BUDGET DEBATE

Press, Volume LXXIX, Issue 23972, 12 June 1943, Page 2

BUDGET DEBATE

SIX MORE SPEAKERS HEARD

(P.A.) WELLINGTON, June 11. Six more speakers took part in the Budget debate in the House of Representatives to-day. • The only Ministerial speaker was the Hon. E. T. Tinkatene. Other speakers were Mr W. M. C Denham, Mr B. Roberts, Mr C. Morgan Williams (Government) and Mr A. S. Sutherland and Mr D. C. Kidd (Opposition). Eighteen members have spoken in the debate so .far A range of topics was again discussed to-day. Mr Denham (Government, Invercargill) referred to Mr J. A. Lee’s criticism of the Labour Party, and reminded him that Mr Lee himself had been elected as a representative of that party. Personally he thought Mr Lee’s party should be called the J. A. Lee Party. It had already lost 50 per cent, of its representation of two in the House, and perhaps after the coming election there would not even be that many. Mr Denham also advocated that contributions should be made to the Government’s £35,000,000 War Loan without interest. There was ample evidence that the money was in the country. Mr Sutherland (Opposition, Hauraki) paid tribute to the work of the Homo Guard, but expressed the opinion that the Government should make some statement about its future now that the menace of invasion was more remote. He also urged that tyre retreads should be granted to Home Guard members, who used their cars for Home Guard purposes. Speaking on New Zealand’s representation at Washington and Ottawa, Mr Sutherland said that he considered the Government made a grave mistake in bringing Mr Nash back to New Zealand at the ; present time, The Prime Minister, surely, could have presented the Budget. New Zealand had not been represented at the United Nations’ Conference, and Mr Nash had not been present at the recent food conference. Mr Nash: No ambassadors or consuls were invited to that conference. Mr Sutherland also contended that returned servicemen should be appointed to represent New Zealand at Ottawa, a post which, he said, should immediately be filled.