DAIRY INDUSTRY

Wairarapa Times-Age, 29 November 1939, Page 6

DAIRY INDUSTRY

SPECIAL CONFERENCE OPENED ADDRESS BY FARMERS’ UNION PRESIDENT. CONDITIONS OF WAR TIME CO-OPERATION. (By Telegraph—Press Association.) WELLINGTON, This Day. A special Dominion conference of ward delegates of the New Zealand Dairy Board opened this morning. There were also present members of the Dairy Industry Council, representing the National Dairy Federation, the South Island Dairy Association, the New Zealand Farmers’ Union and the Dairy Board, which has been meeting during the last two days, Mr W. E. Hale, chairman of the Dairy Board, presiding. In an address, Mr W. W. Mulholland. Dominion President of the Farmers’ Union and a member of the Dairy Industry Council, said they were prepared to co-operate with the Government to the fullest degree in order that the war might be efficiently conducted, but must make it quite plain to the Government and everyone else in the community that they were not prepared to co-operate with anyone to change the economic system to one that was simple slavery and domination, and where freedom would be lost entirely. He charged the Government with already having taken actions that could not be justified by the war situation, and with having failed to take the country into its Confidence regarding its intentions. The fact that the Government had to take wide powers did not mean that it should not take the country into its confidence with regard to its intentions. In any state of emergency, Mr Mulholland continued, it was essential that there should be the best possible relations between the Government and the rest of the community. The Government’s failure to give a straightout assurance that it would not make use of the war situation to introduce a permanent scheme of socialisation was one of the largest factors militating against this co-operation and understanding. particularly as far as the farming community was concerned. With regard to exchange control. Mr Mulholland said there was only one way in which the exchange position could be corrected, and that was by bringing the internal value of the pound into line with its external value, cither by increasing its internal purchasing power or by increasing the number of New Zealand pounds purchased by £lOO sterling., thus raising the New Zealand value of goods sold overseas. In any case, the activities of the printing press must be reduced, and that meant that the Government must practice economy. If the position were examined, it would be seen thatothe amount of notes in circulation was still increased. New Zealand had to realise that no monetary manipulation could produce something out of nothing. The first essential in New Zealand today was a change in inflationary policy, and this was a fundamental thing to farmers. The farmer was going to be swamped by mounting costs? which must rise very considerably in the near future, unless some leaso’nable method were found of dealing with the situation. He would say that the Government’s worst failure in the economic field had been its handling of the exchange position and factors connected with it. That, failure might be disastrous to the whole community. Referring to enlistments from farming industry, Mr Mulholland expiessed the view that farmers did not want any special treatment, but it was reasonable to ask for time to enable farmers to readjust the working of their places to make provision for labour wheie employees desired to enlist. "I believe we should state emphatically that we are prepared to submit io whatever regulations are necessary for the conduct of the war. ’ Mr Mulholland said, "but that we should add this proviso—that those regulations should be so administered that a normal position can be returned to alter the wai. We should insist that the war must not be used as an excuse for perman- > ent Government control of industry in New Zealand. That is fundamental. We should insist also that commercial institutions which have served this country well from its inception and have grown up with its needs must be preserved."