The Butter Ration

Press, Volume LXXXV, Issue 25933, 13 October 1949, Page 4

The Butter Ration

It seems that Mr Nordmeyer's announcement of the increase in the butter ration was made after inquiries from Opposition members of the House of Representatives about the future of butter and cream rationing. That may account for the baldness of the statement in which this important change in Government policy was communicated to Parliament and the public. It will not relieve the Government of the responsibility of making known the facts on which its decision was based, or of giving some account of the discussions with the British Government which presumably preceded it. Mr Nord- i meyer has on several occasions expressed the Government's firm intention to make no change in the New Zealand butter ration which would jeopardise the British ration, which, as he told the House of Representatives. was recently increased from three to four ounces a week, so that “ Britons now have eight “ ounces of spread a week compared “ with six ounces in this country ”. The comparison was unfair: and it was not made less unfair by the Minister going on to say that Britain is still very short of edible fats and that New Zealanders should do more to help by saving their domestic fats. The British are allowed two ounces of cooking fats a week: and this means that the British housewife has to cut fairly deeply into her eight ounces of “ spread *’ to make her cooking palatable. All of Britain’s butter supplies come now from non-dollar areas— Australia. New Zealand, Denmark, and Holland. When the ration was increased in July it was stated that increased shipments from New Zealand and Denmark had greatly improved the supply. The increase in New Zealand shipments in the last year, according to figures recently given by the New Zealand Dairy Board, amounted to 10,833 tons. The extra ration in this country will draw off about 4000 tons in a year—not a very substantial amount by itself. The real danger is that the

New Zealand Government's action may stimulate a demand in Australia for similar “ relief ”, which the Federal Government would be unable or unwilling to resist. If the British Ministry of Food has given an assurance that it would not be embarrassed by this additional, and much larger, cut in its butter supplies, the public should be told. New Zealanders will welcome the additional butter; but most of them would rather forgo-it than take it with a bad conscience.