Talks On Dairy Exports

Press, Volume CVII, Issue 31560, 23 December 1967, Page 1

Talks On Dairy Exports

(N.Z. Press Assn.—Copyright) MELBOURNE, Dec. 22.

The New Zealand Prime Minister (Mr Holyoake) discussed New Zealand dairy exports with the British Prime Minister (Mr Wilson) today after twice telephoning the Minister for Overseas Trade (Mr Marshall) in Wellington.

Mr Holyoake said this afternoon that he had also had talks on dairy exports with Australian officials in Melbourne today.

Mr Holyoake said the discussions would continue tonight. Mr Holyoake was scheduled to attend a private dinner at

Government House this evening. It is known that Mr Wilson and the Australian Prime Minister (Mr McEwen) will also be present, along with other members of the Australian Cabinet. BUTTER QUOTA Mr Holyoake said he had discussed the question of British quotas on imports of New Zealand butter with Mr Wilson and found him “very receptive” to points he raised. He declined to elaborate and said he would not make a statement on the question tonight or when he got back to Wellington early tomorrow morning. “I am certain that what we have discussed has not been brought to fruition at this stage,” he said. “If it is brought to fruition there would be some slight advantage for New Zealand in its trade with Britain. I cannot say anything more.”

Yesterday in Canberra Mr Holyoake told the Press Association that he had “briefly” discussed the Australian Government’s plan for reconstruction of the country’s largely inefficient and uneconomic dairy industry with Mr McEwen.

He said then: “Our discussions were of a confidential nature and I cannot say any more publicly.” Observers had speculated that the proposed reconstruction could result in New Zealand dairy produce, especially butter, gaining entry to the Australian market and could also give New Zealand a share of Australia’s dairy export trade. CALLS TO N.Z..

Mr Holyoake said today that he had telephoned Mr Marshall in Wellington last night and again this morning. He made it clear that

he had talks about dairy exports with Mr Marshall. Mr Holyoake said he talked for 30 to 40 minutes with Mr Wilson in the British Prime Minister’s suite in a Melbourne hotel this afternoon. “We discussed trade between our two countries after devaluation and the state of our two economies,” he said. COMMON MARKET

Britain’s attempted entry into the Common Market was mentioned “only briefly”, Mr Holyoake said, “and we discussed the possibilities, in fact the probabilities, of diversion of New Zealand’s trade with Britain.”

Mr Holyoake said he and Mr Wilson had also discussed Commonwealth affairs, particularly Rhodesia. “He brought me up to date with the latest British thinking on this and we exchanged confidential information,” he said.