Expenditure Estimates Show Decrease Of Over £3,000,000

Taranaki Daily News, 4 June 1943, Page 4

Expenditure Estimates Show Decrease Of Over £3,000,000

Press Assn.

Details of departmental votes

Wellington, Last Night.

Estimates of national expenditure which were presented to the House of Representatives to-night show an increase of over £3,000,000 over expenditure in the last financial year. Permanent appropriations amount to £19,665,836, compared with £18,252,278 last year and annual votes are £21,554,169, compared with £19,954,153.. Debt services are £16,190,065, compared with £12,395,566. Expenditure under public debt repayments is £3.000,060, against £2,565,354 last year. The increase is due to an increase in the public debt. Provision is again made for the transfer of £1,500.000 to the war expenses account. Many of the votes are almost unchanged from last year. The.v are: — External affairs department: This is now a vote which provides for the expenditure of various legations or High Commissioners' offices. Last year for this purpose £91.078 was expended, and this year £144,872 is to be voted. The increase is partly accounted for by New Zealand's proportion of the League of Nations expenses, £15,330,, and an in- ; crease in the cost of the London office due to provision for exchange, which is expected to amount to about £15,000. The Ottawa office is up from £6324 to £14.512 because a full staff is now being employed, and Canberra is expected to cost £11,965. Treasury Reduction. Treasury department: Exnenditure is expected to total £81,064, compared with £284,070. The higher figure last year was due to the deposit account. Internal affairs department: The vote shows an increase of approximately £15„000, of which £11,000 is for the campaign for the prevention of hydatids. Department of Island Territories: This is a new account, but as it has taken ovqp the.jpld cExternal Affairs ..vote that is used. for. purposes of comparison. The vote is £185,627, compared with £147,891 last year. Of the increase £24,000 is for maintenance of plantations and £32,500 is for increased purchase of bananas, the latter being recoverable from saies. Printing and stationery department: The vote is £414,000, compared with £405,000 last year. Expenditure is down by about £36., 000, but exchange calls for £43,000. Marine department: The vote is £149,240, compared with £143,597. The biggest item of increase is £9000 for harbour dredging. Labour department: The vote of £328,016 compares with £474,983 last year, the decrease being due to the item for employment promotion, £220,750, compared with £374,890. Electoral department: Expenditure on the general election is reffected in the vote of £107,108, compared with £11,097 last year, when there was one by-elec-tion. Justice and prisons department: The vote is £249,610, compared with £236,502. Police Pay Increase. Police departmdnt' The vote shows an increase of £70,000 in pay, of which £34,000 is for allowance in lieu of overtime, which is a new salaries item. The j total vote is £795,164, compared with £716,125. Lands and Survey department: The vote is £361,200, compared with £322,481. The main increases are clearing Crown lands £4200, payments to outgoing leases £3100, compared with £1400, and expenditure on recreation grounds and grants to domain boards £3100, compared with £1545. Agriculture department: The increase in the vote of £977,515, compared with £896,364, includes an additional £20,000 for destruction of rabbits and an additional £3797 for poisons, Flock Houso £9000, compared with £6838, horticultural station at Te Kauwhata £19,750, compared with £15,953. There is an increase of , ^10, 000 in salaries for the livestock division. The cost of the Journal of Agriculture is estimated to rise to £10,500 from £9039. Expenditure on control of citrus canker is estimated al £2000, compared with £783 last year. Industries and Commerce and Tourist and Publicity Department: The vote is £681,758, compared with £886,232. The decrease of £204,000 is due mainly to the subsfidy on wheat of £358,000, compared with £582,000. Last year there were advance payments of £230.000 in respect of this year. The Port Bowen wreck, which cost £17,113 last year, is estimated to cost £6000 this year. Twenty-one thousand pounds is provided for advertising New Zealand overseas, compared with £25,275. The present vote includes £19,000 for films, photographs and displays. The expenditure of £20,433 on Chateau Tongariro last year is dropped to £1000 because it is not open to the public. Three thousand pounds is provided for South Island tourist resorts. Research Work. Scientific and Industrial Research Department: The vote of £207,176, compared with £176,013, is due mainly to minor increases in many items. There is £1370 for chemicals for building research in timber protection. Mines department: in the vote of £96,143, compared with £37,981, there is an increase of £9000 for the purchase of equipment. Health department: The vote is £1.800.268, compared with £1,982,995. A staff increase of 400 brings salaries from £342,324 to £402,170, grants to hospital boards to provide accommodation for tuberculosis cases are £20.000, compared with £4809, and health education and publicity is increased from £1529 to £5000. Eleven thousand pounds is provided for medical bursaries, a new item. Subsidies to hospital boards total £1.050,000, compared with £1,292,338. the difference being due to £102,000 of last year's item being advances against this year. Mental Hospitals Department: The vote is £510,000, compared with £474,435. Salaries and wages are up £15,000 and overtime and meal allowances by approximately £10,000, and there is an increase of £2000 for bedding and clothing. Compensation for workers is £2700, comoared with £540. and rent and rates £3500. compared with £1933. this being due to the taking over of Wairakei and Chateau Tongariro. Five hundred pounds

