N.Z. Warned About Aspirations

Press, Volume CII, Issue 30288, 14 November 1963, Page 6

N.Z. Warned About Aspirations

(New Zealand Press Association) HAMILTON, November 13. In New Zealand, living it up with the “atomic Joneses” was not justified, said Dr. K. B. Cumberland, professor of geography at Auckland University, speaking at a lamb field day at the Horotiu works of the Auckland Fanners’ Freezing Co-operative today.

Duplicating in New Zealand facilities provided so much more lavishly elsewhere for space and atomic research was a waste and misuse of effort and resources, said Dr. Cumberland. One might question whether in the light of changing world conditions New Zealand was not misguided in retaining in its system of education such overwhelming emphasis on Latin, Greek, and modern European languages, and on British and European history and geography when Asia might be so much more important to this country’s future. New Zealand was a little country—a small isolated Pacific island nation with very limited resources. It was a country however, that had one outstanding economic achievement to its credit. It was capable of producing much more per capita on its farms than any other country, large or small, capitalist or Communist. Dr. Cumberland said New Zealand persistently ignored this outstanding fact.

For more than a generation it had sought to bolster every other avenue of economic endeavour more than that in which it had long since established its supremacy.

However, New Zealand’s lead in per capita productivity in agriculture was dwindling. While many countries in Europe, ’ the Americas and Asia were participating in an unprecedented era of econo-' mic growth, this country’s economy was virtually static —and had been for four or five years. He hoped that farmers did not believe -the wool boom had solved New Zealand’s problems. “In the last few months New Zealand’s terms of trade have clearly improved. There is money about and stocks and shares have reached record levels. “However, all this hides a bald and unpalatable truth that fundamentally New Zealand’s economy is unchanged

and the way things are going, increasingly vulnerable. This paper prosperity only serves to deepen our apathy and unconcern. “Production is barely steady. “For three or four years now the volume of agricultural production has not kept pace with internal population growth and this is the absolute minimum essential if our living standards are not to fall significantly or overseas funds are not to evaporate, if imported industrial equipment and materials are to be available and if employment is not to fall. “New Zealand's real problem is production, not markets. This year, had we had it to sell, we could have sold more butter, more mutton, more beef, more wool, more veal and more canned food of various kinds,” Dr. Cumberland said.