A NEW VISION

Rotorua Morning Post, Volume 1, Issue 17, 12 September 1931, Page 2

A NEW VISION

rhere comss a time in the commercial iife of every comraunity when a new vision is required to meet the needs of fnture I piogress. Man cannot live by bread alone, and, to paraphrase the old proverb, in relation to the Dominion's interest, New x,ealand cannot live solely by frozen mutton, wool and dairy . products. Wool has fallen below production costs; fat lambs don't pay for their freights to the markets, and butter has slumped to a bare economical proposition. We cry to our trade : Quo Vadis V' Everything is in a state .of flux. and transition, and, in order to counteract the slump in our routine commodi.ties, we must seek fresh fields of enterprise, and new pastures of trade. What fresh fields can we exploit ? What have we to offer in place of our agrarian products? We recall a statement by our late Prime Minister, the Right Hon. Sir Joseph Ward, to the effect that "Tourist Resorts could be made of great national importance to New Zealand, with further development. Not even the meat and dairy industries would bring into New Zealand as much money as the tourists would leave behind them." Sir Joseph Ward was a man of vision, and there is his statement as a lead. The tourist problem has never been, fully prospected, much less exploited. The blame cannot be laid at the door of the officials in charge of the Department. Good soldiers must have the arms and equipment of war. With the little money placed at its disposal, and the curb placed on its activities, the Department cannot reasonably be expected to make the same showing as Canada or Hawaii, with their millions of dollars. The Department has done good work with the money grudgingly given to it. What it requires now is the wherewithal to extend its activities and bring further progress and prosperity to the Dominion. We believe that the Department has the men who are capable of putting a strong policy into operation. What other countries have done we, also, can do; and let us do it heroically. For years past the Government has toyed with the proposition, but to what purpose? If we are to make progress we require fresh tinder to rekindle the flame of the tourist torch to light the way to a new realm of commercial prosperity. And not only is it the State's responsibility, but also the duty lies with every factor — State, civic, commercial and individual — in the community.