Concern Voiced At State Of Country's Economy

Chronicle (Levin), 4 June 1948, Page 2

Concern Voiced At State Of Country's Economy

I Concern at the very unsatisfactory state that New Zealand's economy was getting into was expressed by Mr. J. J. Maiier, M.P. for Otaki, when speaking at a public meeting in the Te Horo Hail ron Tuesday night. It was quite possible for a country to have a budgetary surplus and stiil be in a very bad way indeed, commented Mr. Maher. In the 1947 Budget, Mr. Nash had acknowiedged that there nad been a heavy fall in the New Zealand standard of living since 1939. It should be remembered, continued the speaker, that the words "standard of iiving" did not mean how much money people had, but what they eould avaii themselves of with a certain amount of money. Taking as his basic year the period 1938-39, Mr. Nash further acknowiedged that in 1945-46 the goods availabie for coiisumption in New Zealand per head of population were only 83 per cent. of what were availabie in 1938-39. - "In the 1947 Budget, Mr. Nash gave the show away in the foilowing paragraphs," said Mr. Maher. "On page 29 of the Budget, he sai'd: 'This means that on the average, each person could obtain only about four-fifths of the goods availabie to him or her in 1938-39. Whatever might be done in the way of increasing monetary incomes it cannot alter that fact, which is the real measure of our standard of living.' On page 30 of his Budget, Mr. Nash contributed the following: 'As there is now virtually no unemployment in New Zealand, but on the contrary about 33,000 vacant jobs, this objective can be attained omy by making better use of our availabie resources, and above all by increased output perunit of labour. Ways and means must be found, aird found quickly, of gaivanizing our people into greater activity.' "You will notice how Mr. Nasn carefully avoids use of the word 'work,' " commented Mr. Maher. "These paragraphs are what he isays, but are they what the G~vernment does? Does the Government galvanise our people into greater activity as Mr. Nash said it should, or is the Government the biggest paralyser of effort we have in New Zealand? The amount of galvanising that the Government is capable of would not, cover a un bath for a State house." For years the Government haa tried to conceal the fact that there had been a fall in primary production. Now it admittp.d that there was a fall and the Labour Federation had passed a resolution in favour of an inquiry into the cause. This cause was not hard to find, asserted Mr. Maher. In October, 1946 there were 171,000 males working in primary industry. By Octorber, 1947, the number had failen to 170,000. This happened despite the fact that during the interim the number of men in the armed services had fallen from 13,000 to 9000. With men leaving the land, as they had done since Labour had come into power, a fall in primary production could not be avoided. Now the handicaps imposed upon farmers by the Government's ineptitude made it enormously difficult for the diminishing • numbers of men on the land to maintain output.

"It was only to be expected that during the war the wholesale price level would rise, and it did. By 1944 it had climbed from the basic figure of 1000 to 1504. Then it steadied and in December, 1946, it was still only 1509 — only five points above what it was in 1944. But, between December, 1946, anci December, 1947, the wholesale price level flew up to 1711, an increase of 202 points in the twelve months. "If this trend continues, you will soon have the runaway inflation experienced in Germany in 1918. This is the biggest calamity which could overtake the working man." The working man could not become better off by increasing the wage level, said Mr. Maher. Every iaddition to labour costs was put oh to prices, usualiy with a consequenItial addition. Certainly, the family man became worse off by any wage increases which were granted. He only received one increase, but he had to feed and clothe his whoie family, and therefore had to pay several increases. "The . main source of any improvement in the standard of living must be an increase in tne efflciency of everyone concerned in industry," said Mr. Maher in conclusion. "Everyone shoul'd make up their minds to pull their weight, and if that is done there will be a substantial increase in the volume of goods availabie and a substantial decrease in the prices of those goods."