways boards might cooperate to see if something could be done in that direction. He urged the (Government to give greater recognition to the vocational guidance centres ! in the four main cities, as they were I doing excellent work for unemployed I boys. I Mr. J. A. Lee (Government, Grey ■ Lynn) doubled if the Government was i responsible for the balanced Budget. He thought that credit should be given io the printer who had printed the 28,000,000 bank notes. He contended that in these days of quotas, boys should not be trained as farmers to stock an already over-stocked market, bu; as artisans. He expressed a desire to see the balance-sheet of the ten-acre farm scheme. He criticised the Government, which had saved £.1,000,000 while the people had starved, and had aiso spent hundreds of thousands on guns and defence, while returned soldiers could not get jobs. The old-age pension was a miserable reward for a life of service, yet the Minister of Finance had said tnat the old-age pensioners were only recipients of the State’s bounty, and did not receive pensions as | a right. He hoped the Minister was only unfortunate in his phraseology, otherwise they would need not 500 police but 2000 to save the Government from the wrath of the old people. Mr. W. J. Broadfoot (Government. Waitomo) quoted a case which recently had come under his notice, of a woman whose husband, who was a farmer, had died. The farm was over-mortgaged to the State Advances Department, and the man had a small life insurance policy. The Superintendant of the Department notified the insurance company not to pay over the money to the widow, as the farm would probably not realise the amount of the mortgage. He urged that the Government should go into the question and put in hand necessary leegislation to enable justice to be mvted out to various people pre » judiced. > The debate was adjourned and the House rose at 11.50 p.m.