The Government came to the conclusion that it was no longer possible to rely on the proceeds of taxation and voluntary savings alone and that introduction of some element of compulsory savings was unavoidable. The bill before the house is a comprehensive measure and seeks to cover all the major sections of the community who can be expected to have some margin for savings, however small that might be. It cannot be denied that compulsory savings would impose some hardship, particularly on the lower income groups. No one would have been happier than ourselves if we had the means of eliminating these groups from the scope of compulsory savings, but in our country, by far the major portion of the population is poor and unless the poorer sections are also made to save, we cannot hope to build the country's future prosperity. The opinion of the attorney general on the constitutional validity of the bill has already been laid on the table of this house. Hon. Members may have also seen reports of the discussions in the other house which have since been circulated to them. I have nothing much to add to these issues except to confirm that, in our view parliament is fully competent to legislate on a measure of this type and that the restrictions which this bill seeks to impose are reasonable restrictions and are, in the interest of the general public, within the meaning of article 19(5) of the constitution. Government are taking powers to provide for sutiable reductions or exemptions, wherever they may be justified, to ensure that the bill does not impose any undue hardship. The scheme to be drawn up will be laid before parliament and hon. Members would have full opportunity to suggest whatever modifications that they consider necessary considerable opposition.
