BECOMING TOP HEAVY

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 88, Issue 203, 25 August 1944, Page 4

BECOMING TOP HEAVY

BUDGET DEBATE CONTINUES

(P.A.) Parliament Bldgs., Aug. 24. In the House of Representatives this afternoon Mr. E. B. E. Corbett (Opp., Egmont), continuing the Budget debate, said the Social Security scheme, like so many of the Labour Party's scheme, had become topheavy and was in danger of collapse. In New Zealand to-day there was too much bureaucracy, too many consumers, too few producers. We were frittering away the legacy of the pioneers. The housing position was in a shocking muddle. By granting priority to the State Housing Department the Government had created a •onopoly whic-h was having the effect of stowing down the Dominion’s whole housing programme. Mr. Corbett said the £6OO house of which the Government had talked a few years ago had become £l6OO. House building costs to-day were so high the ordinary working man had no prospect of being able to build his own home. If building were in the hands of private builders there would not be the large number of 3000 partiallyfinished houses which existed to-day. Most of them would have been finished. Labour and materials should under no circumstances be diverted to administrative and other buildings to-day, when housing needs were paramount. The housing shortage was particularly acute in rural towns, because not only was most State housing being done in the large centres, but much labour was also being diverted to the cities, so that it was impossible to get workmen even for repairs in rural towns. As an example of the bad housing conditions obtaining to-day, Mr. Corbett cited a Wellington example of eight children and their parents living in two rooms. While he did not condone the terrible crime of abortion and believed everything should be done to reduce it, he asked: Was abortion a greater crime than to bring a child into such squalor and misery? Those who expressed horror at the high incidence of abortion should do something practical at once towards providing homes for the people. Mr. D. W. Coleman (Govt., Gisborne) said he had no doubt some import restrictions would have to be removed, but he hoped there would always be some form of import control, because he considered there was a future for manufacturing in the Dominion. If import control were removed the manufacturing industries were? doomed, and that would not be in the best interests of the country, because New Zealand needed, in addition to primary industries, a wellmanaged secondary industry. The Opposition claimed that import control was interfering with rights and liberties. It Interfered only with a few, like commission agents, who lived by importing. The Government had to think of the mass of the people, and if it could do good for the mass by interfering with the few it would do so. Freedom to the few to import what they liked meant freedom for the many to live in want. New Zealand had experienced the freedom the Opposition wanted before Labour came into office, and he was satisfied that if the National Party gained power the same freedom would be experienced again. Mr. Coleman said there was no Labour Government during the last war. Mr. Sheat: Where were they? Mr. Coleman added that some of the war controls would be removed as soon as possible. Mr. S. W. Smith (Govt., Bay of Islands) said New Zealanders to-day had some reason to regret that their ancestors riia not show more judgment in the preservation of native forests. Much of the forest had been nee’tlessly destroyed and the present generation would have to begin the work of restoring them. It was unfortunate that the Budget did nol provide more for afforestation. The people of New Zealand were becoming conscious of the tremendous value of their forests. Our timber resources were going fast, and even if we could use other building materials there would always be need for timber so the obligation to replace the forests remained. The destruction of the forests should be halted, and that meant that only mature trees should be milled. He complimented the Forestry Department on the way it was working matured timber with as little damage as possible to the rest of the forest, but said that was not enough. For every tree felled at least another should be planted. Much good work had been done in the planting of pinus radiata, but that had been planted because it was quick growing. It would be valuable to our secondary industries, but was ot little value as a building timber. Few New Zealanders realised that many of the native trees, producing the 'finest building timber in the world, were comparatively quick growing. Amazing results had been obtained with native trees at Waitangi, where trees planted in 1940 were now 20 feet high and 30 Inches in girth. Thev were also providinshelter and food for native birds, and that was something no imported tree would do. The Government had . a glorious opportunity to restore native trees while giving hundreds of returned men light and interesting work. Manv of the returned men would be unfit for heavier tasks, and afforestation could make provision for them, at least until they were fit to undertake permanent jobs on construction works. The Government should also assist the farmers to grow native trees. Many farmers were prepared to grow trees but were stopped by the expense of fencing them to protect them from stock. Assistance given in that way would be given not to the farmers, but to the country as a whole. The debate was interrupted by the tea adjournment. “GOOD OLD CAPITALISM.’’ The Budget this year was a grim wartime Budget, dealing with grim wartime realities which afforded little scope for imagination, declared the Rev. Clyde Carr (Govt., Timaru), answering Opposition criticism of the Budget as unimaginative, when he resumed the deoate to-night. Mr. Carr sa’d Mr. Holland had advocated profit-sharing under good old capitalism and had made himself the salc:>i man for the National Party “antij other nostrums." But capitalism to-' day was more and more a thing oi vertical cartels destroying all opposi-| lion in the creation of its national and I international monopolies. The pion-: eers who came to New Zealand came; io escape from “good old capitalism'', to win freedom (or themselves, but: they found the shackles of capitalism, riveted on them in this country. To-. day we were celebrating the libera--lion of Paris and the renaissance o:

