ELECTION DATE

Rotorua Morning Post, Volume 1, Issue 44, 14 October 1931, Page 3

ELECTION DATE

("Post" Special Commissioner).

what is intended? government questioned in house by labour leader FINANCE DEBATE OPENS

WELLINGTON, Tues. The debate on the Financial Statement was commenced in the House of Representatives to-day. The Leader of the Opposition, Mr H. E. Holland, said that before they were called on to consider the Budget they should know how long Parliament was to go on. They also required to know the Government's unemployment policy. It was only right that the people should have the right to deelare themselves on the Government's policy and the Government should make an immediate statement regarding its election intentions. It was not sufficient jior the House to pronounce on the Government programme. Mr Holland said that the United members had been manipulated for party purposes. If they supported the present Government, the United members would have to accept full responsibility for what took place. There was no doubt that Cabinet was dominated by the Reform Party. He alleged that Mr. Downey Stewart had changed his mind in regard to land and income taxation so far as the farmers were concerned. In view of the change of attitude on the part of both the parties in the. Coalition pact towards the promises they had made to the electors, the Government should give the electors an opportunity to deelare their views upon the policy laid down in the Supplementary Budget before it was given effect to. , "I want to ask the Prime Minister this afternoon, before this discussion ends, whether he will make a frank, full and free statement to the House regarding the whole position and tell the House what the Government intends to do with regard to the elections," said Mr. Holland. Dictafcorship ? The present Parliament ended by effluxion of time in the middle of November and he aslced what was going to be done in the meantime. The House should be informed definitely at once by the Prime Minister whether he proposed, by means of the dictatorship which he and the Government could exercise, to impose on the people the prineiples contained in the Budget, or whether he was going to adopt demoeratic methods. Mr M. J. Savage (Labour, Auckland West), said the failure of a Government speaker to follow the leader of the Opposition was remarkable; as remarkable as the statement which they were called upon to discuss. He wanted to know why the Government had not made available to the House the evidence submitted to the interparty economy committjee so that members could judge for themselves the seriousness of the position. "Oue can look through the records of this Parliament," said Mr. Savage, "but one cannot find anything to compare with what has happened. Nothing of the same nature can be found in the political history ! of New Zealand. There was a time when New. Zealand led the way so far as progressive legislation was "con- j cerned, hut now we are told that we have to act as other parts of the world are acting."

No Mind of Its Qwn "The Government does not appear to have a mind of its own so far as tlie election is concerned," said Mr Savage. "If the present eircumstances justify a coalition and the prolonga-' tion of the life of Parliament, then the Government should take the House into its confidence. The Government should let the people know at the earliest possible opportunity whether they are going to be called upon to vote this year. We were led to believe that we were going to get some indication in this statement, but there is nothing in the statement that calls for serious discussion. There is not a member of this House, outside of the members of the Cabinet, who really knows what the position is and I question very much whether many inside of the Cabinet know what the position is. I predict that they will be at each others throats before this is decided.

Mr. J. McCombs (Labour, Lyttelton), said that no Government had a mandate to repeal the land tax. The Coalition had been formed to dbalance the Budget, but the Government was giving away £320,000 to wealthy landowners. The repeal of compulsory arbitration would also be a violation of the old Liberal prineiples. Some of the land owners who were receiving magnificent gifts from the Government were asking that the oldage and soldiers' pensions should be reduced. If the arbitration law were amended it would be an indication that the woidcers would have to accept what the employers offered them. Fairest of All Taxes The Minister of Agriculture, the Hon. D. Jones, said the Supplementary Budget had been received with general satisfaction throughout the country. Evidence of this, and the confidence that had been shown generally since the statement was made, said Mr. Jones, justified the Government in taking a considerable amount of credit of the statement. The income tax proposal was probably the fairest of all the taxes. The graduated land tax was not based on ability to pay and thq abolition of this tax removed a clear inequity, which was in operation to-dav.

The Minister went on to say that the Government was faced with the fact that the graduated land tax on large estates to-day simply- would not be paid and unless owners were given relief, it would be impossible for them to carry on their finances. In America to-day, 10,000,000 acres of land had gone out of occupation because of taxes and rates. Yery important help was being given to the farmers in connection with the. supply of f ertiliser. The Government had gone seriously into the position, he said, recognising how important it was that top-dressing should be carried out and production .maintained, and the' result was that the price of fertiliser had been reduced to £3 17s 6d per ton on rail for 44-46 grade superphosphate,