The Press FRIDAY, DECEMBER 13, 1963. New Opportunity In Tasman Trade

Press, Volume CII, Issue 30313, 13 December 1963, Page 16

The Press FRIDAY, DECEMBER 13, 1963. New Opportunity In Tasman Trade

The return of the Menzies! Government to power in Australia may be morel significant for New Zealand! than is generally recognised. [ The Liberal-Country Party! coalition’s greatly-increased majority has been accom-1 panied by an alteration in the balance of power in the Government. The final state of the parties is: Liberal 52 '■ seats, Country 20, A.L.P. 50.1 Of the 10 seats lost by' Labour, the Liberals gained •even. The Country Party has, therefore, lost ground, relatively, to the Liberal Party. The Liberal Party is still 11 seats short of a clear majority, but needs the votes of only half the Country members —instead of all of them—to put any measure through the House. Sir Robert Menzies, astute politician that he is, will no doubt exploit this tactical advantage to the full. For New Zealand, the significance of this shift in the balance of power across the Tasman is the possibility of a less protective attitude

in Canberra towards Australian farmers. It is an open [ secret that only the opposi-| tion of the Country Party prevented Sir Robert Men-, zies from revaluing the Australian pound some years ago; it is common knowledge that the Country Party has been primarily responsible for keeping New Zealand dairy products and other primary produce off the Australian market. New Zealand should waste no time in approaching the new Austra- | lian Government with concrete proposals for removing the barriers to ' increased New Zealand . exports to Australia. The : Australians will naturally [ask for reciprocity, and the [New Zealand Government imust be prepared to concede the principle. Seldom ; have political conditions on ■both sides of the Tasman been more propitious for a freeing of trade between the two countries. Now is the chance for the two to prove their , statesmanship.