CHECKING DRIFT

Rotorua Morning Post, Volume 2, Issue 334, 22 September 1932, Page 5

CHECKING DRIFT

(Press. Assn.-

' N.S.W. FINANCES CHAOTie POSITION LEFT BY THE. LANG REGIME. PRESENTATION OF BUDGET

— By Telegraph — Copyrtght).

Rec. Sept. 21, 9.55 p.m. ^ydney, Sept. 21. The Premier and Treasurer, Mr. B. S. B. Stevens, in delivering the State budget, emphasised the extraordinary difficulty of the budgetary task owing. to the chaotic condition of the finances when he took office. He said. that his predecessor, Mr. J. T. Lang, spent 25/- for every £1 collected. He liTed from weelc to weelc, meeting only such cash payments as could not be avoided, and by not meeting interest on debts. The outcome was that during 18 months, debts amounting' to £20, - 000,000 had .accumul'ated-, either by way of Treasury bills or unpaid accounts. iVfr. Lang's year had ended with a deficiency of £14,227,844. The posi;tion in the current year, said Mr. Stevens, estimated an expenditure of £49,535,0.82 and receipts from all sources at £45,185,082, leaving a deficiency of £4,350,000. Mr. Stevens said that his budget j represented an honest endeavour to bring to manageable proportions the appalling drift, and to assure. that there should be no default in either public or social services. He anticipated tbat the receipts, after allowing for reductions in rail freiglit, taxation and rates of interest, would show an increase of £2,768,392',. while expen/cliture was estimated to show a decrease of £7,109,552. More Taxation Mr. Stevens announced that there would be increase. in taxation, but next year, if circumstances warranted, as he believed they would, the Government, working in co-opera-tion with the Federal authorities, would lighten the burden on industry giving it every chance to extend and increase trading. The Government intended that the. unemployment tax on earnings should not go below £3 10/- per week, the rates of interest to Crown debtors would be reduced from January 1, rail and tram fares would' be reduced benefiitting very many working f'olk in the metropolitan area. Rationing would be discontinued on railways and tramways. Rail serviees overlapping would be co-ordinated. The whole nett profits from the State lotteries would be devoted to hospitals. Rail freight on wool and live stock had already been reduced ten per cent. Coal freight had already ! been reduced. "Widows' pensions would be review- j ed with a view to seeking out those j not entitled. The nett loss on the railways last ! year was £4,555,666. It was esti- j mated- that the loss for the current j year would be £1,976,000-. He expressed satisfaction that the I annual expenditure on the harbour bridge had ended, also that the major cost of the undergrounding of the ! State railways had been defrayed. These works were now in a reproduc- ! tive state. The budget diselosed tbat the Gov- j ernment had been able to reduce the ! deficit by many millions, and had now promised to reduce the cost of

Government for the current year by over £7,000,000. Everything was working out ih aceordance with the Premiers' Plan and preparing the way for complete national recovery.