REPLY BY PRIME MINISTER

Dominion, Volume 36, Issue 217, 9 June 1943, Page 6

REPLY BY PRIME MINISTER

Expenditure On War USE OF BROADCASTING DEFENDED Replying to the Leader of the Opposition’s allegation that there was waste in war expenditure, the Prime Minister, Mr. Fraser, in the House of Representatives last night, said that when Mr. Holland resigned from' the War Administration after the Waikato coal strike, lie ha'd thrown away an opportunity to learn the nature of the expenditure and assist in ensuring efficiency Mr. Fraser said that in the hurried organization of the early stages of the war it was inevitable that there should be some inefficiency. “If anyone suggests that you can build aerodromes and defence works in such times with 100 per cent, efficiency, I will not believe him,” added the Prime Minister. Weaknesses were everywhere, but in spite of all a very fine job had been done. Everyone of the United Nations had paid tribute to the war effort of-New Zealand in the field of war, on the sea and in th° air, and in farm, factory and workshop. It was absurd for Mr. Holland to suggest that anyone had la'ughed at the primary producers, who were doing a fine job.

•Mr. Fraser said Mr, Holland had deplored the prohibition on policemen working on wharves and other places when off duty. “The police are here to keep law and order and they have plenty to do looking after slygrog shops and other things,” he continued. “It is not conducive to good discipline in the force to have the men doing any other work than that for which they signed on. That can be taken as. a final decision so long as I am the Minister in charge of the Department.’’ Claiming that the Budget contained a complete statement of war expenditure, the Prime Minister said the Government was prepared to submit the details and accounts to the Public Accounts Committee. It was important at the beginning of the war that .our expenditure should not be revealed 'but details could now be supplied. < War Damage Premium.

It was ridiculous for the Leader of the Opposition to criticize the war damage insurance as the increase from 2/- to 5/had been made when the Japanese entered the war and people were imploring protection against the increased dangers of invasion and damage to property. The time to reduce the taxation would be next February to suit the charges on the people and the Government if returned to office would reduce tne charge to 2/next May. Regarding Mr. Holland's complaint that no paper was made available .for his party to issue a pamphlet, Mr. Fraser said he was informed that the National Party wanted this supply of paper additional to that to be issued for election purposes. He could publish the pamphlet any time he liked as part of the election papers. Mr. Fraser said he intended to investigate the matter. Use of Radio.

“I feel a little bit worried as to the honourable gentleman’s complaint about the wireless,” said the Prime Minister, when replying to Mr. Holland’s statement that his speech was broadcast by only one national station when the Minister of Finance read the Budget through seven stations. “I. was not aware that the Minister of Finance was being broadcast from seven stations,” the Prime Minister said, “but I am sure that the Budget was worthy of being broadcast from 70 stations. (Laughter.) The honourable gentleman has not impugned a single fact or figure contained in the Budget, and I would have been glad for him to have had seven or 70 stations. I naturally sympathize with the honourable gentleman because tonight I am in the same plight as he is—l also am only on one station —and I feel inclined to join in his protest. (Laughter.) The Prime Minister added that if the Leader of the Opposition had .telephoned him half an hour before the House met and suggested that he should have seven stations or all the stations he would have been delighted to arrange for him to have them. As he listened to the honourable gentleman he felt that he, the Leader of the Opposition, should be grateful that 'he was being broadcast by only one station. (Government laughter.) “Nothing lias been more misleading than the statement that the Government is using the air for party political purposes,” continued Mr. Fraser amid Opposition laughter. “The Government is responsible for the war effort, and is going to use the air to defend that in all its phases. It is going to use the air to defend stabilization, and price fixation and food price control, and to promote the production of commodities required by the people generally. In the whole of the war policy of the country the air is going to be used. The Government is not going to allow persons who feel a sepse of guilt to rousd indignation when the people are being told of convictions under food price regulations. We are not going to allow people outside this House to go on cheating people and we are going to defend mothers and housewives against that.” “I don’t feel any sense of guilt that the Minister to Washington is here,” said the Prime Minister. “He was asked by the Government to return to New Zealand. No one had tile slightest conception at that time that Mr. Churchill would be in Washington. It was not till the finish of the North African campaign that Mr. Churchill knew he was going tb Washington. The Minister is not a thought reader. There is nothing unusual about no appointment being made to Ottawa. General Hurley has not been replaced as United States Minister to New Zealand.' President Roosevelt has not thought fit to appoint anyone else, but we don’t take that as a slight.” Mr. Fraser said that Dr. Evatt had not gone to Washington Io meet Sir. Churchill. Dr. Evatt had not the slightest conception that Mr. Churchill would be in Washington and Mr. Curtin himself bad announced that Dr. Evatt intended meeting Mr. Churchill in London. “Our missions abroad are invaluable,” said Mr. Fraser. “The Minister of Finance can, and I hope he will, take the opportunity of dealing with his work in Washington.” Use of Subsidies.

