WAR FINANCE LEGISLATION

Waikato Times, Volume 125, Issue 20915, 21 September 1939, Page 6

WAR FINANCE LEGISLATION

Postponement of the legislation providing for the financing of New Zealand's part in the war indicates that the Government has not yet completed its plans. The delay is probably necessary, but it seems desirable that the Government should as soon as possible give the public a general indication of the extent of the call to be made for the first period. Uncertainty has led to a crop of rumours, all or most of which are probably very wide of the mark. Unnecessary alarm and uncertainty are caused by such false rumours, which in a time of emergency gain much wider credence than they deserve. The Government has hinted that extra taxation, in addition probably to loans and advances of credit by the Reserve Bank, will be necessary, but there is no reason apparent to the public for spectacular increases in taxation in the meantime. The Government has £5,000,000 available from Britain for defence purposes, and it should be possible to transfer a large sum from the unexpended balance of the Public Works Fund and from other sources. No indication has been given of the extent of the expenditure involved, and so it has been impossible for the public to make any sort of estimate of the amount of money required. Hence it is not surprising that guesses have been made and that they have been developed into more or less definite assertions.

In the meantime Parliament is to proceed with the consideration of the legislation remaining on the order paper, including an amendment to the Social Security Act giving effect to the agreement with the British Medical Association with regard to the maternity benefit. Whether the necessities of war finance will interfere with the full operation of all the benefits under the Social Security Act is not yet known, but it is apparently the intention of the Government in the meantime not to curtail the social services in any way. Little legislation remains to be dealt with in the present session, and it may be that the war finance legislation will be the last business before Parliament adjourns.