Minister Discusses New Import Schedule

Press, Volume CV, Issue 31057, 12 May 1966, Page 20

Minister Discusses New Import Schedule

The motor car industry had taken even more substantial cuts than most New Zealand manufacturers in the recently announced 1966-67 import licensing schedule, said the Minister of Customs (Mr Shelton) in an address to the council of the Canterbury Manufacturers’ Association yesterday.

Mr Shelton said that if the Government had been able, in the new schedule, to continue with the same rate of imports as in the present year, he thought that probably the demand for cars would have been met.

“But it would not have been fair to you people to continue importing cars at the same rate,” said Mr Shelton. “They have taken even more substantial cuts than most manufacturers.” Mr Shelton said that the motor industry was one section in which the Government had tried to catch up with pent-up demand. The demand had built up through a shortage of overseas funds. He said he still did not know how successful he had been in trying to let the motor industry catch up with the demand.

If it were not for New Zealand’s shortage of overseas funds, the Government would

have no desire to have any controls for machinery at all, no more than it would want to have any control over motor-cars. Mr Shelton said that the Government had made efforts to try to prevent long-term shortages in this country. The Government, he said, had had to defer a number of applicaitons for capital machinery which it would very much like to have granted. New Zealand relied on the manufactures of New Zealand today to a greater extent than ever before.

Because of this, while there was a shortage of overseas funds, the importer of solelymanufactured goods had had far more severe licencing cuts over the years. Tariff Protection

The policy of the New Zealand Government, he said, was still protection of manufacturers by tariff and the ultimate elimination of import control. “If we had been able to carry out this policy I don’t think there would be many joyous faces in this room," said Mr Shelton.

Mr Shelton said that it did not give him great pleasure to say the Government had to limit manufacturers’ supplies of raw materials. He asked if any of the manufacturers present, could give him any alternative.

“What do you expect me to do?” asked Mr Shelton. He thought no-one could accuse him of not making the greatest use of overseas funds that the Government could lay its hands on. Borrowing Policy

Mi Shelton said he was not going to make any excuses for the Government’s borrowing policy. He did not know where New Zealand would have been if it had not borrowed for machinery and things of that nature.

The new schedule, he said, would take into account that the Government would still have to do some overseas borrowing. He said sources of overseas borrowing in the United Kingdom were going to be drying up for New Zealand in the future. The whole international money market was not easy at present. Mr Shelton said the 1966-67 import licensing schedule took into account all NewZealand was earning; what the country was able to borrow: what reserves New Zea land had, and what reserves New Zealand anticipated hav ing in hand at the end of the licensing period. “This schedule was the best I was able to do,” said Mr Shelton.