TOTAL WAR FOOTING

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXX, Issue 21112, 4 June 1943, Page 4

TOTAL WAR FOOTING

' CHALLENGE TO ALL i ’ ‘ * ' L MAN-POWER NEEDS PRODUCTION RESULTS (P.R.) WELLINGTON, June 4. The fact that until victory was achieved all must concentrate their energies on providing the greatest aid lo the war effort was pointed out by the Minister of Finance, the Hon. W. Nash, in his Budget speech in the House of Representatives last night. Mr. Nash said that New Zealand had already done much and was on a total war 'footing, with a very largojirdport.ion of the population serving or having served in the armed forces. “With, such a heavy withdrawal of man-power from industry it is inevitable; that difficulties are being experienced, although these have been mitigated by the re-employment of married women and retired men,” he continued. “The industrial situation has necessitated adequate measures of man-power control; ‘Such has boon the success of the Government’s efforts that ' the factory output in 1944-12 reached,- the record value of £155,500,000, which is more than 36 per cent above the value of production in the pre-war years. 1 “With primary production, too, the results -! had’ been most satisfactory. With a. slight decline‘in 1941-42 from the record figures of the previous year, primary production was still exceeding all pretwar records.

Shortages of Goods T“D6hpite "the Success of both the primary;and secondary industries there had been shortages of certain classes of goods. Insofar as locally-produced goods ‘hvere concerned, a large proportion of these had been diverted to the feeding • and provisioning of United States forces, while, as regards goods from overseas, even if one could get the g'nods to import unnecessarily at tile present time was to divert shipping and occupy space urgently needed for war purposes. “The satisfactory production re-sults,-together -with the,-United Kingdom's ability to provide shipping for oiir exports, resulted in a record banking figure of overseas assets totalling £46,600,000 during the year. This receded, somewhat by the end of I lie linuncia) year due to repayments to l lie United Kingdom Government of pari of New Zealand’s overseas indebtedness* arising, out. of the' war, but, nevertheless,hit-the end of March last (ho -Dominion’s net. overseas funds totalled £37,100,000, as compared with £30,900,000 at the close of the previous year.” ■ - • . 11