THE PRIME MINISTER
ENTHUSIASTIC RECEPTION AT . PAPAKURA GOVERNMENT EXPENDITURE REPLY TO OPPOSITION CRITICISM By Telegraph-Special Reporter. Auckland, November 16. The Prime Minister met another audience of. tho electors of Franklin at Papakura on Saturday evening,'the last meeting of his electors that Mr. Massey is likelv to adores in this campaign, and again he was accorded a most enthusiastic reception, and at tho conclusion of the meeting a vote of thanks and confidence. -Mr. Massey made reply to tho reported statement of Sir Joseph Ward as fo the intention of the Government to spend sixty millions in one year. "Decently," he said, "there has appeared a report of a speech of the Leader of the Opposition, in-which ho. made tlio statement that lie helu the opinion that the Government was forcing too much expenditure in one vear. Tho total amount of expenditure proposed was ,£60,253,000, over Ji20.000.000 more in any year durinir the war. aiul in his opinion far mote than the country should be called upon to find within a limited period for expenditure." "Anyone reading that (Mr. Massey proceeded) would' suppose that tho Government proposed to spend sixty millions during the present financial year. Any-' one rending tho statement attributed to tho Leader of the Oppositoin would assunio that, but if you recollect that there are onlv five months of the financial vear remaining, you will see how absurd the statement is. The authorities for tho present financial year do not amount to sixty millions, but to thirty-one millions. The Leader of the v Oppositoin, in his statement about sixty millions of authorities, included the ordinary expenditure of tho country, and this should not have been included. No one could find fault with the payment of salaries, of waT pensions, and other pensions, or 'with the payment of interest and sinking fund on war loans and other loans. No possible objection could be taken to these navments. No one can say we are paying too much ima'er these heads. Here are tho items : J - Soldiers' settlement > 14,500,000 War expenses, gratuities etc. 10,000,000 Public Works • 2,000,000 Hvdro-electrio power 712,00(1 Education 50,000 Housing 2,250,000 Railwav improvement 40,000 State forests ....;.... 30,000 Wnihou-Ohineniuri rivors improvement 15,000 Native land settlement account 15,000 Haurnki Plains settlement account .'. ; 20,000 Kangitaiki land drainage 20,000 Fruit preserving industry ad- • vances account 5,000 Kauri gum industry account 5,000 Swamp land drainage account 15,000 Wa=te lands reclamation 1,000,000 / ■ Total ■ .£31,202,000 I shall commence with the first item, soldiers' settlement, .£14,500,000. lit is quite true that we have taken authority to 6pend this sum on soldier settlement, which includes tiho purchase of homes m towns as well as tho purchase of country land, and advances for improvements and stock, but nobody imagines that we are going to spend it all in one year or even two years. It may be spread over threo years. To say that this sum of money is going fo be sprint between now nnd tho end of tho financial year is arrant nonsense. "The next item is war expenses, gratuities, etc., ,£10,000.000. Tho amount provided for gravities is .£6.000,000. Does llhe. Leader of tho Opposition say that this is too much? When the proposal to find .£6,000,000 for gratuities for tho poldiers was under discussion he said that tho amount should bo not six millions but .eight millions, and now he comes forward and says wo' are spending too much-money. Where is the consistency? "On public works we have authority to spend two millions, but in-the five months remaining of tho' financial vear we shall not be able to spend a third of the monej'." Mr. Massey made similar references to other items, showing that some of tihe items were regularly recurring' items, and thatMn the case of the latter items it would nob be possible to expend the money provided. The Government was authorised to spend- £2,250,000 on liousing, but tho Government would not be able to get labour or' material to spend even in two years tho amount authorised. Instead of sixty millions tho Government, luid taken authority to spend thirty-one millions and a quarter, and ho did not believe it would bo possible to spend » quarter of tho money in the present financial year. Tho suggestion was ruade that tho Government was going to waste in profligate fashion tfho country's money, and the suggestion came from one who had tried every timo that the Government matlo o, proposal to go one better. When the Government proposed to spend six millions on gratuities tho Leader of (ilie Opposition proposed to spend eight millions. ' A voice: Quite right. Mr. Massey: "Not at all. Tiho great bulk of the peoplo and the soldiers knew that it was electioneering, and that w-had was proposed was not in-the interests of tho country. The proposal was not mado in tiho interests of the soldiers. Tho great majority of them said tihat it was pure humbug, and that they objecded to the affairs of tho country bein" put up to auction in such a way." Mr. MasRcy said that such misrepresentation of the financial policy of the country was very unfair, and was calculated to damago tho credit of the country. The financial iposition of- tho country was assured. ; In the year in which he took offico as Prime Minister the trade of tlhc country, imports and exports, amounted to .£38,000,000. During'nine months of the present year tlio trade had amounted to .£62,664,562. It was only fair to stato that exports had been increased by reason of additional shipping boing provided for the large quantities of produce held in this country.
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Dominion, Volume 13, Issue 45, 17 November 1919, Page 6
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931THE PRIME MINISTER Dominion, Volume 13, Issue 45, 17 November 1919, Page 6
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