REHABILITATION OF INDUSTRY

Dominion, Volume 37, Issue 18, 16 October 1943, Page 4

REHABILITATION OF INDUSTRY

Address By Minister INDIVIDUAL PLANNING URGED Dominion Special Service, NAPIER, October 15. “Unless industry can be organized and tiie manufacturing concerns in the country can be rehabilitated, the rehabilitation of New Zealand's servicemen and servicewomen will fail,” said the Minister of Rehabilitation, Major Skinner, when addressing the New Zealand manufacturers’ conference. The Minister urged that each industry and manufacturing concern in the country should formulate its own little plan to get each, concern back into peacetime' production. If that was done, then those individual plans could be welded into one big plan. Irrespective of political views, he was satisfied that no one wanted to see the Government fall down on rehabilitation. The Minister paid a tribute to the manner in which production had been maintained in New Zealand, despite the many thousands of men and women who had been withdrawn for service with the armed forces. The difficulties that were being encountered in New Zealand iu regard to production were being encountered in other countries, he said. New Zealand w£Ts one of the few countries which had not been knocked about by enemy action. Its isolatoin, which has caused so many headaches in the past, had been its salvation during the war. It was very difficult to say where rehabilitation started and where it finished, continued Major Skinner. The rehabilitation of servicemen would not be the same problem as the rehabilitation of industry. “I agree that we have no clear-cut plan for industry. That will only come by the manufacturers working with us,” he said. “You know your problems much better than the Government knows them, and it is from you that we must get the completed plan.” The Minister expressed the desire that the manufacturers should appoint a committee to confer with the Government. Industry had been readily taking back men suffering from disability, and were having them trained in their work, enabling them to fill a worth-while place in business concerns. That was where the committee could do good work, and, if it considered that the Government could give assistance in training meu, the Government would be prepared to help. When the war was over it would be necessary for New Zealand manufacturers to compete to some extent in the world markets, said Major Skinner. By planning he saw no reason why this could not be done successfully. It could be done by expanding those industries which used a high percentage of the country’s own raw materials, either primary or mineral. Another type of industry that could be expanded was that which used a iow labour content for the units produced. In his opinion these two principles should be kept in the forefront in the planning of industry. He agreed with the suggestion made by the conference that a survey should be made of supplies of raw materials for use in existing factories and the Government would be pleased to facilitate this work being carried out. As the result of their industrial and commercial experience, the manufacturers knew better than other people which of the new industries should be set up.