is provided for loss of patients' property in the Seacliff fire. Education department: In the vote of £4,783,293, compared with £4,670,839, teachers' salaries have increased from £2,070,641 to £2,180,612. War and other pensions: The vote is £3,491,397, compared with £2,382,858, an increase of £1,108,000. Present war pensions are estimated to take £1,120,000, compared with £479,827. A new item is £400 for pensions and allowances to members of the mercantile marine. The figure for 1914-18 war pensions and allowances is increased by £446,000. Exchange on war pensions paid overseas amounts to £10,000, and medical treatment for ex-members of the New Zealand Expeditionary Forces is increased by £7000. Social Security Department: There is an increase in the vote to £4,100,000, compared with £3,600,000. Maintenance of public works and services is increased to £500,000 from £178,909, the increase being accounted for by the fact that more credits in aid were received last year than was anticipated. Separ'ate accounts total £28,210,426, compared with £21,446,670 last year. Last year's figures are given in parentheses in the folowing details:— Public works account: Public works departmental, £150,000 (credit of £100 due to more credits in aid than anticipated); railway conStruction, £275,000 (£233,829); housing construction, Which is a new vote for nine months only, £3,064,000; public buildings, £500,000 (£454,232), provision for mental hospitals being the main item of increase; lighthouses and harbour works, £25,000 (£6824); radio direction finding beacons and electrification of lights, £10,000 (£5224); roads, £200,000 (£127,961); 6oil conservation and rivers control, new vote, £40,000; land and miscellaneous. £30,000 (£17,595) ; irrigation, water supply and drainage, £230,000 (£81,996); education buildings, £225,000 (£204,713); linen flax, £400,000 (£521,569). The total for public works is £5,139,000 (£1,648,619). Hydro-electric Development. Electricity supply: Development of water supply £3,200,000 (£2,015,231), £380,000 being provided for North Island schemes ana £428,000 for South Island. Main highways, £1,682,200 (£1,623,558); land: . for settlement, £198,700 .,(£157,242), £15,000 of the increase being transfer from Hutt Valley land settlement receipts; .small farms developments, £394,000 (£65,048), the main item in the vote being £205,000 for acquisition of land. Social security fnnd: Administrative expenses and emergency benefits, £631,400 (£636,949); medical and hospital bene-r fits, £4,332,000 (£3,721,179), the main items being maternity £539,000 (£505.224), medical £1,030,000 (£1,016,053), ho'spital £2,076,000 (£1,540,595), of which plblic hospitals account for £580,000 increase and private hospitals and approved' institutions for £45,000 decrease; pharmaceutical, £537,000 (£563.247); supplementary benefit, £160,000 (£97.424), there being an increase of £11,412 in radiological services. There is also £25,000 provided this year for massage and £20,000 for specialists' services, which have not appeared previously. State coal mines, £1,061,324 (£845,713), the increase being due to the purchase of collieries. Railway Working. Working railways account: Vote, £11,016,154 (£10,250,232). There is an increase of £100,000 for maintenance of rolling stock, and the depreciation account is £1,000,000 (£482,387). Railways improvements and additions to open lines are voted £20,000 (£355), the difference being due to credits in aid received last year. Accounts outside the public account are: — Post and Telegraph Department: Vote £4,726,844 (£4,388,043). It is noted that salaries amount to £2,066.915 (£1,988,041) because there were 27 pay days this year instead of 26. The uniform and clothing vote is £23,000 (£14,207) due to provision of uniforms for female employees. Dairy industry account: Vote £27,836 (£59,773), the decrease being due to the gubsidy on the change-over from butter to cheese, which was paid last year. Internal marketing: Vote £103.973 (£55,859). Purchase of plant and machinery for dehydration is expected to cost £50,000. Broadcasting: Vote £328,945 (£286,143), of which the national broadcasting allocation is £180,360 (£146,149) and the commercial broadcasting allocation £148,585 (£139,994). An interesting item under national broadcasting is the provision of £20,000 for concerts for the fighting services. The staff of the national broadcasting service has increased from 203 to 260, while the commercial staff has decreased from 294 to 235. There is a corresponding change-over in the votes for salaries.