Evening Post THURSDAY, DECEMBER 8, 1938. IS THERE A PLAN?

Evening Post, Volume CXXVI, Issue 138, 8 December 1938, Page 8

Evening Post THURSDAY, DECEMBER 8, 1938. IS THERE A PLAN?

Virtues are claimed by the Government for its insulation policy, but it has yet to be shown that the practical preparation has been made that will bring the desired results. Particularly is this so in regard to the development of secondary industries, which the Prime Minister states is one of the principal objects of the plan. Mr. Savage has presented import control as a natural 'concomitant of the Government's general economic policy and not something designed to meet a special emergency. For a number of years there has been a great deal of theorising about the desirability of building up economic secondary industries in New Zealand, but up to the present there has been little in the way of practical result. The need for surveys being made of the avenues open for industrial development has been stressed from time to time by the Prime Minister, the Minister of Finance (Mr. Nash), the Minister of Industries and Commerce (Mr. Sullivan), and other Government spokesmen, but if the surveys have been made the results have not been very apparent. To how many new industries can the Government point, established as a result of assistance and encouragement from the State? In his last Budget, Mr. Nash referred to "the extensive investigation into possible new industries" by the Department of Industries and Commerce, but "a number of these proposed industries have been found uneconomic of operation." "But," the Minister added, "it is hoped that as a result of the Department's efforts, several new activities may be commenced locally." Now the Government has decided to license and, it must be inferred, restrict imports. If there is to be restriction the needs of the market must be met locally. Mr. Savage states that import selection is the most effective way of building up our own industries, but however desirable that building-up process may be, the real test must be economic production. The people of New Zealand should not be asked to pay too heavy a price for the benefits that will follow industrial development. Again last evening Mr. Savage spoke of the need for a survey of industry. This, no doubt, is necessary and desirable, but in order to satisfy the manufacturers (and the public), a greater practical effort than has been apparent so far will be needed. Surveys alone will not produce the goods which the public need: they must be followed by action, and the action taken must be on sound lines. In the meantime, there is need for further information regarding the intentions of the Government in regard to import selection. The statements made by the Prime Minister and the Minister of Finance have left so much unsaid that importers must be facing the future with a great measure of uncertainty. The satisfactory conduct of their business will become well-nigh impossible if they are expected to operate without knowing, even in general terms, what orders they will be entitled to placeJ abroad. The Government owes it to them to make its intentions much clearer than they have been made so far. As the representatives of importers have emphasised, established business houses have been trading with New Zealand for many years. Is their trading now to be subject to disturbance at short notice, or are they expected to carry on from month to month? Business cannot be done in that way.

Apart altogether from the prime difficulty of economic manufacture under the heavy handicap of short hours and high costs, what thought has the Government given to the practical scheme of regulation? Has it the machinery for ascertaining stocks held in the country and comparing them with the demand? Has it considered what goods are essential and in what quantities, and can it say with any degree of accuracy (not in vague general^ terms) that plant and labour can be provided to meet that demand in local manufacture? We doubt very much whether the Government has given sufficient thought or made real preparation on these important issues. If it attempts to apply its theory of selective importing to any wide range of goods, there may be very real and troublesome disturbance of trade.