I'rin-.v. The reason France lei! wa. because the big capitalists of Franc. . in league with the big capitalist.' C-e..-.:anv through lhe Comite de. Forges and Interlocked control of th:

.'ki'iuii lui.i Geiman armament in-' du.-!T? ■ rulers of France ivi.’.’-’ not prepared to arm their own ; o. . in a ' Kwai pc: - I lest the people lo.:l up arms against their rulers. Mr. C;'.. ' l said Mr. Holland's beliel in profitsharing extended to moral profits. Ho now claimed he was a firm supporter I of Social Security, the 40-hour week 1 and other achievements of the Labour

Government in office. The Leader of the Opposition had favoured a National Government when it enabled him to share in the profits of statesmanlike ambdion and national service. but when he thought it would be better for his party to be outside and free to criticise and sabotage the war effort he pulled his minions outside the National Government. Because there was a strike by workers he thought there should also be a strike by shirkers.

Discussing the recently-announced payments by the United Kingdom Government, Mr. Carr said the farmers could not be done without, but they were only one component of the national production forces. The farmers and the Opposition would like the Government to abdicate to the farmers, as was done by another Government during the depression whic-h pauperised the people by cutting wages and other measures. The recent payments from Britain belonged to the people: Even if these sums had been to subsidise prices for primary produce the money would still not have bean the farmers’ prerogative but would have to be shared by all groups who made exports possible and so created natichal wealth. But in fact this money was to compensate for higher prices we had been paying for imports from Britain, and consequently all who paid those higher prices were entitled to share in the benefit of the compensating payment.

Mr. A. J. Murdoch (Opp., Marsden) said the country was nervous about the Government’s intended use of funds handed over to the Government through the generosity of Britain. Some years ago Mr. Nash had declared the farmers would get every penny of the funds received from the produce they exported, but the Government would control funds overseas. But would anybody on the Government side say what the Government’s intentions really were at the present time? The dairy industry wanted 2d a pound extra for butterfat, while the money above that received under the agreement with Britain should go into the Dairy Industry Account. The Minister of Stabilisation, the Hon. D. G. Sulivan: Will the honourable gentleman be satisfied if it goes into the Stabilisation Account.

Mr. Murdoch replied that the money over and above the twopence definitely was part of the payment due to the farmers. Would Mr. Fraser stand up to his statement to the recent farmers’ conference in Wellington that the Government stood firmly by the stabilisation policy? Mr. Murdoch invited the Prime Minister to give a detailed statement of the subsidies which it was claimed had been paid out to the farmers to the extent ot millions. There was evidence that Government stabilisation policy had broken down. It was apparently being applied in some directions but not in others. The Hon. J. O'Brien: Stabilisation never meant that anyone should live beneath a living standard.

Mr. Murdoch said he was curious about the present personnel of the Stabilisation Commission. Some members had left and had not been replaced. The peonle of the Dominion, including the farmers, merely wanted fair play in the matter of stabilisation.

Mr. F. Hackett (Govt., Grev Lynn) advocated more stringent measures to control auctioneers of fruit and vegetables and suggested that the functions of the Internal Marketing Division should he extended.- This would enable market gardeners to be saved from slow starvation. Mr. Hackett said that when the Government spoke of private enterprise it did not mean the small shopkeeper. but vested interests, which would be the power behind the throne if the Nationalists were in nower. Discussing import controls. Mr Hackett said the Governm"n“ had had import licences in force before the war and must maintain them after the war. If there had been no war the control would have Iren en'orced. since even under the existing licensing system there were cases of abuses when the interests of the nation as a whole were disregarded. Imports should be control'en and the control retained, nerhans for many years aftet hostlli ties ceas A d. The deb"te was interrupted by the adojurnmert nt 10.30 p.m.