Defending the ■ use of subsidies, the Prime Minister said they were given by every one of the United Nations in the war. In Great Britain they amounted to £100,000,060 per annum. Subsidies in New Zealand totalled about £3,750,000, and on a pro rata basis the amount paid out in great Britain was much greater. The Leader of the Opposition had stated that the soldiers would have to pay the cost of the subsidies when they returned after the war, but did the soldiers object to subsidies to keep down the cost of living for their mothers, wives and children? Mr. Fraser said that while the questions of rehabilitation and manpower did not occupy a great deal of the Budget, they occupied a prominent and important part in the minds and hearts of the Government.

The Government agreed with the statement of the Leader of the Opposition that soldiers should be placed on the 'land at its productive value. That was a splendid pronouncement, and the Government with the help of the Opposition would have the opportunity of putting it into operation before long. When there were proposals to obtain land at its productive value, ho hoped the Leader of the Opposition would stand to his guns and support the Government wholeheartedly when it took steps to see that the soldiers were not exploited in the value of land. ‘‘l can inform the Leader of the Opposition that New Zealand Forest Products, Ltd., were granted a licence weeks ago to undertake the particular operation for which they sought a licence,’’ said the Prime Minister, replying to criticism by Mr. Holland that the company had been held up by the Government. When Mr. Doidge (Opposition, Tauranga) interjected that the Government had taken a long time to make up its mind the Prime Minister replied, that it was justified in giving long consideration to the question of the proper utilization of the country's natural resources. The Government was the trustee of the nation’s resources, which included the use of 470,000 acres of forests, and it had to

consider the soundest foundation on. which to build what would be a big, national industry. The honourable gentleman would stand corrected that his information was wrong. How could a war be fought without getting into debt? asked Mr. Eraser in reply to Mr. Holland's references to the burden of debt. Did Mr. Holland think that the people should pay the whole cost now by taxation? Was that possible? The present policy had the support of the people and they would show their appreciation by their contributions to the war loan. »

Charges of Waste.

The Leader of the Opposition hud made charges of waste and inefficiency, said Mr. Fraser. When Mr. Holland was" Minister in Charge of War Expenditure he said he had found only two cases of waste in camps. Mr. Fraser said that when he thought of the vast scope of the war effort he marvelled that so little had gone wrong. Air. Holland in February of this year was reported to have said that, he had been removed from the WUr Administration because he knew too much. He was not removed. Pile only person who removed him was Mr. Holland himself. rT ~ , , , Mr. Fraser said Mr. Holland bad referred to the inquiry at a naval base. The inquiry was made by Mr. Justice Blair and two engineers, Messrs. Cable and Stewart, and their report was adopted in great measure. He knew the discipline at the base even now was not as good as 'it ought to be. He would like to be able to say that it was, but he had doubts. Every possible step was being taken. , Mr Fraser said the President of the United States, with a similar but immensely larger dispute than that laced by the New Zealand Government last year, had adopted the same course and taken over the coal mines. That was the question on which Mr. Holland had left the War Administration. That was the question on which two of his colleagues had agreed with the Government and then changed their minds and followed their leader. “The War Administration might have led-to a National Government if it had been proved successful,” said Mr. Fraser. An Opposition member: It had no chance. . , Mr. Fraser said that with the withdrawal of Mr. Holland and, his colleagues from the War Administration all hope of a National Government had gone.

Referring to the possible effect of lease-leiid transactions on the Dominion’s London funds, the Prime Minister said that an arrangement had been entered into by which the country's sterling resources would be safeguarded.

The present war to date had'cost New Zealand £280,600.000, as against £30,000,000 for the last war after three and a half years. One could hardly grasp the difference in expenditure as compared with that war and this. The whole of the last war cost the Dominion ,£89,000,000, practically the whole of which was financed by loan. To date the present war had been financed by loan to the extent of 52 per cent., the rest having been met out of revenue. Since the present Government assumed office the overseas debt, including war debt, had shown a net decrease of £1,116,700. Apart from war debt the debt domiciled in London had been reduced by £10,6912,000. The debt domiciled in Australia had peen reduced' by £730,000., "Where was all the talk about the Dominion piling up debt? asked Mr. Fraser. “Are our friends in the Opposition trying to say that we should' not have borrowed money to build those thousands of. homes, the schools and , hospitals, and other national undertakings?” said the Prime Minister. “We make no apology for borrowing for such purposes.” The Prime Minister said that the Budget had been 'brought down in the most difficult times the country had ever faced. The Dominion had pledged to fight with all its resources and it would continue to do so, whatever the cost.