MORE GOODS NEEDED

Chronicle (Levin), 15 May 1947, Page 5

MORE GOODS NEEDED

Prc>ss Associatio'n

LABOUR CAUCUS ON CONTROL OF PRICES

By Telegraph—

WELLINGTON, -May 14. That an ever-inereasing supply oi goods and serviees produeed m New Zealand and imported from abroad, was esseniial to the efi'eetiveness ot stabilisation and price control, was one of the 14 recoiiunendations adopted to (lav by the eaucus of the l'arliainent-ary Labour Party. lt was stated that only in tliis wav eould the standard oi Jiving of the people be safeguarded anu improved. The recoiiunendations were contained in a report presented by the ActingMinister in charge of .Stabilisation, Mr Nordmeyer, on behalf of a special coininittee set up for tlie purpose of ad vising on stabilisation and price con trol. The reconmiendations are: — (1) An ever-increasing snpply ot goods and serviees produeed in New Zealand and imported from abroad is essential to the offectiveness of stabilisation and price control. Only thus ean the standard of living of the people be safeguarded and improved. (2) In order that the worker may receive an adequate share of goods and serviees availalile, stabilisation and price control sliould be eon.tii.med and sliould be autliorised by statute rathei': than by regulations. (Tliis inust mean an increase in sty.ll" and the payment of salaries sutb'eient to attract tlie most eompetent offieers. Y ['.)) The .Stabilisation Commission and Priee Tribunal sliould be reeonstituted and strengthcned and should be com bined and be eoordinated with other authorities dealing with stabilisation, priee control arnl supply. (4) An Eeonomie Resoareh Coininittee should ' be cstablished under stabilisation for the purpose of examining the trends in production, finance and supply. (.">) In order that labour and materinl may be fully availalile for goods wliieh are at present priee-controlled, the range of goods and serviees subject to riee control should be extended. During the p.eriod of shortage of /..anpower the Government should adopt measures to ensure that supplies are direcled and labour eneouraged into essential production. (7) Melhods of price contro.l\ em ployed should be such as to encourage elhciencv in production and eeonomy in distribution. (8) Tn order to make price control more effective, the use of stapdards should be extended and consideration sliould be given to their compulsory applieation in certain fields. (9) The wage level should be based on a cost-of -living index lccpt under cnustant review to ensure that it accurately measures the real cost of living. Consideration should also be given to the desirability of introdueing incentive systems of payment. so that wage-earners will aliare equitably in the inducement to promote anereased prpdnction. noi Monhtary control should be exvrcised to an .extent necessary to

safeguard the purchasing power of tlu pound. (11) Taxation should be an essential factor in stabilisation procedure and in ensuring more eqviitable distribution of the nation 's- income.0 (12) Subsidies should be continned • to an extent ne.&Bsaary- to maintaui ' stabilisation and to the limit of tlie I revenue for this purpose available from taxation. (13) The national savings scheme sliould be continued until production .gains momentum and the shortage of cons,umer goods is overtaken. j (14) In order to minimise the.burden of" debt, interqst rates should be progressively reduced consistent witli the [ maintenance of eeonomie stability. , '