THE DAIRY DEFICIT

Wairarapa Times-Age, 8 July 1939, Page 6

THE DAIRY DEFICIT

RESERVE BANK AS SHOCK ABSORBER. VIEWS OF MR B. ROBERTS. (By Telegraoh—Press Association.) WELLINGTON. This Day. An admission that there were financial embarrassments at the moment, but a claim that they were due to the previous Government, was made by Mr Ben Roberts, member for Wairarapa, speaking in the Address-in -Reply debate in the House of Representatives yesterday. Some people would sooner see the country in difficulties than the Labour Government succeed, he said. Mr Hargest (Opposition, Awarua): "What arrant humbug." the import restrictions, Mr Roberts said, would have a very favourable effect on secondary industries and also on subsidiary primary industries. While some people were taking capital out of the country, other people were only too willing to bring capital into it to build factories. Referring to the guaranteed price. Mr Roberts suggested that the Prime Minister should call the bluff of the National Party and the Farmers' Union and take a vote of the farmers on whether they wanted the system retained. There .would be a deficit of about £2.000.000 in the dairy industry account, but the Reserve Bank was a better shock absorber than the farm ■ ers.