MARGARINE CONTROL

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 1, Issue 30, 30 June 1939, Page 7

MARGARINE CONTROL

PROTECTING THE PUBLIC * PROBLEM IN AUSTRALIA In the House of Representatives sit Canberra last week the Minister ior Social Services, S. : r Frederick .Stewart, said that constitutional difficulties prevented the Government fiom making regulations to forbid the sale of margarine in a, form that 1 might decdve people into thinking It was butter. He hoped that the political econ_ ■omy of. Australia would not be hampered longer by these constitutional limitations. Sir Frederick Stewart was replying •on "behalf of the Government to an w jidjourned motion moved by Mr Anthony (C.P, N.S.W.) to discuss the necessity for action to protect the public and maintain the stability of the dairying industry and the wholesomeness of the people's iood by legislation to ensure that ■ butter might readily be distinguishable iiom substitutes and imitations such as mar- . garine. Mr Anthony said that he a fid dairy farmers had no desire to 'throttle the life out of the marginc industry'' but they claimed some protection, against it because of the unfair competition. There were 42.000 workers on dairy farms'in Australia, and several thousands in butter factories, who enjoyed award wages and a rea_ f so liable standard of living. But the main constituent,s of margarine—im--r-.i-t-d vegetable oils —were produced black labour under sweated conditions. 9 The only State that had done anything practical was Victoria, where / legislation made it necessary for it to be coloured saffron artifically. What was needed was nation-wide! legislation of this nature or an excise duty on margarine. CHIEF OFFENDER. ' - The chief offender was New South Wales. Last year, out of 3,62.7,0001b of margarine made in New South Wales, 535,0001b were e old in Victoria, where restrictions on its sale existed and 229,0001b went to West- / . «rn Australia. Sir Frederick Stewart said that one 4 obstacle in the way of dealing with imported vegetable oils was ~hat thev

nil came frt>m territories administer, ed by Australia or the Imperial Gov-* ernmcnt, ancl the question of trade reciprocity with the Common wealth wn,s involved. Any action attempted must be in concept with the States, and that was the attitude which the Govern, mcnt would pursue at the Agricultural Council Conference, at which the matter avouUl be discussed. Mr Rosevear (Lab., N.S.W.) complained of the petty parochialism of the Country Party towards an in. dustry in which industrial conditions compared more than favourably with other industries. If there was one party which stood for lower wages in industry, he said it was the Country Party. Mr Lane (U.A.P, N.S.W.) claimed that the only reason that this mat-< ter had been brought up was because electors of Richmond and Cowper, according to a report in the Sydney Morning Herald, said that they would obtain new Parliamentary represen. tatives if something was not done about margarine. Because certain imported oils were used in its manufacture, members had attempted to draw the colour line against natives in the Commonwealth's own territories. The motion was ''talked out" under the Standing Orders.