ON ROAD TO ULTIMATE SOCIALISM

Chronicle (Levin), 8 November 1946, Page 3

ON ROAD TO ULTIMATE SOCIALISM

-Press Association

So that Nobody Will Have Any Worries

By Telegraph-

; AUCKLAND, Nov. 6. ' Rep lying to a questioa about uitimate socialiam, wlien addrossiug electors at Missiou Bay, tlie ALinister of finance, Hon. W. Nash, said tliere was no sug geation tliat Labour would socialiao everything and take over every iactory. The road to uitimate socialism was along the same track as that whicli the party had travelled since 1935, and Labour planned to travel along it untii it had freed everyone from every imaginable worry from which they eould reasonably expect to be free. The Alinister, wlio reeeived interjections with good liumour and answered them promptly and with smooth akili, spoke mainly on the lines of previous j campaign addresses. He reviewed the work of the Labour Government in ! detaii, and referred to the taking over j of the lieserve Bank, and the use of j credit for various projects. | A voice: Where did the bank get the i money from? ! Mr. Nash: The bank made it. They I are the only people with the right to do that. Dairy rarmers' Income The Minister, develoiiing an argument that all sqetions of the community ; were better oil under Labour, said that i this appiied in both town and eountry. There was not a dairy farmer on an economic farm and with a reasonable ! herd who was not making 50 per eent. 'j more tlian he was in 1935. A voice: You get less for town supply than in 19:27. j Another voico: Put him out. > Mr. Nash (raising a i'orelinger) : No, ! no. I welcome interjections as long as they are fair. I question that state- ■ ment, liowever. 1 question whether any retail distributor of milk is not better off than over before. ! Mr. Nash, to illustrate the prosperity of a farmer, mentioned a share-inilker of his acquaintance who was making £-U u week.

An interjector: And how mucli do you (ake out of that? (Laughter.) "All Better Off" Mr. Nash: A very pertiueut question. He makes it and we tako 10 pcr ceut. and givo it to somebody else so they are all better oiT. If he makes £100U a veur, the chances are he pays anything up to £"5U in income tax. We 1 take that from him, too, but he still has ' more left than he ever had before. Wage rates, taxation and retail prices in New Zealuiul were reviewed at length by Mr. Nash. lle said that everybody in the eountry was today 35 per c.eut. better off, after reconeiling prices and taxation, than they had ever 1 beea before. j Development of both primary and l sepondary industry was reviewed by the j Minister. He also referred to mining j development and said that there was ! more coal produeod than in 1935.A voice: How many more nien I engaged? j . Mr. Nash: i do not think many more j proportionately, but we did have open- | cast mines and that wants clieeking to ' get the proper ligure. If anyone liere | is critioal of .what' the miner does let him go down the miiie. I went down for threo houfs about sevcn years dgo and 1 haven 't been down since. plectric Trains ( . , . The Minister' said the electricity output was greutJy increased and "for every uuit produeod iu 1935 there wero 12} produced last year. A voice: How much did you water it down? (Laugliter.) Mr. Nash: You can't water that stutl down. It is being uscd in water lieaters, iu lioiues, in industries. It is being used — A voice: It is being used in electric trains in Wellington. (Laugliter.) Mr. Nash: The unfortuuale part is that tliev do not go to Ihe Hutt. When discussing housing, Mr. Nash was soveral times interrupted by a mau who asked a question, which could not be clearly heard, about Wtate houses and the possibility of acquiring the freehold. The Minister said there was no cliance of Mr. Holland putting into elfect liis housing proposals, involving particularly low rates of interest, beeause liis friends would not allow it. He knew where the support of the Nationalist Party came from — from Ihe money groups of the countrv. Tt did not come from the labour uuions or the working classes. "I know who is supporting the Nalional Party," Mr. Nash added. "They are very few, but have a lot of money." A supporter: Why don't you take a bit more off them, Walter? Mr. Nash (sadly): I can't. (Laughter.)