Dr. Sutch Answers Farmers

Press, Volume CIII, Issue 30472, 20 June 1964, Page 1

Dr. Sutch Answers Farmers

(From Our Own Reporter; HAMILTON,

June 19.

Questions about the level of protection given to secondary industry in New Zealand, . employment policies and the most desirable use of investment funds were put to the secretary of Industries and Commerce (Dr. W. B. Sutch) after he spoke

to the Ruakura farmers’ conference last evening. Agricultural scientists and farmers joined in the questioning which went on for an hour and at times there was evidence of some feeling. Dr. Sutch told questioners that he did not have the files with him to answer allegations of excessive protection on specific locally-manufac-tured products. He said that expansion of secondary industry had been forced on New Zealand by the forces of internal demand, shortage of overseas funds and the desire for full employment. “You can take it that there are no overseas funds to buy plastic packaging (an item that was the subject of a question) unless people are prepared to forgo things like petrol which we are getting from overseas.” Dr. .Sutch said that there was no use anyone drawing red herrings across the. scene. “It may be fun but we do not discuss national problems by that method ... Let us not get down to this petty level that some people are more favoured than others/’ Low Tariffs Wanted

While it was the responsibility of the Tariff and Development Board to determine protection, Dr. Sutch said that his department’s view was that tariffs should be as low as possible.

If New Zealand.had not had its shortage of overseas funds problem its population over the years would have been been much smaller, he said. Its young people would have had to migrate to Australia and other countries. The lack of overseas funds had resulted in keeping them , here and giving them a job. Asked which was preferable —5 per cent over-employment or 5 per cent under-employ-ment—Dr. Sutch said that he could not contemplate underemployment. “I would not wish unemployment on any man or woman.”

To a suggestion that New Zealand’s standard of living had grown less than in many countries, Dr. Sutch said that account had to be taken of what had been put aside for the future in the way of

roads, schools and so on. To the extent that money had been spent on capital expansion people had had to go without “I would like to see more spent on development than has been and I think that we ought to be going without a little more.. “I think that we have had an increase in living standards in the last 10 years in New Zealand is a remarkable feat.” Good Chance Dr. Sutch said that he thought that New Zealand had a good chance of selling manufactured goods on world markets. Already it was selling radiograms in San Francisco and Christchurchmade shirts in Hong Kong, but he said that New Zealand would not have a mass production industry—it would

rather be a supplier of quality goods for small markets.. He said that he was unhappy at the amount of capital used in this country that was not being put to productive purposes, but where money was being used was largely at the discretion of the owner of the money. If he could say where another million pounds should be spent he would say that it should be put into research. Of help that the Government gave to farming—he mentioned the £sm vote for the Department of Agriculture and transport assistance —Dr. Sutch said it was well warranted, but to inquiries as to where money could best be spent he said that they were not alternatives—both farming and manufacturing should be expanded.