WELLINGTON NEWS

Hokitika Guardian, 5 February 1929, Page 3

WELLINGTON NEWS

INTERCHANGE OF PRODUCE. [Special To The Guardian ] WELLINGTON. February I. As long as satisfactory returns are obtained in the home markets growers of potatoes in the Commonwealth and this Dominion are not disposed 1' worry about outlets beyond their borders, observes the Melbourne “Argus.” Occasionally the Commonwealth has r large quantity of potatoes available fo export, and a light crop in New Zen land creates an attractive market tilerfor supplies. The Dominion is anxious to ship a portion of its surplus to tli Commonwealth, lint the potato grow ers of the Commonwealth resent outside competition because it would re fluce market rates. Shipments <>' potatoes from New Zealand to tin Commonwealth have in the past been resented by producers there, and even tually Lite importation of New Zealand potatoes was prohibited 'because the authorities in Australia insisted that no potato growing areas in this Domin ion were free from corky scab disease. The Dominion authorities however denied that this was the case, and they were - prepared to issue a certificate that potatoes grown in certain areas were unaffected by the pest. 'This war of no avail, and the New Zealand Government retaliated by. imposing conditions upon the importation of potatoes from Australia which made it impossible to trade, so that both markets arc now closed against each cither. On the face of it this looks childish and very stupid and the consumers are sufferers New Zealand has a surplus of potatoes and the Commonwealth is to some extent short of the tuber and the con sinner is not allowed to have the benefit that would accrue from importin'’ New Zealand potatoes. Farmers and politicians together have closed hot! markets to competition and more stupid business one cannot imagine. Australia is admittedly wedded to ar extreme protection policy in imitation of the United States, but for all that the imports into Australia are on a large scale, at all events for the five months ended Decern her 31st. the im ports totalled over £60.000.0(10. wliih the exports were several millions less and the period covered the best part of the export season. Australia set out to encourage the sugar industry. First Kanaka labour was rooted out of Queensland, perhaps rightly so, the industry was subsidised and protected, and the unfortunate consumer has had to bear the brunt of the costs. Now hard-working immigrants from the south of Europe, with their frugal mode of life, have found sugar glowing profitable under Australian conditions and the sugar crop this yeai shows a huge surplus, but theio will be no price benefit- to the consume) s. and the‘surplus must bo exported and sold for what it will fetch in the open market.

In Victoria the growers of small fruit managed to obtain the assistance ol the. State Government and money was found for jam factories, and the Government has lost heavily. the Com monwealth Shipping Line has a costly experiment which in a few years involved Australia in a loss of about £lO 000.000. How a country may meet trouble by engaging in the shipping trade, is illustrated by the huge losses of the United States Government' services. For 1928 the loss amounted to £90,000,000. The distinction between Australia, and the United States is that the.latter has “money to burn,” while the Commonwealth lias none. Bait can we in New Zealand throw bricks at Australia? We refuse to im port Australia wheat and flour, or rather heavy duties have .been planed upon them to discourage importation: Growers of small fruits in the Molueka district want an embargo placed on South African jams in order to force tho Nelson factory to buy their fruits for jam making. The whole community must submit to a tax to subsidise these small fruit growers and there are only about 300 of them. They are not compelled to grow sinal' fruit, but because they ventured inti the business in the hope of making a living, and are disappointed, they m sist "that the whole country should nurse them. Then we have the tomato growers who desire the prohibition of imports from the, Cook Islands, and the main ground of their plea for protection is that tomatoes from the islands are grown by black men. But these same tomato growers do not object to drinking tea which is the product of black labour in the East, nor vet do they object to eating bananas, oranges,, and pineapples, produced by tho black man. Restraint of trade is the big political problem of the day.