NEW ZEALAND’S DESTINY

Press, Volume LXXV, Issue 22659, 14 March 1939, Page 9

NEW ZEALAND’S DESTINY

“A Self-Contained Nation”

THE GOVERNMENT’S POLICY Mr Semple’s Appeal To Workers “New Zealand has for too long been a glorified cowyard and sheep-

station,” , said the Minister for Public Works, the Hon. R. Semple, when, in an address to workmen on the irrigation scheme at Temuka yesterday, he outlined the Government's plan to make the Dominion "self-re-liant and self-contained.” The workmen Mr Semple spoke to are engaged in a new Government enterprise in New Zealand—the repair and reconditioning of imported heavy machinery with locally made parts. After he had addressed them they carried a vote of thanks and confidence in the Government, and pledged themseivcs “100 per cent, with-the Government” in its plans. j "What you are doing here is in line with the policy of the Government—! that is. to make New Zealand more | self-reliant and self-contained,” the' Minister said. "We want lo make | tradesmen out of men, .instead of nav-i vies. We want to convert New Zea-j land into an individual entity. It: should be something more than a ■ glorified cowyard or sheep-station. The : reason for the Government’s action in j regulating imports and controlling ex- I change is to prevent New Zealand | from becoming a dumping ground for i the importers of goods from foreign j nations. We have come to the conclusion that former policies could never lead New Zealand into becom-1 ing what, in our objective, it should j be —a nation within the British Com- j monwealth and at the same time a j nation able to exert its own influence! in the world. We are egotistical enough j to believe that we can do this. We do i not intend, to build up our industries ■ in Japan. Czechoslovokia, or some | other foreign country, by way of im- ! ports. We will build the nation within! New Zealand. | “International Opposition” ! “We are meeting with even interna-1 tional opposition,” Mr Semple said, j "There is very vigorous opposition, naturally, from the importers of foreign goods. But we are not going to worry much about them. What we will worry about is finding suitable occupations for our own boys and girls, who, up to recently, have not been able to find positions suitable to their capabilities or take their proper place in the community. “I feel that what they can make in any other part of the world, we can make “here. We have the natural resources here, and it remains for us to shape those resources into the daily needs of the people of the country, so mat we can become self-contained ana self-reliant. We must harness New Zealand so’ that we can apply the natural and scientific resources to a solution of the problems of mankind. Our policy is an extremely bold one. Politically, we are doing more than any other country in the world. Your job, with us, is to break the ancient crusts of custom, divorce yourselves from ancient and fossilised ideas, and help us. If we had an international calamity, would anyone think of us? We would be left to paddle our own canoe. Our supplies from other parts of the world would be cut off. “Depends on Workers” “Our job is to make provision for normal times and safeguard ourselves against abnormal times. Of course the success of the Government depends in the last analysis on the worker. Unless the workers put their best into the job, Mr Savage and the Cabinet cannot succeed. The nation’s income comes from the total annual production the nation creates. You cannot take more out of the national wealth pool than you put into it. Every worker, toiling as he or she ought, is building up the national' income and consequently his own. The more they put into the pool through their toil, the more they get out, the greater the income of the nation, and the higher the standard of living of the people. And the dividend bug will get less. We want to reduce the division of wealth that makes the poor poorer and the rich richer.”