AUSTRALIAN BUTTER

Ashburton Guardian, Volume 48, Issue 78, 12 January 1928, Page 5

AUSTRALIAN BUTTER

DOMINION COMPETITION. INCREASE IN DUTY DEMANDED. FINANCES OF THE INDUSTRY. (Per Press Association—Copyright.) (Received This Day, 10.55 a.m.) SYDNEY, This Day. Dr. Earle Page (Federal Treasurer), in an address at Turwillumbah on the Government's policy in regard to the dairying industry, referring to the reciprocal agreement between Australia and New Zealand, pointed out that six months' notice was necessary _ before a variation could become effective.- Recently New Zealand had desired to increase the duty on flour by £1 'a ton. The Commonwealth had raised no objection, yet when Australia wanted to increase the duty on New Zealand butter there was an outburst from the Dominion. He suggested that a representative of the Federal Government should be sent to New Zealand to revise the whole treaty tand see if the butter duty could not be settled without delay. New Zealand dairymen, he said, were not benefiting by exports to Australia. Only the speculator benefited. Many countries where the standard of living was much lower than in Australia were going in for dairying, and in order to compete against them, Australia would have to reduce the manufacturing cost to a minimum. The meeting resolved requesting the Federal Government to approach the New Zealand Government, asking for a revision of the whole trade agreement with the object of bringing the increase of the duty on butter into operation as soon as possible, alsto asking that a representative of the Federal Government be sent to New Zealand for the purpose of having the matter dealt with at the earliest moment. Mr Page said that in Australia £125,000,000 represented the capital invested in the development and equipment of dairy farms. They had an annual production of £45,000,000, of which £30,000,000 were for milk products, butter and cheese. Factories reoresented a capital outlay of £23,000.000. There were approximately 500,000 personis and hundreds of towns entirely dependent upon the industry. Directly or indirectly, a million per sons in Australia depended upon the dairying industry for a livelihood.