FINANCIAL OUTLOOK

Hokitika Guardian, 31 December 1920, Page 4

FINANCIAL OUTLOOK

INTERVIEW WITH PRIME MINISTER. AUCKLAND, December 29. The Prime Minister has no jnisgiving regarding New Zealand in the yeai about ,to open. AVliilo lie ■ naturally looks for a change from war conditions and tho happy state of things originating from war prices and the Imperial Government, payments for “commandeered” products, he does not anticipate that the transition period through which the Dominion is going will he ivttcdend by any grave dislocation of business or industry.

“Naturally,” said Mr Massey, chatting with a reporter this morning, “we cannot expect war prices and the conditions created for us by the war to go oil for ever. -We liave reached the point .where tlie return to normal is becoming more and more obvious.- The chief thing to be remembered is that we are dependent on the outside world for tlie greater part of our prosperity. \Ve sell our wool and meat, and other products in a world market, and whatever changes occur in that affect us in spite of ourselves. .Just at present meat prices are reasonable, but the wool market is our chief trouble, and it is hardly to be expected that we shall have a return to tho high prices we got during tho war'. Tlie great [ thing now is to get back to a sound ; basis, and that'will largely depend on the manner in which the -wool now in England is disposed of.” Reference was made to the Australian wool realisation scheme, but Mr ' Massey did not see much hope for New ’ Zealand in that connexion. “The dif- ' ficulty is this,” lie explained. “It is ’ easy for Australia, for it is disposing ’ of the finer grades of wool, but ours is 1 mainly crossbred, and is sold in a 6if- ! ferent kind of market. AVe shall, of ’ course, do whatever we can to restore the wool market to a sound state, but ■' naturally it will take a- little time for the readjustment to be made.”

Asked as to tlie general financial outlook for 1921, the Prime Minister was not as pessimistic as the bankers. “I do not sec why New Zealand should not go ahead in the coming year,” he said, “though of course we.cannot expect to have the prosperity that we had from tlie huge sums of money paid into the country by the Imperial Government during the war lor the produce they bought from us. AA r e arc still enjoying the prosperity brought about by

tlie millions we received in that way

but sooner or later that must come to an end, and we must be prepared to

take wbat prices we can get in the markets of tlie world. But on the whole I think the financial outlook is reasonably good, and that there lias been an improvement to some extent of late, although perhaps that would hardly be admitted by financial authorities.

A reference to the prospects of extending the meat trade to the United States brought from Mr Massey the hope that such a market could be secured, but lie was not over sanguine. “In that market,” be pointed out, “what they ehieily want is our lamb, and we cannot sell, that oxclusijcel.y witliout .prejudicing our market in Great Britain, and that after all is the best markets we liave. But wc naturally want all the markets wc can secure for our products.”

Immigration from Great Britain being mentioned, Mr Massey disclosed the mrnafrkable fact that there wc'ire no fewer than one thousand heads of families in the United Kingdom waiting to secure passages to come to New Zealand.” AVe arc in a position to secure great numbers of settlers there at the

presjent .time,” he said. “AA’b 'take every care to see that they are suitable, and the chief difficulty at the moment is that of securing shipping accommodation. The advantages of New Zealand are becoming better known and we should during the next year secure all th e immigration we can absorb. There are over one thousand beads of families in England at the present moment waiting to come to New Zealand to settle.” In a final word, the Prime Minister said that the outlook for the coming year dependent on two factors; the state of the British market and tho puehasing power there of the public, which bought what New Zealand had to sell and the state of industry at Home.