MR. FORBES CONCEDES A PENNY

Sun (Auckland), Volume IV, Issue 1051, 15 August 1930, Page 8

MR. FORBES CONCEDES A PENNY

THE surprising thing about the debate on the Customs Act Amendment Bill was not so much that the Prime Minister’s prospective trip u r as imperiiled, but that the Government nas able to remain in office. The Opposition has been more than generous to a minority Administration, yet, the end of IS hours of n;eurisome and painstaking effort to blunt at least one menacing taxation barb, it faced the bitter recriminations -of a Government Leader who, for the moment, was merely an angry and disappointed man. Obviously the position in u’hicli Mr. Forbes found himself distorted his view of realities. However great the desirability of his presence at the Imperial Conference, and however sincere the assurances of the House that superfluities u-ould he dropped and the business be put through as speedily as possible, it is ridiculous to suggest that full consideration of a rapacious Bill should, for these reasons, be skimped or quashed. Instead of showing anger on the score of his forced retreat and. concession of a penny rebate from the new petrol-tax, the Prime Minister M-ould have been wise to consider liou- seriously he is straining the patience of the House. Had Labour adhered to its avoM'ed principles and attempted to reduce the cost of living and increase the range of employment, there is very little doubt that the Government would have been dismissed long ago. And now, after the hubbub of debate on a Bill the very appearance of which caused a wave of depression (as exaggerated as it has been sudden) to sweep through the country, it is found that the Government’s only loss is a penny from its petrol-tax. The added tax of threepence has been reduced to twopence, and the total tax is now sixpence instead of sevenpence. When Mr. Forbes complained about the time it took to let the Bill through, it did not seem to occur either to him or to the Opposition to notice how long it took a Prune Minister to yield that penny. Now that the levy on motorists has been lightened to some extent, there need be no suggestion of embarrassment to the budgeting proposals, or a claim that a Government eager to profit in the easiest and most speedy fashion has made its final concession. It was made abundantly clear that the bulk of the additional yield from the petrol-tax was to go to the relief of the Consolidated Fund, while the sum remaining would be spent on backblocks roads. On the Government’s figures the loss of the extra penny practically wipes out the portion set aside for this class of roiiding work, which means that the whole of the additional sum motorists are called on to contribute will go to the assistance of the general revenue. If the Government be content with this allocation it can hardly afford the luxury of crocodile tears at the loss of £150,000.