Mr Lake Says Living Standards Improving

Press, Volume CV, Issue 30979, 8 February 1966, Page 14

Mr Lake Says Living Standards Improving

(New Zealand Press Association) WELLINGTON, February 7. New Zealand’s standard of living—already one of the highest in the world —will improve still further in the future, according to the Minister of Finance (Mr Lake).

“N e w Zealand is well to the forefront in those things which are important in judging the living standards of the people,” said Mr Lake.

"It needs to be generally recognised however, that part of the price of our very rapid rate of growth has been strong pressure on New Zealand’s reserves of overseas exchange. “Maximum efforts will continue to be made to increase New Zealand's export earnings and the Government is confident that its policies for encouraging the flow of resources to industries which export or which have an export potential, will achieve the desired results,” he said.

Mr Lake said at the same time it was clear that New Zealand would need not only a continuous rise in export earnings—but also a significant inflow of overseas capital for both public and private investment, if a high rate of economic development was to be maintained.

“Unless export prospects deteriorate because of factors we cannot foresee and which are beyond our control, the support for our external reserves which has been made available by use of the resources of the international monetary fund—and the action taken by the Government to dampen demand in the noexport sectore of the economy —will operate to enable New Zealand to maintain a high and uninterrupted growth rate,” he said. MORE RISES

“This will produce further rises in the already high living standards of New Zealanders. “Since the most recent dates for which comparisons can be made there have been significant gains in real gross domestic production which should have ensured that New Zealanders maintained or improved their comparatively high living standards,” he said.

Mr Lake said in the 1965 March year, gross national product before correction for price changes, rose by 9.4 per cent—compared with a 9.8 per cent rise in 1964. “It is evident that the rise in real production during 1965 must have approached the 1964 figure,” he said. “Since April last year, production in New Zealand must have continued to rise spectacularly—a circumstance which continues to overstrain our resources of labour and capital and which requires continued use, and might yet require intensification, of the restraints which have been introduced by the Government with the object of achieving better balance both internally and in our external accounts,” said Mr Lake. FIGURES The Minister illustrated New Zealand’s prosperity by releasing figures of comparative living standards as follows: — Percentage of dwellings with piped water in 1960-61. —New Zealand (first) 99.5: England and Wales 98.7; West Germany 96.7; Switzerland 96.1; United States 94.0; Sweden 91.4. Percentage of dwellings with baths in 1960-61—New Zealand (first) 97.1; United States 88.1; Canada 80.3; England and Wales 78.7; Switzerland 68.7; Sweden 60.9. Food consumption (calories per day, per head) in 196263.—New Zealand (first) 3510; Britain 3290: Switzerland 3170; Australia 3140; United States 3090; Canada 3060. Education (full-time university students per 1000 population in 1961).—United States 21.0; New Zealand (second) 12.2; U.S.S.R. 12.1; Canada 8.8: Australia 8.4: Britain 6.5. Electricity (kilowatts per

head in 1962). —Canada 6290; Sweden 5370; United States 5050; New Zealand (fourth) 3200; Britain 3000; Western Germany 2470. Private transport (care per 1000 population in 1963). — United States 362.7; Canada 253.0; New Zealand (third) 238.3; Australia 229.3; Sweden 204.6; France 166.2. Communications (telephones per 1000 population in 1963-64). United States 442.6; Sweden 422.5; New Zealand (third) 350: Canada 349: Switzerland 339.5; Australia 231.1.

Television (per 1000 population, 1963). —United States 326.6; Canada 245.9; Sweden 239.5; Britain 237.7; Japan 158.0; Australia 155.3. (Of the countries for which information is available New Zealand

ranked eleventh in 1963 with 56.7 sets per 1000 population —but by September 1965 the New Zealand figure had climbed to 109 per 1000 population). PATTERN NOTED

“It will be seen that there is a fairly consistent pattern,” said Mr Lake. “Those countries which have a high-ranking in one field usually have high-rank-ing in the others. “An interesting exception is the U.S.S.R. Although nearly half a century has elapsed since the Russian revolution the process of industrialisation evidently has still some way to go—but presumably in an attempt to hasten the process, considerable investment is being made in education,” he said.