ASSISTING INDUSTRY

Sun (Auckland), Volume IV, Issue 929, 24 March 1930, Page 12

ASSISTING INDUSTRY

COMMITTEE’S INQUIRY TO PROCEED PERSONNEL OF THREE Special to THE SUX [ WELLINGTON, Today. The deadlock created in the investi- i gation of industrial and manufacturing j conditions in the Dominion by the re-! signation of Mr. H. Jenkins, United j member for Parnell, from the Govern- j ment and the Parliamentary Commit- j tee, will be solved in a few days by the j announcement of the personnel of a! civilian committee to carry on the j work. The committee, which was announced by the Minister of Industries and Commerce, the Hon. J. G. Cobbe, during the last session, was designed to make a preliminary survey of the industrial field to obtain information which would enable the Government to frame its industrial policy. The United Government is committed to a policy of encouragement of manufacturing industries by bonus rather thair; by tariff revision, but manufacturers j hope that the outcome of the com- j mittee’s investigation will be some! form of advisory board to keep the 1 Government informed of trade ] changes. The Parliamentary Committee virtu- 1 ally never functioned, to the disap- i pointment of manufacturers who were anxious for the work to be completed this winter, and the recent change of portfolios seems to have been the final blow to the old committee. Thus a new start was needed. The proposed committee will con-! sist of three men. The manufacturers are to be asked to submit evidence to the committee as to what, in their opinion, are the difficulties with which j their industries are faced, as follow; GOODS FROM OVERSEAS (.1) Whether oversea goods of the j class or description produced b3 r the j particular industry are being imported j into New Zealand in sufficiently large quantities to prevent the proper de- | velopment of the local industry, i (2) Whether the oversea goods so imported are being sold or offered for sale at prices which are below the prices at which similar goods can be profitably manufactured or produced in New Zealand. (3) Whether by reason of the severity and extent of such competition employment in the manufacture or production of such goods in New Zealand is seriously affected. (4) Whether such competition comes from countries where the conditions are so different from those in this as to render competition unfair. (5) Whether in the case of goods exported from New Zealand, such goods are similarly faced with competition from countries with conditions so different as to render the competition unfair. • (6) What other difficulties are preventing the industry from proper development. (7) What means should, in the opinion of the manufacturers, be taken, either by themselves or the Government, to make the industry more efficient and to bring about Us proper development. (S) Tariff anomalies and effects.