Opposition Seeks Action On Prices

Press, Volume CVI, Issue 31340, 10 April 1967, Page 14

Opposition Seeks Action On Prices

There was an immediate need for effective action on prices, said the Leader of the Opposition (Mr Kirk) in Christchurch on Saturday. “They should not be permitted to fluctuate wildly as has been the case,” he said.

It was the Labour Party’s view, he added, that prices of the family’s basic essentials should be fixed at a fair, reasonable and stable level. It was an amazing confession of ineffectiveness and failure for the Minister of Industries and Commerce (Mr Marshall) to admit that housewives could keep more closely in touch with prices than could the price inspectors of his department, said Mr Kirk. "Furthermore, his little homily to C.A.R.P. suggests that he does not really care about the constant and continuing round of price increases that are plaguing the family budget at present. “If he did care, he would propose some positive action to deal with the substantial and often completely unwar-

ranted price increases that are occurring,” said Mr Kirk. “Does it not matter to Mr Marshall that food prices, apart from those affected by the removal of subsidies, increased in January and February of this year by 5.7 per cent, or more than twice the amount of the annual average increase in the cost of living? “While it is conceded that over-all price control is not practicable or feasible, particularly since the staff of the price control division is sadly depleted, there should be no hesitation in resorting to price control in flagrant cases of price exploitation,” said Mr Kirk.

“Other steps that could and should be taken could include the strengthening of the Consumer Council and the extension of its rule in educating and protecting the consumer “In particular the Price Tribunal should be required to co-operate with the Consumer Council in establishing, exposing and combating unwarranted price increases. “Since he neither has, nor apparently intends to take effective action, C.A.R.P. and other housewives should take steps to find out whether Mr Marshall really believes that persuasion is sufficient to prevent price increases which are not due to a rise in costs,” said Mr Kirk.

“One way would be to invite Mr Marshall to lead a deputation to the Minister of Electricity (Mr Shand), who has just announced an intention to increase the price of electricity by 12i per cent.”