EXPORT LOST

Press, Volume CX, Issue 32214, 5 February 1970, Page 1

EXPORT LOST

Not Enough Labour Mr E. C. Munt told the Canterbury Chamber of Commerce last evening that he would have to refuse a $15,000 export order from Australia because he could not obtain the labour to manufacture IL He said that he had spent $450 advertising for staff, and it might well be cheaper to bring in immigrants. New Zealand, said Mr Muni, had only the same population as Sydney, and it had to grow. Companies and countries could not stand still, they had to keep growing. Mr B. J. Drake said he believed that less emphasis should be place on obtaining skilled immigrants. What was needed was more “bodies,” and it was not at all necessary for them to be skilled as long as they were capable of learning. He also thought that much more attention should be given to the retraining of unemployed New Zealanders. Mr R. C. Dunn: We buy an asset when we get a selected man from overseas, and all it costs us is the freight. I The president of the chamber (Mr J. M. Tocker) said that immigration caused added capital expenditure, and the way to cure the labour shortage was to cut down on Government expediture. This had been shown several times in the past. Mr Drake later referred to this as the “classical theory," as contrasted with the “more dynamic theory” of the Canterbury Manufacturers’ Association.