BACK TO PROSPERITY

Rotorua Morning Post, Volume 1, Issue 73, 17 November 1931, Page 6

BACK TO PROSPERITY

coalition policy OUTLINE OF GOVERNMENT'S PLANS FOR NATIONAL RECOVERY PARTY LEADERS' MANIFESTO The first purpose of the Coalition Government will be to maintain the finances of the State on a sound basis. With the reduction of overseas borrowing, and with our national income so seriously reduced by the fail in export prices, a decrease of Government expenditure is essential — in proportion to thq decrease in the income of the community as a whole. Econom ies in Government expenditure have already been made. Further economies will be necessary. But whatever further sacrifices are required to enable our country to weather the storm will be demanded on a basis fair to all. We recognise that taxation is now so heavy that the burden is hard to bear; but taxpayers must face the fact that there is no alternative other than national bankruptcy. When conditions improve and a reduction of taxation becomes possible, the Government will first afford some relief to the family man and to industry. Unemployment The enormous and unprecedented increase in unemployment during the past year has raised a problem. that demands most earnest thought and determined action. . While unemployment exists and thousands of our workers, through no fault of their own, are without the means of earning a livelihood, the Government will make every effort to ensure that none of them shall lack at

least the necessities of life. We are determined to ensure, whereever possible, that all relief work shall be of a productive nature. Nevertheless, the Government recognise that the objective is not merely to provide unemployment relief, but to provide a remedy for unemployment. Our real task is to make it possible for the unemployed to be absorbed in normal industries. The whole economic and industrial policy of the Government has a bearing on the problem of unemployment. This grave problem, with all its attendant hardships, will be tackled systematically and with the utmost vigour. Keep Farmers On Land The Coalition Government recognise

that the prosperity of New Zealand can be revived only by means of an improvement in the economic condiditions of the farming community. Steps have already been taken to assist the farmers by a reduction of land-tax, a considerable reduction of county rates, a lowering of the price of fertilisers, generous' assistance to Crown tenants, and measures for the relief of mortgagors. Unless export prices recover in the near future, other and stronger measures may have to be adopted to keep our farmers on the land. One great need to-day is the exploration and exploitation of new markets for our staple products. The Government will co-operate with other organisations in an intensive effort to improve the quality of our produce, and also to raise the price of our produce in the overseas markets. If and when the new British Government proposes any reciprocal arrangement with regard to tariffs, the New Zealand Government will be ready to take full advantage of this great opportunity of further developing Empire trade. Development of Industries Realising that an important means of alleviating unemplyoment is the. expansion of manufacturing industries, a development of Industries Committee ,has been set up to work out the ways in which the Government may co-operate with industries so that they may be established on a competitive basis. This committee will also advise on the conditions, difficulties, needs'and prospeets of existing industries and proposed new industries, and whether the ' development of any particular industry can be justified from a national economic point of view. The Customs tariff — apart from its revenue-producing aspect — affords a reasonable measure of protection and a safeguard against dumping. The Government will grant protection to new industries where it can be shown fchat a substantial amount of capital and labour are involved, that the industry is fully equipped with the most modern appliances, that its output is likely to meet a reasonable proportion of the total needs of the Dominion, and that the goods produced are reasonably comparable in quality and price with those produced abroad. Land Settlement The depression, with its consequent fail in land values and general costs, is likely toi result in a condition more favourable to land settlement than we have found at any previous time since the War. New Zealand's return to prosperity depends largely upon 'ncreasing the volume of our exportable produce. We intend to give opportunity to those who wish to carve out homes in the rural districts, enabling more of our people to settle on the land as farmers, and bringing into production areas of land at present unproductive. "Group Settlement" under the Act of 1928 will be continued.

The Government will accelerate the many schem.es now in hand for the preparation and development of suits^ble tracts of Crown land. When blocks of land are ready for selection, the men engaged during the period of development, having proved themselves suitable and adaptable, will be given an opportunity of selecting sections. Our proposals include also the settlement on small holdings near the towns of workers who, though in employment, wish to live on the outskirts of the towns, giving their spare time to making homes and augmenting their earnings. In country districts, similarly, married workers will be given an opportunity of securing each a cottage and a few acres on which they can work to supplement their wages. We wish to make it clear that all our proposals are conditioned by the over-riding question of finance.