MEMBERS TAKE THE FLOOR

Chronicle (Levin), 6 July 1946, Page 7

MEMBERS TAKE THE FLOOR

Press AssociatioJi

YESTERDAY IN THE HOUSE HUGE TAXATION REMISSION SUGGESTED i

I Bv Telearavh —

i Vv ELJLiiA G TOX, JuJy 5. j His analysis oi tlie public accounts for tne iasi financiai year led liim to buggest tbat the Government could renut £36,000,000 oi taxation uuis year, saxd ivxr. C. M. Bowden [ v wellington West), when continuing bxie Address-in-Beply debate. Likely expenditure froni the Consolidated 1 uud, Social fSecurity Pund and U ar Exxienses Account . would total' £llo,0UU,U0l>. JBalances in liand would reduce tlie sum required to £1)0,000,000 wkereas revenue would be about j £lu0,000,000, leaving £50,000,000 to sparc. if £15,000,000 wcre retained taxation couid be eased by £35,000,000. if tlie coinbined Social'and National Seeurity eharge wero rcduced by another sixx'enee in the pouud, it Avould roniit £1-1, 000,000 whilc £8,500,000 could be reuiitted in saies tax. Tliat still left aiuple scoxjc for othe'r feductions. ■j Alr. Powdeu suggested the personal | exeuixitiou should bc raised to £250. j Air. T. H. AlcCombs (Lyttelton) said j no other country had controlled infla- | liou better than X'ew Zealand and in the last l'ew years higher dividends had | been (iaid to shareholders after taxa j tion liad been deducted, than ever be- ; vore. | Alr. Broadfoot: Paid in funny mone}'. Mr. .McCoinlis said the saies tax was 1 paid on only 20 pcr cent of articles re- . tfuired by tlie average Avorking nian. llespite tlie Ojipositiwn 's allegations of i being misrepresented and inisi'cported, i lie said the National Party circulated j " seiirrilous untruths" about the Labour (lovenniuMit. If any party used tacties ; wliieli could hest be described as "disi gi acel'nl ' it was tlie Xational Party wliieli had invented tlie Disinlieritauce : Mill. Tlie ( >pposition advocated abolition of import control. The xmrpose of . import selection was to ensure tliat the ! connlry rcccived what goods it needel. : If cmitrnls tvere done away with, tho inarkets would be flooded with luxurv articles. v Air. L. B. Corbett (Kgniont) said the: (ieveniment had tinkered Avith the problem of food production, haviug : failed to take energetic steps last year, ,is ihe war canie to ari end. The aboli- j tion of Priniary Production Councils, when tliey should have been retained,1 liad shown lack of leadership at a , critical tinie. The Mini^ter was always willing to follow but not to take the' lead. Pnity aniong producers had 1 also beeu needlessly jirejudiced by the Kleclora! Bill last year.

' Opposilion voice: Boonierang Bill. Alr. Corbett said the Bill had, in faet, mtrodueed the towu quola, disturbing : tlie country unnecessarily. -Mr. Corbett said Alr. Fraser had recenlly declared there was no future for youiig people on the land in Xow Zealand. Mr. Corbett agreed. Tliey had no future under the present floveniuient but contended ])riniary indus ; tries nmst remain the lirst anchor of our econouiy since they furnished 05 per cent of our export values. Yet ! niillions of the farniers' niouey had been used tn subsidise other sections ot the c'lnimunity. Mr. Corbett said the uovernment 's action in solling ten iiti ! liou Ibs. of butter to L'nited IStates had largely nullified the patriotie ef forts of those tryiug to save butter by sai'rilii'ing si.\ ounce eoupons to holp ' meet Britain's need. In v'iew of l.rilain 's w illingness to accept alterna- • tive l'ats, tlie iniquitous dairy supxrly , control order w hereby farniers rvere prosecuted for supplying for cheese nianufacture iustead of bntter niaking, .should be abolislied and freedoin of siqiplyiug restoied to farniers. far. P. G. Connolly, (Dunedin West) said it was not because if was election : year that taxation would be reduced ' but because the country had reached the end cf its war economics. Mr. T. L. Macdonald (Mataura) said Xew Zealand 's forces had shown the sanie characteristics overseas as they did when tliey canie back and rehabilitated tliemselves — ii;itiative and commonsense — but tlie rehabilitation schenie was not all smooth going. Tlie housing shorlage and land settlement, as related (o rehabilitation, wero two great problems. lie said the Minister of Rehabilitation wotild be woll advised to base his land settlement plans on a figure of not less than 12,000 prospee- ' tive farniers. Land settlement was the nmst diHicult jiroblem of rehabilitation and could hest be adnfi nistcred by a full-time paid member of the Reliabilitalion Boanl. ft was wvrong for a member of the llouse to hold sueh an important position, because the diffieul lies of adiiiinisteriug the land settlement of ox-servieemen Arere so great tliat no mnn eonld (kai properly Avith them when he had to combine tliose dufies Avith Ihe job of Member of Parliament. Sale of State Houses Mr. II. L. Conibs (Wellington >Su.)urbsi said allhough avc wero al the end of ihe wtir so far as lioslilities wero coneerned, war expenditure Avould have to continue so loug as tlie foree in .fapan had to be maintaiued but expenditure had been eut sharply aud'thn pi.int had been reached when everybody expected au automatie reduction • in taxation. So far as hospital rating was coneerned who, he aslted, Avould benclit if the ioad of that rating Avere tj'.ansferred to tho Coasolidated Fuud. lie eriticised tlie Xiitional Party 's pro])osal to allow tenants of State houses to buv their homes froui the State. There was no suggestiou Ihal private owners were selling to their tenants. 1 Opposilion voice: They 'ro doing tliat all Ihe timo. Mr. Conilis said tlie proposal Avould give the tenant tlie right to -go to the landlord — presumablv the State Advanees — and sav he Avanted to buy a liouso. Wliat the Natioual Partv aa'RS saying in effect Avas that they Avould liuild no more houses. What Avere going to be the tcrms and conditions regardiug the sale of State Itouses? Tenauts had a riglit to resell and there Avould be traflieking in houses and the ereation of sbinqj conditions, "Our policy is tliat avc Avil] not sell oue State liouse. T think it is right. Tt is in tlie interests of the tenants and of the people of New Zealand, ' ' said Mr. Conibs, .

i Tlie houses had not been buiJt for specu- | : lators to make prollts. Moreover, Avi.th.j j tlie charges they would have to pay as j owners, the people would pay 10 to 15 j I shillings uiore weeklyMlian tliey paid j i as tenants. State liouses were the most t valoable jiroperty belonging to the ' I people of Xew Zealand and he Avould do 1 i his utmost to show the ' tenants il ■ would be a.wickod thing for the State I to alloAv these houses to lie pure.hased. j j -Mr. .1. A. Bov ((. Iutliag eriticising i • the (lovenuneut for its .silenee on its t j attitude to Bretton .Woods, said he ! | understood tlie Labour Party was de- 1 | ILnitelv divided on tliis quostion aud i ; was not a \-ery happy party about it. | I Opposilion voice: Xor about anyj thing else. | The liouse rose at 5.30 until 2.30 j jWednesday. '