“Frenzied Slash”

Press, Volume CVI, Issue 31333, 1 April 1967, Page 3

“Frenzied Slash”

(N.Z. Press Association)

WELLINGTON, March 31. The Government had made a frienzied slash at imports and, instead of tackling import control on a selective basis, had chopped items hard hit last year to further reduce New Zealand’s hopes of, supporting overseas earnings at a reasonable level, said the president of the Federation of Labour (Mr T. E. Skinner) today. “They seem to have merely repeated the ineffective actions taken last year. “They have taken no consideration of the many items freed from import control, two years ago,” said Mr Skinner. “One example is agricultural machinery, freed from import control, which jumped from £7,613,662 in the 1964-65 licensing year to £14,881,840 in 1965-66. “This is an increase of £7,268,178. Heavy machinery, which includes road vehicles, jumped from £3,091,217 to £5,965,872 in the same period

—-an increase of £2,874,655. “It is fairly obvious even from casual observation of,, say, road work in progress, that we have more heavy equipment in New Zealand than we can economically use. Yet these two items have been left untouched in the new schedule.” Mr Skinner said that the whole of the import schedule should be looked at, and the country should get its priorities fixed. “This is the same old orthodox way of dealing with things that was used 50 years ago. It created recessions and depressions, slumps and booms.” The whole basis of the country’s economy needed looking at, he said. For example, the plan to spend £BO million on steel mills was a great project, but it could not be afforded at present. Heavy equipment was lying idle already, and more would become idle as a result of the Government’s cut-down on spending, said Mr Skinner.