8.—6.

£ Total revenue .. 35,845,000 Expenditure. Permanent Appropriations — £ £ Debt services .. .. 9,544,000 Exchange .. .. 1,800,000 Transfer of highways revenue 3,200,000 Other permanent appropriations .. .. 521,000 15,065,000 Annual votes — Social services .. .. 12,774,000 Other services ..' . . 7,748,000 20,522,000 Supplementary estimates and contingencies.. 200,000 35,787,000 Estimated surplus .. .. .. .. £58,000 REVIEW OF GOVERNMENT'S ACHIEVEMENTS. It is fitting that at this stage the opportunity should be taken of reviewing, very briefly, the Government's achievements to date. The present Government came into office in December, 1935, with a definite policy " to organize an internal economy that would distribute the production and services of the Dominion in a way that would guarantee to every person able and willing to work an income sufficient to provide him and his dependants with everything necessary to make a home and ' home life ' in the best sense of the meaning of those terms." At that time there was no less than 57,000 registered unemployed men in the Dominion. Taking into account their immediate family responsibilities, probably over 150,000 persons were directly affected through the breadwinner's inability to provide sufficient to maintain them at a reasonable standard of living. Those concerned need no reminder of the sufferings and hardships which were involved. This then was the problem to which the Government gave its immediate attention. An investigation was made without delay into possible public works throughout the Dominion with a view to making a commencement with those which could be justified economically and thus not only provide much-needed employment, but also create an asset which would be of lasting benefit. By such means and by the encouragement given to local industries, to which reference has already been made, the number of unemployed has now been reduced to what may reasonably be regarded as a normal pre-depression level, those who are physically incapable constituting a large proportion of the involuntarily unemployed. Having thus taken steps to assist the unemployed in obtaining remunerative employment, and having increased the allowances to those who were still awaiting work, the Government turned its attention to those already in regular employment. Increased rates of pay were granted to public works employees, the powers of the Arbitration Court were restored, the forty-hour week in industry was instituted, the " cuts" in salaries and wages were restored in full, while pensions were increased and their scope enlarged. Attention was then given to the monetary system operating in the Dominion. The Reserve Bank was made a purely State Bank, the existing shareholders being bought out on the basis of the quoted price of the shares on the day of the election. The Government has now full control of banking and currency within the Dominion. As in the case of the Reserve Bank, the Government bought out the shareholders of the Mortgage Corporation and reconstituted the organization as the State Advances Corporation. Provision was made for capital to be made available, on very advantageous terms, to borrowers for financing the purchase or erection of houses, farms, &c., and more recently funds have been provided for advancing to local authorities when moneys for capital purposes cannot be obtained from other sources at the standard interest rate of 3| per cent, per annum.

Expenditure, 1938 39.

Public works.

Employment promotion.

Reserve Bank.

State Advances Corporation.

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