Development

Press, Volume CIX, Issue 31975, 30 April 1969, Page 12

Development

i Sir, —As a member of the ■Country Party, which is strongly opposed to national planning—which you apparently support—l wish to support the strong criticism of the Otago Chamber of Commerce directed at the assumption that our biggest cities—all in the North Island—must be encouraged to accelerate, metropolitan Auckland alone to have a third of the total increase. De Gaulle is now out and I question whether the planners have made plans which will meet the emergency of early British entry to the Common Market or whether they have even sufficiently considered the drastic effect of the probable loss of the profitable British market at the expiry of the trade treaty. Also, the big exodus of skilled tradesmen to Australia has been quite unforeseen. Many other important ! economic matters have been iquite overlooked. Supply and demand will always override ! State planning.—Yours, etc., V. WILKINSON. |

Ashburton. April 28, 1969. [We doubt whether our correspondent has caught the drift of Mr Manning’s criticism of the physical development committee’s report. The preponderance of urban growth in the Nort’.i Island is a result, largely, of “natural" economic and social forces. The process will be halted or reversed only by interfering with these forces. Our understanding of Mr Manning’s complaint is that he was dissatisfied with the committee’s failure to

recommend measures to change the present pattern of development. This might be done by compulsion, or by persuasion; but it certainly could not be done without national planning. Ed., “The Press."]