Liberal Says N.Z. Freedom Has Been Captured By Bureaucrats

Press, Volume XCIV, Issue 28080, 22 September 1956, Page 7

Liberal Says N.Z. Freedom Has Been Captured By Bureaucrats

“The Press” Special Service

WELLINGTON, September 21. New Zealanders have surrendered their freedom to bureaucrats, and have only themselves to blame, according to Mr David Goldblatt, an English businessman, who is a spokesman for the Liberal International movement. He told a public meeting that this was not an indictment of bureaucracy, nor of politicians, but an indictment of New Zealanders. “The power of the Government is only that which you surrender to it. and politicians are only an expression of the age in which they flourish, said Mr Goldblatt. “They come from among you. and they are no better or worse than you are. You are chaining yourselves into a prison in which authority is only too happy to lock you.” The chairman of the meeting was a leading Wellington businessman. Sir Jack Harris. Afterward, names of many of those present were taken for a list of prospective members of tne movement. Mr Goldblatt gave examples of law points which he said gave undue powers to department heads and Ministers of the Crown, particularly in regard to appeals against actions of department officers. The most sinister development was that of government by decree and regulation, said Mr Goldblatt. New regulations were coming out all the time. No lawyer of self-esteem would say

for sure what the law was on many subjects at any given time, because a new regulation might nave Deen gazetted while he was talking. Discussing New Zealand's monetary controls. Mr Goldblatt said peop J® were told they were not to be trustea with money. Money was taken away first in taxation, then this was not enough so additional measures w ®£® applied, in the form of a credit squeeze and an increased bank rate. But this should not have been necessary. The credit squeeze operated m the old davs. when bankers balanced the rate against the demand for credit —if a lot of credit was wanted, tne rate went up, and it went down when the demand fell off. “Of course, the credit squeeze operates against the small borrower rather than the big one,” said Mr Goldblatt. “Can you imagine the manager of, say, a big woollen mill being told to reduce his overdraft, otherwise his cheques would not be met? He would just say to the bank manager: ‘You do that, and Til sack 20,000 work^s —then see what they have to say.’ ’’ Mr Goldblatt said he did not want to attack the Reserve Bank system of monetary control—this was necessary. Bureaucrats and politicians 'were not the only ones who curtailed freedom. There had been two incidents in the last few months which illustrated the power of some pressure groups. “First, a pair of expensive olankets were offered for sale in Wellington, and a certain gentleman objected to the blankets being imported.” said Mr Goldblatt. “This gentleman then said: ‘lf the Government doesn’t do something about stopping the imports, we will have to.*

“'Then the Judge of the Court of Arbitration went overseas, a Judge was appointed to take his place, the Federation of Labour said ‘Oh, no,* and the Court did not function. You would have imagined that the Government would have supervened, but it didn’t.” On New Zealand’s tariff policy. Mr Goldblatt said the country was “gripped by a psychosis of fear.” and shoddy goods in the shops were the result. Mr Goldblatt said that social security could not be justified in a fully planned economy—it was a confession of inability in the planners and controllers. “Control as much as you will but the blueprint never comes out as you expect.” he said.