BUDGET DEBATE

Hokitika Guardian, 16 July 1926, Page 4

BUDGET DEBATE

SPEECH BY AIR FORBES. AYELLIINGTON, July 14. Describing the Budget as a bare bones document, Air G. W. Forbes, leader of tho National Party, spoilt most of his hour on the financial debate in conducting a search for the progressive announcements. He declared that they could not he found. Air Forbes suggested that the cutting out of matter from tho Budget had reduced it to bare bones and spoiled its human interest. In former times the policy statements ill the document provoked some good debates. Ho was afraid the bare book-keeping Budget _ would not eneourago one: of these firstclass discussions with which old members wore familiar. The fine response to New Zealand’s last loan was a matter of which every member of ihc House was pnlud, but this created just tbe same danger as came from too large a majority. When lie first came to the House he remembered that the Prime Minister lin'd a large majority aiiul that this caused a great deal of trouble. There had been n little evidence already this session of difficulty in keeping discipline in the large battalions. The danger of over-subscrip-tion of the loan was that the Go\ eminent might he tempted to go for more. However, there was no hint in ihe Budget regarding the Government’s loan" propose Is. He believed that protection had been a success in establishing secondary industries in Australia, and ho favoured a similar policy m New Zealand, though there was not much of nil encouraging nature on this question in the Budget. THE GREAT FORWARD. AfOVEATEXT.

He could remember by heart what the Reform advertisements promised during the election. We were on the eve of a great forward movement. It was said so. He looked for signs of it in the Budget. It told them that there w;as to ho n. tapering-off in public works, not n forward movement-, rod two and a half millions further writings off from soldiers’ lands, which wasnot a forward movement, but a disastrous retreat. Nothing bad been done t.o get back any of the money lost on the high price of land from those who sold it to/the Government. The public debt, however, had moved forward by eleven millions, and it could reasonably be said that the main fentur* of tho Budget was an explanation cf tho reasons for this forward movement of debt, and what was to be done about

repay,nuhit. An examination ,of tho State Ad dunces Department statement showed that there was not much of a forward movement there. TAXATION PROAITSES.

ft would not lie disputed that during, tho general election the Government had made promises that the burden of taxation would be placed on the shoulders best able to bear it, and that tliei*- would he 'reductions in taxation, but tho Budget gave no indication Unit those promises would be fulfilled. AYhat was said ill the Budget would not fit in with the election slogan of “getting things done” and the statement that the country was on the eve of a great forward movement. It had been believed during the election that there would ho relief in the matter of the

incidence of taxation, which was unfair in principle and an adjustment was necessary. However, the Government had turned ’ the thing down and nothing was being done by way of revision. There was little or no evidence that wc were making n forward movement. The best that could lie said was that \yc>- were holding our own. “I look on New Zealand in much filesame \f.iy as I regard a farm,” continued Afr Forbes. “When wo increase the mortgage on the farm by £11,009,000, wo are increasing it by a pretty tidy sum.” He was not going to say that good arguments could not be given for increasing the public debt. Every farmer who increased the mortgage on his farm could find good reason for doing so. The question was, Can we go on borrowing iat- Such a high rate? It did not matter that boi'row-

ing was necessary. AVe had to consider whether the country could stand it™ Mr/ Forbes remembered that years ago, when Sir Jospeh Ward was Prime Arinistor, tho Government had to defend a proposal that, £5,000,000 should bo borrowed—to defend it very strenuously. To-day nobody seemed to care (Hbout borrowing. There was no ;:>ncern about the future, or nobody worried when the public debt was increased so enormously. SEARCHING FOR ECONOMY. SIGNS. Discuss Rig Wi© transfer of over £400,000 to the P/iilway Account to meet losses on branch lines, Mr Fortes asked if this was not likely to dispose of any incentive to make them pat. A

good deal more push and business ability were needed in connection with branch lines. Every service given by tho railways was paid for, and the Department should now pay in its turn tho full amount of interest on its capital. Though every Government candidate promised to introduce the strictest economy into the public service, all that the Government bad done had been to set up a committee of departmental heads, who had overhauled the Estimates and submitted a- plan of expenditure involving £416,000 more than last year. A good deal more was needed than a departmental committee. He had always nmintained that there was weakness in the method of expending public works funds. The Government should follow tho New South Wales plan of submitting all proposals to a Parliamentary. Committee, which look-' ed into the question of whether grants would bo justified by results. While it was pleasant for the Minister to go around the country making promises, he believed Parliament should Irt.ve greater control over expenditure. Evidently the Minister of Finance was getting a hit anxious about the cost- of “the great forward movement” predicted last year by the Prime Minister, so that the suggested committee should bo welcomed. Expenditure on public works during the period of high interest amounted. to 37i millions, When the Liberal Government brought in the sinking fund system, it was condemned as unsound, because there was no reason to repay while we were still borrowing. However, the critics, who now were in office had given that Act, which they called a Paltry thing, a prominent position in the Budget ard their loan prospectus. They made a good deal of the fact that New Zealand had a debt repayment system.