OUR INDUSTRIES

Hokitika Guardian, 27 August 1931, Page 6

OUR INDUSTRIES

- IMPORTANT MATTER.

WHAT EVERY MILLION

MEANS

WELLINGTON,'August 25,

The devising of new means of affording relief to the unemployed, apart from the various relief schemes, was given a.great deal of thought and consideration by the old Unemployment Board before it disbanded. Some of the' avenues that were being explored, notably those for mutual assistance in secondary industries, are dealt- with in a lengthy report of the board laid on the table of the House:

The report' states that owing to the necessity for providing urgent relief to the. ever-increasing number of unemployed, and the consequent absorption of the whole of the board’s funds, it was not possible to allocate finance for the development of secondary industries. However, the board .passed several very important resolutions and made a" 1 number of recommendations to the Prime Minister. PREFERENCE TO LOCAL GOODS. The first resolution confirmed by ■Cabinet referred jto the purchase, wherever possible, of New Zealandmade goods by Government departments. As an addition to that policy the board requested that the lending departments should be instructed to give definite preference; when granting loans, to those applicants -who provide, for the use- .'oEVNewi Zealand timbers and locally manufactured materials in buildings .offered...as security: It also asked that local bodies receiving grants or aid from public funds should be required to give preterence to New Zea-land-made goods, and that purchases from overseas should not be made unless satisfactory reasons were given-for doing so. Statistics submitted with the board’s recommendation showed that lor every £1,000,000 worth of good manufactured in the Dominion approximately" 150 u persons are provided with employment. Stress was laid also on the fact that development in any specific industry would result in development of allied industries, supplying raw materials.

THE RETAILER’S PART. Recognising that increased production of, and demand for, New Zealandmade goods could not be effective unless retail traders did their share in making the goods available to the public the board endeavoured to arrange a conference between the Prime' Minister and representatives of certain retail trades. ! >-

Many applications were received for assistance in establishing or extending businesses' of <r character -similar to those already established in the Dominion, but the board adopted a policy of declining them all on the grow; d that such assistance would merely aid one competitor against another without increasing the volume of -t-nule.

PROPOSED NEW' INDUSTRIES. Consideration was given to applications for assistance in establishing new industries in the manufacture of i on-poisonous white lead sulphate, sirawboard, woodpmp, and carbonisation of coal. A report was prepared m connection with the manufacture oi tins and cases for packing oil and motor spirit imported in bulk. Ihis report is to be brought before Cabinet by the Minister of Labour.

A strong recommendation has been made to' the new board for investigation of a /proposal that 25 per cent, of the cars imported by each importer shall be chassis only. - It .is considered that a valuable opportunity exists tor assistance to local industry if a satisfactory basis of operation can be devised.

The. general question of tariffs in relation to employment was considered, also that of dumping and of end-oi-sea son's goods-unloaded on the local market. Roth matters are left to the new board.