Minister Chastised

Press, Volume CV, Issue 30977, 5 February 1966, Page 1

Minister Chastised

The American Trade Association of New Zealand disapproved of the recent statements by Mr John Stonehouse, Parliamentary Secretary’ to the British Ministry of Aviation, in his efforts to persuade N.A.C. to buy the B.A.C. 1-11, said Mr W. J. Wills, president of the association, in Wellington.

“We would have hoped that Mr Stonehouse had sufficient confidence in his aircraft to let quality, price and operating economy be the deciding factors, and not political expediency,” said Mr Wills. “Our present dependence on the purchases by Britain of our primary produce cannot be denied. “However, our inability to rely permanently on this market —due, we appreciate, to Britain’s own problems—has caused us to seek export outlets elsewhere. “Mr G. W. Taylor, the Boeing representative, if he had

wished, could very well have pointed to the much more favourable New ZealandAmerican trading climate which would inevitably result from a decision in favour of the Boeing 737,” he said. “However, the general reaction to Mr Stonehouse’s statement leaves little doubt that the New Zealand public is strongly against this type of pressure, and we feel that it has certainly not helped the cause of the B.A.C. 1-11. “As a trade organisation, my association strongly upholds the principle of purchase on the basis of price and quality,” said Mr Wills. “We accept the fact there

are occasions when other factors must unavoidably affect a decision but such factors did not exist in this particular case. “Both parties were in a position to bring pressure to bear, and I feel that it was most unfortunate that Mr Stonehouse chose to take advantage of the coincidence of the trade talks to do this. “Future trade relationships with the United States could well be far more important to New Zealand than those with England, particularly as it appears that we may soon be almost completely dependent upon the United States for our long-range defence.”