PRICES & COSTS

Wairarapa Times-Age, 16 November 1938, Page 6

PRICES & COSTS

INVESTIGATION IN NEW SOUTH WALES NEW ZEALAND METHODS CRITICISED MR JOHN SPENCE’S REPORT By Telegraph—Press Association—Copyright. (Received This Day, 11.10 a.m.) SYDNEY, This Day. The Premier (Mr B. S. B. Stevens) announced that a bill would be introduced before Christmas to empower the Industrial Commission to investigate food prices, rents and the cost of building material. An additional Judge would be appointed to the commission and the position probably would be offered to Mr John Spence, State Auditor-General, who recently inquired into the methods adopted by New Zealand. On Mr Spence’s advice, Cabinet has rejected the New Zealand system of price-fixing. In his report to Cabinet, Mr Spence said the New Zealand scheme had involved considerable expense in administration and inquisitorial- powers of investigation, which, although accepted by the commercial community in a spirit of resignation, were in principle strongly resented. He added that the New Zealand experiment had extended beyond measures to protect the consumer against high prices to an attempt to. control and rationalise industry by licensing and supervision by the Bureau of Industry. Mr Spence said that, contrasted with the determination of wages by a judicial authority, the administrative control of prices and industry through a Government Department could not be altogether free from the suspicion of political influence.