CALL FOR SACRIFICE

Wairarapa Times-Age, 28 June 1940, Page 5

CALL FOR SACRIFICE

CONDITIONS OF ALIGN WAR EFFORT MINISTER DEFINES POLICY. ADJUSTING THE NATIONAL ECONOMY. “Since the presentation of the last Budget the British Empire has taken up arms to resist the oppression of a powerful and ruthless nation whose objective is the subjection of the democracies and, in particular, the destruction of the British Commonwealth of Nations —the Commonwealth of which we are proud and privileged to be a member,” Mi- Nash observed in introducing the Budget. “The menace from our enemies will bring out all that is great in our people—initiative, fortitude, willingness to sacrifice, and suffer hardship as required—so that the menace may be removed from the world, and our enemy may not prevail. “On the outbreak of war the New Zealand Government, on behalf of the people, immediately offered full and unqualified support to the United Kingdom and her ally, France, and every effort has been made to make that support as effective as possible. Apart from the all-important assistance in the actual theatre of war, since the outbreak of hostilities the whole of New Zealand's exports have been made available to the United Kingdom Government, while at the same time, under our import selection policy, purchases of goods have been diverted to the United Kingdom wherever supplies have been available from that source. “A state of war must necessarily subject the economic structure of a country to severe strains and stresses. Men and women must be withdrawn from particular activities and occupations for service overseas or for diversion to pursuits more in keeping with wartime requirements. Various types of raw materials and other goods which we have to import are in short supply and. difficult to obtain, while shipping services are partially diverted and disorganised. “Much ’ material and the services of thousands of men are required for building and equipping camps and other training centres for the forces to go overseas and for home-defence purposes. Our factories to an increasing extent will be occupied in making boots, clothing, equipment and munitions. We are compelled to extend the volume of labour and material required to feed and generally maintain the men in uniform and also the men and women engaged in a hundred different ways in providing for their requirements. “Except to the extent that it can be offset by additional production 'through hard work and better organisation, the diversion of effort 1o war purposes must be at the expense of civilian consumption of goods and services. In other words, all must share in varying degree in the sacrifieces. There is no escape from that, and the problem is to adjust the burden as equitably as possible over the whole community. “In doing so it is important that normal economic activity should be kept going as much as possible—first, to provide the sinews of war. and, secondly, to maintain the civilian population on as high a standard as is practicable; in fact, strengthening our economic structure to withstand the terrific strain of war. keeping up the morale of the people, and generally maintaining stability on the ‘home front’ is a national duty, for it is a vital factor in any sustained effort on the fighting front.”