Exchange Parity Shocks British Investor

Chronicle (Levin), 19 January 1949, Page 3

Exchange Parity Shocks British Investor

The recent aetion of New Zealand in devaluing the New Zealand pound apparently gave the British investor and industrialist sometliing of a shock, says Sir Bertram Stevens, former Premier of New South Wales, writing in the Financial Times on ''Australia Today." Sometimes critics '' hearing of the activities of certain trade unions in Australia lump both the southern Dominions together in a general condemnation as "sociaiistic aiid unreliable, " he continues. This is regrettabie and detrimental to the interests of British industrialists who are eonsidering expanding their activities into Australia. "I have no brief," he says, "to defend, reprehend or even explain New Zealand 's aetions, but the talk in British circles I have heard in the last few weeks only goes to show that too few Britons- realise the great dift'erence between the two countries economieaily, industrially, socially and temperamentally. The fact that they both have a Labour Government in name is indeed oue of the few things they have in commoit. "But the position of the Labour Government in New Zealand is vastly difterent from that of its Australian counterpart. New Zealand has for many years had a Socialist Government which has steadily implemehted Soc.ialist policy in so far as it can in a country almost devoid of secondary industries and dependent 011 one great market — the United Kingdom — to dispose of its limited range of exportable produce. There is 110 constitutional bar in New Zealand to the imposition of anv nieasure of Socialism by .the Government. I11 Australia, however, the Federal Constitution has proved an elfective barrier to extreme measures by a Labour Government— far more elfective than any second House of Parliament could ever dare to interpose. " The article goes on to dilate upon Australia as a field for investment.