“Only Unemployment Can Reduce Costs”

Press, Volume CVI, Issue 31320, 16 March 1967, Page 3

“Only Unemployment Can Reduce Costs”

Costs could only go down under the orthodox system if there was unemployment, said the president of the Federation of Labour (Mr T. E. Skinner) yesterday.

“That is what the Government aims to do,” he said. The Government knew that with the lifting of subsidies it would reduce the purchasing power of the people. This would mean that people would be hungry and would look for jobs.

“If you pay more for bread and butter, you will go to your employer and ask him for an extra pound a week,” said Mr Skinner. “That pound he pays'. But if there is a chap outside the door looking for a job he reduces your wage. The Government aims to get the cost structure down by reducing wages.”

Mr Skinner said that Britain had its highest unemployed rate since 1962—close to 600,000. This had been brought about by the same kind of legislation that this New Zealand Government was introducing. “Cast Iron Bob Menzies,” the former Prime Minister of Australia, had brought about a credit squeeze. Today about 85,000 were unemployed in Australia. Mr Skinner asked for a reasonable standard of living for the people of Asia. They would have to be given this

so that they could afford to buy the things that we produced. Entering E.E.C. This year or the year after the United Kingdom would enter the E.E.C. There would be no guarantee about the prices for our produce because the Rome Treaty would not allow preferences in guarantees. “With Britain very anxious for her own salvation to join E.E.C., New Zealand should be ready,” said Mr Skinner. Mr Skinner said that in a shop in Queen street, Auckland on Monday morning he had seen a 9oz packet of cheese flavoured with wine and brandy from West Ger-

many. The price was ridiculously high. “Is there rhyme or reason to import cheese from West Germany?” asked Mr Skinner. “We have just raised another loan in West Germany. Mr Skinner said he had seen a pair of French-made women’s shoes in a shop. They were 13gns a pair. Shouted a woman in the audience: “Mine cost only 13 bob.” Mr Skinner asked if we needed to import shoes from France. He said that he had a list

of countries we were in debt to. At the moment the Japanese had put us in the list, of “undeveloped countries.” “They did this for the purpose of lending us money to put an extra wing on the Auckland Harbour Bridge,” said Mr Skinner. “It would not matter if the extra wing was held up for another five years.” Woollen Goods Mr Skinner said he had seen women’s twin sets imported from Scotland and selling for £2O 15s: mohair blankets from Scotland at very high cost. “There is no reason why you should bring woollen goods into this country,” said Mr Skinner. “Here we are importing them from Scotland.

“You can’t get whisky from Scotland, so we apparently get blankets.” Mr Skinner said he had seen in Auckland, in a shop, a Swiss watch selling for £425. Mr Skinner suggested that instead of money being used to buy goods like this, it should be spent on getting raw materials for industry which was our livelihood. He said that we could not afford £BO million for a steel works for New Zealand. It would be a good thing when we could. At present, such a large sum would be much better invested in getting a national shipping line for New Zealand. Such a line would immediately save us overseas funds