IS NEW ZEALAND’S LIVING COST WORLD’S LOWEST? REVEALING COMPARISONS WITH ENGLAND

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 12, Issue 48, 21 May 1948, Page 5

IS NEW ZEALAND’S LIVING COST WORLD’S LOWEST? REVEALING COMPARISONS WITH ENGLAND

Cost of living in New Zealand is the lowest in the world, the Minister of Finance, Mr Nash, told the Labour Party conference. He said figures which appeared in the United Nations Statistical Bulletin proved it. Figures printed at the foot of this article seem to prove something else.

When studying the table given below, it should be borne in mind that the figures are not official statistics. No-one has spent gallons of midnight oil stewing over them to make them prove anything other than what they clearly say. While not doubting for a moment that, in some obscure way, statistics might be made to suggest that the cost of living here actually was the lowest in the world, the Beacon decided to find out what ordinary citizens thought about it. They just didn’t believe it. Pooh-poohed the idea. So the only thing to do was to try for comparisons. A reporter found an Englishman, not long parted from the land of his fathers, who was prepared to say what every-day-commodities were costing in England just a few months ago, and he did not consider cost of living there by any means the world’s lowest. Next step was to ask local shopkeepers what those things •cost here, right here in Whakatane. Our Englishman had been a garage proprietor. Keeps in touch with the business over there, so it was natural to seek a • comparison of wages for motor mechanics. Latest information he had was that English mechanics, equivalent to our A grade, drew a minimum of 3/- an hour for a 45 hour week. A grade award rate here is 3/9 for 40 hours. That means the New Zealander gets 15/- more a week to meet the difference in prices, and pay high taxes. CLOTHING

Women’s clothing prices show similar differences, in some cases even much greater.

HOUSEHOLD LINEN

FOOD (per lb)

GENERAL

Men’s England Whakatane £ s d £ s d Shirts 14 0 15 0 Sports Trousers (English Worsted) 2 0 0 3 7 6 -Sports Coats (General Standard) £2—2 10 0 5 5 0 Utility Suits 5 5 0 13 13 0 .Raincoats (Gabardine lined thr’out) 3 0 0 5 10 0 Socks (Wool) 2 11 8 11 Boy’s Shirts 6 11 8/- to 14/Pants (Navy 6/- to 10/14 9 Sports Coats (general to -excellent) 15/- to £2 2 17 3 Raincoats (Gabardine lined thr’out) 2 0 0 2 15 0 Good Quality Suits 2 0 0 3 15 0

Double Bed Sheets (pair) 1 10 0 3 1 0 Double Bed Blankets (pair) 2 10 0 7 16 6 Pillow Cases 4 11 4 6 Bathroom Towels 2 11 up 8 6 Binen Tea Towels 2 6 4 11 Army Blankets (each) 8 0 1 8 0

Butter 1 7 1 6 Sugar ' 2| 7 Tea 3 4 4 6 Cooking Fats 10 Unprocurable Potatoes 8 0 cwt. 5 5 (281b.) Dried Preaches 1 0 2 8 Currants 1 0 9i Sultanas 1 0 Unprocurable Tinned Milk (Sweetened) 11 1 Oh Tinned Milk (Unsweetened) 9 9i Fresh Milk (quart) 4i 7 Bread (21b loaf) 4f 6 Topside (beef) 1 2 1 3 Rump Steak (beef) 1 10 1 7 Cabbage (large) 6 1 2 Bananas (a lb) 7 9 Oranges (a lb) 7 9 to 11 Apples 4 up 6 up Tomatoes (according to season) 9d to 1 7 9d to 1 7

Cup and Saucer 2 11 3 9 Set of Enamel Pots 2 0 0 3 17 0 Lawnmowers 3 15 0 7 16 6 Super Sports Bicycle fitted with threespeed hub and dynamo lamp 18 0 0 29 19 0 Petrol (gallon) 2 82 3 1'2 Oil (quart) 2 3 h 2 10