Clear The Wool, Says Mr Kirk

Press, Volume CVII, Issue 31407, 28 June 1967, Page 1

Clear The Wool, Says Mr Kirk

(New Zealand Press Association)

WELLINGTON, June 27.

The Leader of the Opposition (Mr Kirk) told Parliament tonight that the Government should not have allowed last season’s unsold wool to be stockpiled —because the fall in overseas revenue had detrimentally affected the whole country.

“It is the Government’s duty to sell the products of this country to the best possible advantage and not let matters drift,” he said.

Launching the Budget debate, Mr Kirk urged the Government to “initiate some action” to clear the 600,000 - bale wool stockpile, and claimed that storing the wool would cost £600,000 a year.

But, he added, he supposed that the Government took the view that it was the responsibility of the Wool Commission—and the Wool Commission alone tc sell the wool.

Cvling for a review of the "buying-in” scheme, Mr Kirk said: “The scheme cannot be operated on the basis it was operated last year.” Commenting on the effect of stockpiling wool on the country, he said: “The fall in overseas funds affects all the people of this country. “Clearly it would be in New Zealand’s interest to remove some of the stocks,” said Mr Kirk.

“The Government should be negotiating ways of doing this.”

The Prime Minister (Mr Holyoake) said that at one stage during the last wool season the Wool Board was so confident that the price of wool would go up that it actu-

ally increased the floor price by Id.

He had never contended that the drop in wool prices was the whole reason for the present economic problems—but it certainly contributed to it to a great extent. Mr Holyoake said the Leader of the Opposition knew the responsibility for selling the wool rested with the Wool Commission and yet he had said the Government had done and was doing nothing.

To take the responsibility away from the Wool Commission would require a major change in legislation.

He said Government representatives had met the Wool Commission to discuss the situation in three full sessions of the Cabinet Economic Committee—the last meeting tak’ng place today “The Leader of the Opposition has no confidence in the Wool Commission, the farmers or this Government,” he said.

“It must be apparent to everyone that unless next season’s floor price is the same as or more than this season’s, then the wool in store will go for less than the Wool Commission paid for it,” said Mr N. V. Douglas (Lab., Auckland Central).

The trend away from wool for carpet manufactures was world wide, Mr Douglas said. He quoted figures for consumption in New Zealand and the United States showing that a lower proportion of wool was being used for this purpose.

“What plans has the Government for industrial development in the use of wool?” he asked. “We should start to sell the wool in store as soon as possible.” The Minister of Agriculture (Mr Taiboys) said that the drop in consumption applied to man-made fibres as well as wool.

The Commonwealth Secretariat had published statistics showing that the decrease in demand for both man-made fibres and wool was 10 per cent.